Simple ways to strengthen your immune system
Without being alarmist, I find there is quite a lot of buzz online about the swine flu, and it’s possibility of becoming a global pandemic. Since I’m a bit of a health nut, I figured now might be a good time to share some of the ways I’ve come across in recent years, which according to research help boost your immune system.
1. Get enough rest. [1,2,3]
2. Stay calm and reduce stress. If possible, medidate, or perform other activities which reduce stress (stress hormones directly cause apoptosis of white blood cells). Other activities could include being affectionate with your (non-infected) loved ones. [4,5,6,9]
3. Use immune-boosting supplements such as Zinc or Vitamin-C — these supplements do not cure illnesses, but being deficient in them will affect the immune system negatively, and keeping your zinc and C levels high boosts your immune system. [7,8,9,10,11]
4. Do not stop exercising, and if you do not do so already, start: moderate physical exercise causes an increase in white blood cell production. A simple yet effective routine to do *at home*, is to do some pushups, squats, and crunches. Moderate is the keyword though, as complete physical exhaustion is probably not desirable. [12]
5. Eat spicy food, there have been some findings that spicy food, containing for example chili helps boost the immune system or fight illnesses. But mostly it tastes good, and makes your dishes keep longer (that’s why it was invented).
Now I could’ve found more references, and I’m sure there are more articles out there on this subject, so that should excuse my laziness. By the way, I’m not bothering with references for the 5th tip, I think eating spicy food speaks for itself 
References.
1. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10443758?dopt=A…
2. http://www.springerlink.com/content/wh8185q43g2325…
3. http://myheartmind.blogspot.com/2008/07/immune-sys…
4. http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcg…
5. http://www.nhs.uk/news/2007/October/Pages/Meditati…
6. http://www.springerlink.com/content/kk477701223g14…
7. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7749260?dopt=Ab…
8. http://ods.od.nih.gov/FactSheets/Zinc.asp
9. http://my.clevelandclinic.org/disorders/chronic_fa…
10. http://www.positivehealth.com/article-view.php?art…
11. http://www.ltdk.helsinki.fi/users/hemila/immunity/
12. http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/00…
