Trekking to the Himalayas, Antarctica expedition, swim across the fog-shrouded Farallon Islands, are all yet to be unchecked from our Wishlist. For us, life begins at the end of our comfort zone ‘coz there ain’t any joy other than the joy of discovery. The only fear that keeps gnawing us, is the fear of ageing, to complete our adventure driven wishlist in the next 10 years. The recent months have once again emphasized how important it is to lead a healthy lifestyle and work towards a stronger immunity as we age. Have you ever thought, about what can ageing adults do to safeguard themselves from infections India?
To be able to achieve our dreams, we know that we need to raise the bar of fitness as we age. Not just fitness, we need to keep ourselves free from infections and avoid any complications. Our body, like blood cells, has a variety of defense mechanisms to act against bacteria and viruses that invade our body. But that defense mechanism slows down as we age. And thus, our immune system becomes less effective in preventing infections.
We’ve seen this for our elders at home, isn’t it?
Here’s how to reduce the risks from ageing Immune System/ stay safe from infections:
- Get mandatory vaccines: Check with your health care provider and go for the vaccines to prevent flu, pneumococcal infections. Even the tinier-looking infections can impact our ageing body organs.
- Workout: Emphasize more on being physically active. Quit that sedentary lifestyle. Go for Yoga, moderate exercises because a regular workout not just keeps you fit, but also boosts your immune system and elevates your mood.
- Balanced nutrition: Most of us already know that balanced nutrition keeps our immune system strong. But do we know the RDA and the nutritional gaps? Recently, we chalked out our daily diet plan with our nutritionist, keeping in mind our vegetarian lifestyle. It came as a shock that there were so many gaps in the micro and macronutrients. And this was despite us working hard on the right consumption of green leafy veggies, varied fruits, nuts, and seeds. While there has been a lot of changes in our diet, there has been an addition in the form of supplement. “Ensure”, to consume complete and balanced nutrition to boost immunity.
As per our nutritionist, with aging, physiological changes happen that affect not just our organ systems but the immune system as well. Post the age of 40, our body even starts losing muscle mass. And, thus it becomes more important to consume nutrient-dense foods. Ensure, has 11 immunity nutrients to support the immunity of ageing adults. It also has 32 vital nutrients.[1] We go for Ensure, as a supplement accompanied by the right diet and an active lifestyle.
- Quit smoking and your addictions: Many pieces of research have proved that smoking weakens the immune system[2] which in turn makes our body less successful in fighting infections. It can worsen the diseases like viral and bacterial infections. Smokers need to quit this addiction for an uncompromised immune system.
- Work on relieving your stress: Stress and the weakened immune system have a direct relationship. When we are stressed, we are more susceptible to infections. The stress hormone, corticosteroid, suppresses the effectiveness of the immune system.[3]
We know the factors that lead to stress. Work on them while enjoying the smaller happy moments, practicing gratitude and kindness.
Let not ageing restrict us from leading a rewarding life, a life that we’ve always wanted. Hope these pointers on what can ageing adults do to safeguard themselves from infections, help you!
Stay safe!
[1] www.ensureindia.in
[2] https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/sgr/50th-anniversary/pdfs/fs_smoking_overall_health_508.pdf
[3] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1361287/
