10 easy ways to boost a mother’s immune system
For mommies like us, a happy and a healthy lifestyle is a must. We meet the everyday challenges of work, house chores, our children’s needs, and (if we’re lucky) our husband’s demands too. These are some of the reasons why we should lookout to keep ourselves in top shape, and help provide our immune system with a constant boost. I would like to share with you a few tips I’ve learned from experience, and from mommy friends, on how to keep ourselves physically, mentally and emotionally fit.
1. Have enough rest and sleep.
The best and probably the most important. You can’t function at your best when you are always feeling tired and sleepless. Have at least 8 hours of sleep everyday. Turn your lights off by 10 pm if you want yourself to be fully rested.
2. Drink enough water.
It is a common knowledge that we should drink 8-10 glasses of water everyday.
Another tip shared by a friend, and here’s what she has to say:
Drinking water at a certain time of the day maximizes its effectiveness on the body.
2 glasses of water after right after waking up in the morning helps you feel refreshed and activates your internal organs.
1 glass of water 30 minutes before a meal helps you with proper digestion
1 glass of water before taking a bath helps lower blood pressure
1 glass of water before going to bed avoids stroke or heart attack and also help prevent night time leg cramps.
The more water you drink, the healthier you get, the better you feel. It adds glow to our skin too!
3. Go out and feel the sun.
A little walk under the sun is beneficial for your body. Open your house curtains and windows. Vitamin D helps us with our immune functions, and so does the smell of fresh air.
4. Frequent exercise.
Find time to exercise at least 30 minutes a day. I prefer an early morning running (the easiest for me). But when you don’t feel like running, a Pilates or a Yoga session at home is the easiest. There are so many instructional videos in YouTube, and I’m sure you can find one that’s right for you.
You may also want to try and exercise with your children. Sofie and I have been doing yoga for several times now, I know we both look funny, with all the sweating and complaining in between stretches, but this is something she always look forward to doing with me. I can imagine how it would be like when Sofie’s all grown-up convincing her old lady to do some stretches. I certainly am looking forward to it too.
5. Do not miss breakfast.
Most of us already know this. One of the most famous phrase we usually hear is “we should eat breakfast like a queen (in our case), eat lunch like a princess, and eat dinner like a pauper. Our food pyramid suggests that we should consume around seven to nine servings of fruits and vegetables daily.
So here’s the math:
1 serving of fruit = 1/2 cup of fresh fruit + 1/2 cup of 100 percent fresh fruit juice
6. Supplement yourself with good bacteria.
The most common live-cultured products we can find are yogurts and cultured milk drinks. They are the best source of good bacteria which help us reduce the risk of having diarrhea , vaginitis and even respiratory infections.
7. Garlic and Ginseng
I’m sure a lot of you would agree, the benefits of these double G’s. are huge… from scalp care ( for hair loss), facial treatment (for acne), anti-fungal infections, both of these also help lower cholesterol, increase energy and endurance, and reduce fatigue. There are also a lot of other common medicinal herbs in the market that can help boost your immune system, so go check them out.
8. Laugh it out.
Have a good laugh with your friends, family, kids and hubs. A busy mommy needs to laugh too, which is sooo good for your well being. Also, it strengthens the bond between you and your loved ones.
9. Mingle with other people and socialize.
Get out of your comfort zone and seek fun and pleasurable but wholesome (well, since we’re mommies) activities with your friends. Be it a playdate, a class, an outreach project ,or an afternoon tea with friends can be very helpful and rewarding in boosting one’s self esteem. A loner mom is more likely to get sick than social mommas! and last but not the least
10. Make love not war.
Yup. There are studies that show quite a number of benefits of lovemaking. It gives you cardio exercise, helps you lose calories, relieves stress and much more. .. a regular lovemaking gives you 30 % increase levels of immunoglobulin A, an antibody that boost the immune system which reduces the risk of having colds. So mommies, let’s face it, it’s a win-win.
Care to share some of your health secrets with us? Feel free to comment below 🙂
