Habits that Lower Your Immune System

1. Eating mostly foods unrecognizable from their source.

   A majority of the foods we eat are totally unrecognizable from the source they are made from. They don’t even smell or look like the thing they’re derived from. Do you see pasta and cookies growing in fields? Nope, they are made from grains that has been disintegrated into chalk-like powder, which is then assembled into fancy shapes and sizes. The results? Foods with low nutritious value, but high in added flavorings and additives that you don’t need. Providing little nutrients that your body needs, these pro-inflammatory foods can spike blood sugar quickly and lead to insensitivity to insulin, obesity and diabetes in the long term.

2. Eating a diet filled mainly with red meat.

   After reviewing numerous studies, the World Cancer Research Fund and the American Institute for Cancer Research collectively recommended that people should limit their red meat intake and avoid processed meat to prevent cancer, especially that of the colon. That doesn’t mean you’ve to give up meat totally. But it does mean choosing your meat smartly. Say yes to more unprocessed, organic white meat like chicken, turkey and fish, and cut your intake of red meat to about once a week. When you do eat red meat, opt for grass-fed beef and bison which are not fed with hormones, antibiotics and steroids whenever possible.

3. Reaching for drugs at the slightest hint of an ailment.

   In an age where speed is of utmost paramount, we always look for the next thing that promises us the quickest result. That mentality, of course, has extended to the way we view our health. Caught a cold? Take this pill and you’ll feel better in no time. But often, drugs don’t address the cause of our illness. They only serve to remove the symptoms produced by our body to help us recover. Without purging the culprit out of the body, however, we only risk giving it more time to come back again stronger or develop into something worse. This doesn’t mean you should stop seeing your doctor and stop all your medications. The point is, support and build up your own healing power while you can, not shut it down with excessive drug use.

4. Counting a five-minute stroll to your car as an exercise.

   A sedentary lifestyle is a silent killer that should be listed as one of the top ten causes of death. Humans are not constructed to remain immobile in front of the computer or TV for 8 hours on end with only the fingers and eyes doing bulk of the work. We need to get our circulatory, digestive and in fact, the entire system in motion by engaging in moderately vigorous activity everyday and help it to move smoother and expel faster.

5. Living like a camel.

   If only you have the stamina of a camel. A camel can go without water for days and months, but not humans. Going long bouts without water and sipping only when you feel thirsty are not ways that favor your health. Thirst is actually a sign that some levels of dehydration have already occurred within the body. And you don’t need me to repeat the fact that our body is predominantly made up of fluid that needs to be constantly topped up. Water also plays a critical role to ensure unwanted byproducts are transported out of your body in a timely fashion instead of staying trapped inside.

6. Smoke, drink and be merry all days.

   If you’re fussing over the merry part, then you’re clearly skirting the issue. Smoking intoxicates your system as well as that of others via secondhand smoke with thousands of chemicals that the body needs to clean up after your puffs. If anything, it’s a fail proof way to bring down anyone’s self-healing mechanisms quickly. While moderate drinking has been found to give some benefits to the heart, it’s easy to go over the limits when you’re high or under stress. There are better, safer and more delicious ways to safeguard your heart than alcohol, like savoring slices of aromatic dark chocolate.

7. Sleeping less than six hours a day.

   Our body needs rest to recuperate and carry out other processes which aren’t quite clearly understood yet. But it doesn’t take a scientific research to tell us the importance of a good night sleep. Have a less than ideal amount of shuteye time, and you’ll feel grouchy, irritable and tired the next morning. The physical and mental repercussions of inadequate sleep are undeniable and far-reaching, as shown by a number of studies. People who are chronically lack of sleep are associated with a higher risk for obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure and death. They are also more likely to report unsatisfactory relationships in life and suffer poorer memory and impaired cognitive functions.

8. Bottling up your feelings like a pressure cooker.

   We are emotional creatures, unlike robots. It’s normal to feel the way we do, but it’s not normal, at least not for your health, to bottle them up like some collector’s items. Pent-up feelings don’t simply disappear into the thin air. They brew and simmer into bigger and heavier lower energies like bitterness, rage, panic attack and depression. Emotions, especially destructive ones, have a detectable influence on our heart rate, blood pressure and temperature. Directly or indirectly, they affect our immune system as well. For instance, depression has been linked to lower immune defenses in those who suffer from it. Wisdom from Traditional Chinese Medicine also tells us that prolonged experience of any particular emotion (even joy) can have a damaging effect on its corresponding organ.

9. Regularly ingesting foods that give you problems.

   To be fair, many people are not aware that certain foods are the cause of their unexplained physical symptoms. Some foods can take days or even weeks to show their effect and by then few would have suspected the link. Nonetheless, constant exposure to foods that are incompatible with you can result in chronic low-grade inflammation, turning your self-healing power against yourself. So the next time you’re not feeling yourself, try recalling what you’ve put into your mouth in the last two weeks.

10. Feeling stressful constantly and yet doing nothing about it.

    Chronic stress is an increasingly predicament shared by many in our fast paced society. But seriously, it’s not a fun thing to have. It can start a downward spiral of senseless eating, poor sleep, reckless behavior (like heavy drinking and smoking), social withdrawal, depression and more that is difficult to jump out of. Needless to say, these are all the behaviors that weaken our self-healing power and harm our health.