Dr Harry's 6 tips to keep your immune system strong

#1 Try to get enough sleep

No magic here – sleep is incredibly important for maintaining immunity, and sleep deficiency has been associated with decreased immunity.  The simplest way to get enough sleep is to make sure that you have enough time in bed with your eyes closed (sounds simple, but many people don’t do the maths!).  

There are other things you can, which we discussed last week in our blog, like avoiding eating and exercising late in the day, keeping your bedroom cool overnight, trying not to use screens late close to bedtime, and avoiding caffeine in the afternoon.  You may wish to try supplements such as CBD oil, L-tryptophan, melatonin, magnesium and phosphatidylserine as these work for many people.

#2 If you get the sniffles, don’t push past it!

As a pretty serious cyclist, myself, I know how hard this one is to execute.  It’s certainly a trade-off between the psychological downside of not training and the physiological upside of recovery. Working with my coach, I’ve found something like the middle ground in training at around 70% intensity when I’m just not feeling right.  Having said this, there is no time when it’s ok to train with an upper respiratory tract infection.   

#4 Eat nutritious food

The human body has evolved to be able to deal with most infections through a combination of innate and acquired immunity.  Needless to say, the immune system is complex and there’s virtually no part of the body that doesn’t chip in – for instance, the skin, tear film, lining of the nose, cells in the blood, lymph nodes and organs like the spleen all play a major role. For these things to work and work properly, they require energy and various nutrients.  Of course, eating a ‘good diet’ is easier said than done – but let’s stick to the basics.  

Fresh vegetables and fruit, a handful of nuts, eggs, meat, chicken, fish and a little bit of dairy, as well as so-called ‘healthy fats’ such as avocado and olive oil, omega-3 fatty acids and MCT oil.  Various micronutrients are essential for immunocompetence, particularly vitamins A, C, D, E, B2, B6, and B12, folic acid, iron, selenium, and zinc.  While it’s unclear whether there is any advantage in having high levels of these micronutrients, dietary deficiency is likely to cause problems.  So, if there’s any risk of deficiency, you should consider taking a specific supplement or a multivitamin.