Ask HN: How do you boost/improve your immune system? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: How do you boost/improve your immune system?

19 pointsselmat25 comments

Little bit off-topic for HN, but wondering what HN do for health.

How do you boost/improve your (and yours child's) immune system?

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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

It's the same principle as vaccinations. Minor infections allow the immune system to develop antigen markers

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.

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

Worth noting a good source of vitamin D is the Sun

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.

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

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

Like in all things in life, moderation is key.

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.

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.

Try Spirulina. It seems to increase white blood cell count: https://examine.com/supplements/spirulina/

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

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.

Drinking lots of water

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

Elderberry syrup and Echinacea, Exercise and good sleep.

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

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

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Especially when comparing it with other foods.

Spend more time with Nature (easier said than done)

- Eat a well-balanced diet

- Get 8.5 hours of sleep on a consistent sleep schedule

- Exercise regularly

- Get vaccinations

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