Seven common mistakes that can weaken your immune system

Chinyere Okoroafor

With the new reports about the deadly coronavirus reeling out across the nation on a daily basis, it is almost hard to feel confident that we are taking all the right precautions to keep safe, and those around us, safe and healthy in this time of such uncertainty.

However, one thing that has not changed is how important it is to have a healthy immune system during this trying time.

Here are seven common mistakes that can result in a weakened immune system and make the body more susceptible to illness.

Too much sugar intake

Consuming too much sugar competes with vitamin C for space in your immune system because the two are of a similar chemical structure. It means that the more sugar in the system, the less vitamin C can get into the white blood cells.

It shows that sugar does not help the immune system fight infection at all, but results in a weakened defense to fight infections.

Not managing stress appropriately

It is important to give the body and mind a good comfort. This can help lower the body stress levels, which is key to maintaining a strong immune system.

Study shows that chronic stress results in glucocorticoid receptor resistance (GCR), which in turn, lowers your immune system’s ability to fight off viruses.

Not getting enough sleep

If you have ever spent a night tossing and turning in bed, you already know how you will feel the next day. Missing the recommended 7 to 9 hours of sleep does more than make the body feel tired and sullen.

A 2017 study published in the journal Sleep monitored twins and their sleep patterns, finding that the sibling who habitually got less sleep had the weaker immune system of the two.

Drinking too much alcohol

Consuming too much alcohol is not the best choice for the immune system. Excessive drinking is categorized as having four or more drinks during a single occasion or eight or more drinks per week. For men, those numbers change to five and 15, respectively.

According to the Mayo Clinic, a heightened level of drinking can cause a myriad of health complications, including weakened immune system. The experts say that “excessive alcohol use can make it harder for your body to resist disease, increasing your risk of various illnesses.”

Not drinking enough water

Drinking plenty of water every day has a variety of health benefit, reversely; not doing so can have an array of negative effects. Not taking enough water can cause dehydration and this has a devastating impact on the immune system by making the body unable to flush out toxins as fast as it normally would.

Not getting enough exercise

Whether it’s an at-home workout or a long walk, regular exercise is crucial to a healthy immune system. A sedentary lifestyle affects the body’s ability to fight infection by impairing the immune system.

Getting too much exercise

Too much exercise can also harm the immune system. This is especially true if one is already sick, according to experts at WebMD: “When workouts get too strenuous, the number of infection-fighting white blood cells in your body can go down.

At the same time, your stress hormone cortisol may go up, which may interfere with the ability of certain immune cells to work right. (The Nation)