
Ask HN: How do you boost/improve your immune system? - selmat
Little bit off-topic for HN, but wondering what HN do for health.<p>How do you boost&#x2F;improve your (and yours child&#x27;s) immune system?
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Nomentatus
Natural night - ten hours real darkness (no light) starting and ending at the
same time (red light is okay.) Many immune and detoxification processes are
left to your nightly melatonin cycle, when you don't need energy to do other
things.

Other than that: strictly avoiding any supplement that's touted to "boost the
immune system." I'm not joking at all, putting your immune system into high
gear for no reason repeatedly is a bad idea, and all that crying wolf will
leave it less able to respond when really needed.

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fjones12
Regular exercise and getting enough sleep are both really great (for lots of
reasons, but definitely a boost to your immune system). And of course
nutrition is important, and it's show to be helpful even if you only make
small changes. Ditto on the healing powers of vitamin D - especially when it
comes from the sun.

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qwertox
If one doesn't exercise, that would be the one with the best outcome. It would
then lead to a better eating habit, would make you happier and increase the
self-confidence. So many benefits to it.

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mingabunga
Haven't been sick for 6 years - cold/flu/any sickness. I put it down to
intermittent fasting which I started at the same time. I eat about once a day
in the evenings (I eat a lot then) although I often snack before exercise
early to mid afternoon. There's been a couple of times where I've felt I'm
coming down with a cold, and then it goes away like nothing happened. Writing
this, I actually went out last night, had food and beers and woke in the night
with that tell tale scratchy one side of my throat, then woke up this morning
and nothing. I've found that if I feel something coming on, I eat nothing then
it goes away. Water is obviously ok. You know how when you get really sick you
lose your appetite, I think it might have something to do with that. I reckon
eating is quite an energy hog, so if you don't eat then you can leave your
body the resources it needs to fight a cold. All this is just anecdotal, but
I'm sticking to it because having a cold is such a waste of time/so annoying.

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uptownfunk
Note: most of this is purely anecdotal / may or may not be backed up by
rigorous scientific research, but a lot of it comes down through ancient
wisdom teachings / tips from eastern medicine (Indian / Chinese) so please
don't put me on the cross if there is no medical study to back up what I am
listing here :)

* Enough Sleep (at least 6 hours)

* Staying in a single location / time zone (hard for me, as I'm travelling every week)

* Eating healthy / balanced diet

* Eating at normal times (avoid late night eating)

* Celibacy

* Avoiding cold water (sticking to room temperature, and if sick only sipping hot water / teas)

* Reducing caffeine intake (coffee)

* Light yoga practice

* Staying warm in cold environments

* Get a blood check up and see if any deficiencies (look out for Vit D, Vit B, Zinc, high cholesterol, BP, fatty liver, Thyroid activity, etc.. Vit C supplementation also helps)

* Reduce / eliminate mental / emotional stress

* Eat organic / local

* Reduce meat consumption

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karimf
Try to be a little bit dirty whenever possible. Most of the time I don't wash
my hand before I eat. I deliberately eat a small amount of microbes to
stimulate my immune system, similar to how the vaccine works (by giving a
weakened bacteria or antigen to stimulate the production of antibodies).

Being too clean is considered not healthy. [0]

[0]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hygiene_hypothesis](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hygiene_hypothesis)

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Nomentatus
An especially safe way to go help about this is to not clean your cookware
_too_ well; since this gives you regular exposure to dead bacteria, etc.
that's been heated and killed.

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jryan49
Ensure you do not have vitamin D deficiency, reduce stress, exercise, and eat
a well balanced diet.

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blackflame7000
Worth noting a good source of vitamin D is the Sun

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jryan49
In some places, at certain times of the year, the sun is not a good source.
Also dermatologists don't suggest using the sun to get vitamin D due to skin
damage. Everything in moderation of course. I imagine the sun has other
benefits than just vitamin d.

Also getting sun through glass does not give vitamin D.

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blackflame7000
Right because glass filters most harmful spectrums of UV light which is what
stimulates vitamin D production.

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dontJudge
Gotta give yourself cancer and premature wrinkly skin if you want to boost
your immune system. No pain no gain.

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blackflame7000
Like in all things in life, moderation is key.

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mb_72
I don't - 'boosting one's immune system' is a meaningless alt-med phrase. For
someone like me, with an auto-immune disease, if 'boosting' my immune system
was actually a real thing I would become more sick. Reading through the
responses posted here - natural remedies, drink lots of water, get your kids
to eat nuts, try and be a little bit dirty, reduce animal products - you can
see that the advice is not based in good science or is purely based on
someone's anecdotes or beliefs.

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simonblack
Zinc. Sufficient intake daily.

Don't helicopter kids. Let them free to do things that aren't too clean like
exploring creeks or rummaging in the dirt, or forgetting to wash food, or even
eating food off the floor, or not washing their hands after touching animals.
They also need to eat things like nuts, or other strange or unusual things
from an early age.

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amai
Try Spirulina. It seems to increase white blood cell count:
[https://examine.com/supplements/spirulina/](https://examine.com/supplements/spirulina/)

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ravensraven
They say Ashwagandha and many other natural remedies help boost immune system.

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uptownfunk
Ashwagandha is great, also known as indian ginseng. Has been very helpful, but
would recommend making sure it will help balance your doshas rather than
aggravate them.

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O_H_E
Drinking lots of water

I also love to take vegetarian "sprints" for 2-5 days

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maremmano
Elderberry syrup and Echinacea, Exercise and good sleep.

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ajaxaddicted
Reduce or completely eliminate animal products (way too many toxins), boost
the antioxidants ( amla, berries), eliminate processed food and switch to
whole foods, exercise regularly, sleep well

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Madmallard
"Reduce or completely eliminate animal products (way too many toxins)"

[[[[[[[Citation Needed]]]]]]]]]

Especially when comparing it with other foods.

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biswajitsharma
Spend more time with Nature (easier said than done)

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afarrell
\- Eat a well-balanced diet

\- Get 8.5 hours of sleep on a consistent sleep schedule

\- Exercise regularly

\- Get vaccinations

