3 Ways to Boost Your Immune System

Posted January 02, 2025 by H. Kelley Riley, M.D., MBA, Chief Medical Officer

Collage of people exercising, eating a salad and getting a vaccination

Getting sick is no fun. In the midst of cold and flu season—you might be curious if there are ways to strengthen your immune function. The answer is “Yes.” There are ways to keep your body’s natural defenses against illness and disease at their best—and doing so doesn’t even involve a “magic” supplement.

A healthy immune system works to protect you from illness, disease and also helps heal injuries.

Your skin and mucous membranes are the first line of defense. But when germs get inside those barriers, your immune system jumps into action by delivering an immune response to the site of infection. It fights everything from cold and flu viruses to parasites to cancer.

But because your immune system is very complex, there are many things that can affect how well it’s working. Fortunately, the same things you do to stay healthy also keep your immune system strong.

SummaCare offers three ways to take care of yourself, so your immune system can take care of you. Keeping your immune system strong is vital to your health and well-being — especially, as you age.

3 ways to boost your immune response

Live a healthy lifestyle

Want a natural way to help keep your provider away? A healthy lifestyle contributes to good health, and you’ll also reap the rewards of a healthy immune system.

Eat a well-balanced diet rich in fruits, veggies, lean proteins, whole grains and healthy fats. These foods contain vital antioxidants, vitamins and minerals—including A, C, E, B6, magnesium and zinc—that your body needs to fight invading germs by boosting your body’s production of infection-fighting white blood cells. In addition, these high-fiber foods feed the gut’s microbiome, which improves your immune response and reduces inflammation.
Exercise regularly. Regular activity naturally promotes a healthier turnover of immune cells. Plus, when you’re exercising, your blood circulates immune cells through your body faster and may potentially detect germs more quickly. Not to mention, exercise can help you sleep better, maintain a healthy weight, and reduce stress.
Get seven to nine hours of sleep every night. While you sleep, your body has a chance to restore and boost production of its natural defenses. Research shows a chronic lack of sleep can reduce the body’s production of antibodies and make a person more susceptible to illness.
Keep stress in check. Everyone has some stress, but research tells us adults with chronic stress produce fewer white blood cells, reducing their ability to ward off infection.
Don’t smoke and drink less alcohol. Smoking contains many toxic chemicals that can damage white blood cells and increase the risk of conditions (i.e. lung disease) that can harm the immune system. Heavy alcohol use contributes to organ damage and impedes white blood cell production and the function of the gut microbiome.
Maintain a healthy weight. When you’re overweight, the body must work harder to function properly. Research has linked obesity, defined as a BMI (body mass index) of 30 or more, to a weakened immune system and lower vaccination effectiveness.

Keep up-to-date on immunizations

Your immune system is smart, but vaccines train it to be even smarter. Keeping up-to-date on immunizations (and that includes getting the flu and COVID-19 vaccines each year) strengthens the body’s immune response by teaching it to create specific antibodies to prevent serious illness.

It's safer for your body to learn to fight off infection and disease via vaccination than through infection with harmful germs that can compromise the immune system and lead to health issues.

Talk to your doctor about other vaccines you may need based on your age and health, such as the RSV, pneumonia and shingles vaccines.

Practice good hand hygiene

Think about how many shared surfaces you touch throughout the day. Touching doorknobs, railings, and the like, leave our hands covered with thousands — perhaps millions — of germs, some of which can infect us and make us sick.

Keeping bacteria, viruses and other microbes out of your body in the first place protects you against harmful germs that can compromise your immune system. Help prevent the spread of germs by:

Washing your hands frequently using warm, soapy water for at least 20 seconds. If a sink isn’t available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
Not touching your eyes, nose and mouth.
Disinfecting frequently-touched surfaces, such as doorknobs, light switches and countertops.
Staying clear of people who are sick.

Can supplements boost your immune response?

While all kinds of products claim to help boost immunity, there’s no clear evidence that suggests any supplement can boost your immune response to the point that you’re better protected against illness and disease.
Getting vitamins and minerals from healthy foods is always better than taking supplements because your body absorbs nutrients more effectively from food.

However, if you think your diet is lacking in a variety of vitamins and minerals, taking a daily supplement may bring health benefits. Malnutrition can make you more susceptible to illness. Just be sure to talk to your doctor first before taking any supplements.