{"id":2265,"date":"2016-09-30T15:23:19","date_gmt":"2016-09-30T15:23:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/flushinghospital.org\/newsletter\/?p=2265"},"modified":"2016-09-30T15:23:19","modified_gmt":"2016-09-30T15:23:19","slug":"how-do-you-keep-your-immune-system-strong","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/flushinghospital.org\/newsletter\/how-do-you-keep-your-immune-system-strong\/","title":{"rendered":"How Do You Keep Your Immune System Strong?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Our immune system protects our bodies from illness and infection. While having a strong immune system is important all year long, there are times of the year that its effectiveness is tested more than other.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/flushinghospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/ThinkstockPhotos-106511276.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-2266 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/flushinghospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/ThinkstockPhotos-106511276-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"body defense\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/flushinghospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/ThinkstockPhotos-106511276-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/flushinghospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/ThinkstockPhotos-106511276-399x300.jpg 399w, https:\/\/flushinghospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/ThinkstockPhotos-106511276.jpg 478w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>With cold a flu season upon us, Flushing Hospital wants to offer some day-to-day lifestyle tips to avoid weakening your immune system and keep you healthy.<\/p>\n<p>STRESS<br \/>\nProlonged periods of intense stress can affect the immune system. Stress causes the brain to boost the production of hormones that weaken the function of the infection-fighting T cells. If you are experiencing high levels of stress, try to adopt stress-relieving activities to boost your immune system.<\/p>\n<p>POOR SLEEP<br \/>\nPoor sleep is strongly associated with a weak immune system as it reduces the number of killer cells needed to fight germs. Recent research has suggested that the amount of flu-fighting antibodies produced was cut in half in those who were sleep deprived.<\/p>\n<p>ALCOHOL<br \/>\nExcessive intake of alcohol may reduce the immune system&#8217;s response to invading pathogens because alcohol contains ingredients that impair lung functionality, making us more prone to viral or bacterial infections.<\/p>\n<p>POOR DIET<br \/>\nExcessive consumption of refined sugars and highly processed food containing pesticides, chemical additives and preservatives can weaken the immune system. In addition, obesity can lead to a weakened immune system as it affects the ability of white blood cells to multiply, produce antibodies and prevent inflammation.<\/p>\n<p>By adopting some healthy lifestyle practices and avoiding certain others, we can give our bodies the best chance of staving of illness this cold and flu season.<\/p>\n<p class=\"disclaimer\">All content of this newsletter is intended for general information purposes only and is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.  Please consult a medical professional before adopting any of the suggestions on this page.   You must never disregard professional medical advice or delay seeking medical treatment based upon any content of this newsletter.<strong>  PROMPTLY CONSULT YOUR PHYSICIAN OR CALL 911 IF YOU BELIEVE YOU HAVE A MEDICAL EMERGENCY.<\/strong> <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Our immune system protects our bodies from illness and infection. While having a strong immune system is important all year long, there are times of the year that its effectiveness is tested more than other. With cold a flu season &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/flushinghospital.org\/newsletter\/how-do-you-keep-your-immune-system-strong\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[510],"tags":[234,601,809,810,574,744,808,21],"class_list":["post-2265","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-lifestyle","tag-stress","tag-alcohol","tag-antibodies","tag-cold-and-flu-season","tag-flu","tag-flushing-hospital","tag-immune-system","tag-sleep"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/flushinghospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2265","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/flushinghospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/flushinghospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flushinghospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flushinghospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2265"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/flushinghospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2265\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2267,"href":"https:\/\/flushinghospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2265\/revisions\/2267"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/flushinghospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2265"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flushinghospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2265"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flushinghospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2265"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}