advice needed - keeping or building immune system

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wendyannie1976
wendyannie1976 Posts: 205 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Hi All

really need ideas and advice on how to build my immune system due to work( work between 50 and 90 hours a week),exercise and general life I seem to have hit an all time low with my immune system and constant tiredness and lots of little bits of illness keep cropping up.

So the question is other then sleep - probably get 4 hours a night on average although have had a couple of weeks due to getting all the work in of just 15 hours sleep in a full week - so sleep aside what else can I do to help boost my immune system and help it rebuild, i've a small operation in a few weeks and I start a major heavy 36 week exercise training schedule on 1st January, I'm already fit just need to boost my system - any and all ideas welcome

oh and I don't eat fish or anything derived from fish or surrounding areas due to a major allergy, I generally eat a healthy diet with lots of veg and take complex vitamin b's, magnesium, calcium and vit d, vit c and zinc, vit e and flaxseed oil supplements.

Thanks in advance :-)

Replies

  • Chairless
    Chairless Posts: 588 Member
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    If you eat right and get as much rest as you can thats simply put all you can do. There is no proven way to "boost" the immune system.

    Have a watch if you get chance http://youtu.be/JaHFfapgapM
  • Scarlett_S
    Scarlett_S Posts: 467 Member
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    I know you said "other than sleep" but you really can't brush it aside like that. Your body HAS to have more sleep than you are getting. I understand where you are coming from - I have a full time job, three kids with extracurricular activities, I travel for work, and I am trying to get a black belt and go to classes every week - but no sleep = lots of cortisol in your body, which downs your immune system and keeps you from being healthy. There are also long term results of having high cortisol levels including heart problems and less resistance to cancer generating cells.

    My immune system was down after surgery (I got pneumonia four weeks after, and had never had it in my life before, also numerous colds/sinus infections) and I started making myself take an extra 1000 mg a day of Vitamin C as well as getting at LEAST seven hours of sleep. When I couldn't get seven hours I would try to make up for it the next day. It seems to have helped, as I haven't been sick since July (knocking on wood).
  • wendyannie1976
    wendyannie1976 Posts: 205 Member
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    Please don't think I'm giving no importance to sleep I get what I can and I'm not just sitting up or going out I'm working as a single mum to a toddler I spend between 5pm and 8pm when I pick up from childcare and she goes to bed with her then I start work again often until the early hours after already doing a full or near full day - min 10am to 4pm with travel either side, something has to give to fit everything in thats often the ironing and sleep. I've always worked excess hours and never had much sleep from birth to 21 I rarely had more then 2 hours in every 48 hours (my oh so lucky parents hehehe) now I generally need around 5 hours or well none to function properly but I am now just being ill and tired all the time so looking for things that I could add or ensure was in my normally healthy diet to help my immune system along :-)

    Thanks all x

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