4 Ways to Boost Your Immune System
4 Ways to Boost Your Immune System
With all of the news that is currently circulating, it’s easy to feel powerless when it comes to warding off dangerous viruses. While yes, the Coronavirus is very alarming, there ARE things that we can all do to strengthen our immune systems now, in order to better prevent future illnesses. Last year, we published this blog about tips to strengthen your immune system during Cold + Flu season. Last year's blog focused mainly dietary choices, helpful supplements, and environment, but today, we are going to delve into four immune-boosting modalities that will keep your immune system functioning optimally when it matters most!
Whole Body Cryotherapy
Photobiomodulation
Lymphatic Drainage
Oxygen Training
Additionally, we are implementing a few changes at Cryo Recovery that we hope will ease any anxieties that you may have about COVID-19, including: sanitation protocols, hand cleaning stations, surface protectants, and more. Please know that we take this outbreak very seriously, and your safety is our top priority!
Whole Body Cryotherapy Benefits
Whole Body Cryotherapy is probably the quickest way to give your immune system a boost. This week, we posted a video about HOW this modality can strengthen immunity, in order to ward off potential infections (linked here). Whole Body Cryotherapy has been shown to boost the body’s natural immune response through five major ways: 1) increasing blood circulation 2) boosting cellular activity 3) removing toxins 4) increasing white blood cell count and 5) decreasing cortisol levels.
Increases Blood Circulation: During your Cryo session, your body sends all of your blood to the core, in order to protect your vital organs. During this process, the blood circulates internally, becoming rich in both oxygen and nutrients. After your session, your blood vessels begin the process of vasodilation, where all of the new, fresh blood is released to your extremities. This enhanced blood flow assists in cellular function, growth, and organ function--all things that can positively impact the immune system.
Boosts Cellular Activity: As stated above, Whole Body Cryo increases blood circulation, which in turn, promotes efficient cell growth and organ function. When our cells are functioning optimally, all of our body's systems benefit.
Removes Toxins from the Body: Building on what we discussed regarding blood circulation, Whole Body Cryotherapy has been shown to aid the body in toxin removal. Increased blood flow and organ functioning can drastically increase the body's ability to flush out waste products.
Increases White Blood Cell Count: Lovingly referred to as our body's soldiers, white blood cells are our body's main line of defense against infections. Cryotherapy has been shown to increase the amount of these vital cells, while also elevating anti-inflammatory chemicals which help reduce systemic inflammation.
Decreases Cortisol: Cortisol is a hormone that is widely associated with high stress levels. Higher levels of cortisol can be detrimental to the body's systems. Since elevated cortisol levels are inextricably linked to compromised immunity, it is important to keep cortisol low. Whole Body Cryotherapy has been shown to release massive amounts of endorphins, which are known to reduce cortisol levels.
Photobiomodulation Therapy (PBMT) Benefits
Photobiomodulation is a form of light therapy that is used to improve tissue repair, reduce pain and inflammation, and expedite healing throughout the body. It has been studied extensively for decades on a wide variety of conditions, ailments, and purposes. Originally used by NASA to combat the ill effects of traveling in space, Photobiomodulation was shown to help astronauts with muscular and bone atrophy associated with space travel, as it was able to stimulate ATP production in cells that required healing. When it comes to the body's immune system, Photobiomodulation does a few major things:
Stimulates ATP Production: ATP, or adenosine triphosphate, is a complex organic chemical that provides energy to drive many processes in living cells. Increased ATP production supports every single component of the human body, including mitochondrial health. Many researchers have studied the link between mitochondrial health and immune function, and the findings demonstrate that increased ATP production benefits the immune system. See more here and here.
Reduces Oxidative Stress: For those who aren't familiar, oxidative stress is an imbalance between free radicals and antioxidants in your body. While not ALL oxidative stress is detrimental, long term oxidative stress can wreak havoc on the body's cells, proteins, and DNA. Long term oxidative stress has been linked to chronic inflammation, neurodegenerative diseases, age-related illnesses, and yes, compromised immunity. Photobiomodulation has been shown to reduce oxidative stress in the body, and can actually REPAIR existing damage.
Fights Inflammation: If you've been around for a while, then you know that we are all about fighting inflammation. Because inflammation has been linked to nearly every disease in existence, we believe that inflammation reduction should be on every person's radar. Furthermore, since chronic inflammation suppresses our immune systems, making sure that our inflammatory levels are low this time of year is definitely important!
Lymphatic Drainage Benefits
Did you know that the lymphatic system is the most important (yet most overlooked) system of the human body? The lymphatic system plays an integral role in immune function. In fact, most say that it is the body's first line of defense against disease. The lymphatic system is a network of vessels and nodes that transports and filters lymph fluid. This fluid contains a variety of components, including your body's defenses: antibodies and lymphocytes, along with potential pathogens and foreign invaders. Lymphatic Drainage at Cryo Recovery can:
Flush Toxins + Metabolic Waste: we ALL have toxins inside of our bodies. While the idea of accumulating environmental toxins and metabolic waste isn't ideal, it is especially concerning when we consider how much of a burden this waste may be when trying to ward off illnesses. Stimulating the lymphatic system through Lymphatic Drainage aids in the flushing of these toxins, which can help keep your body healthy and strong.
Stimulate the Immune System: increasing lymphatic flow throughout the body allows for the lymphatic system to work as designed. As described above, the lymphatic system is the body's first line of defense against potential invaders, so when this system is functioning optimally, the body's immune system benefits greatly.
Enhance Cellular Health: an optimized lymphatic system yields optimized cellular health. Lymphatic Drainage facilities in cellular oxygenation, thereby facilitating in cellular proliferation. Cells die without oxygen, so keeping oxygen levels high in the body eliminates the risk of cell death and system failure.
Oxygen Training Benefits
It’s no secret—our bodies depend on oxygen for nearly every single biological process. Just as we can become dehydrated or malnourished, our bodies can become deficient in oxygen. In fact, experts have found that by the time we are 60 years old, some of our bodies have been oxygen deficient for up to a decade! Our Adaptive Contrast O2 system combines the science-backed benefits of Oxygen Therapy with intermittent bouts of hypoxic training to maximize the therapeutic benefit. This system enables us to alternate between oxygen rich and oxygen reduced air, which can:
Enhance Organ + Tissue Function: oxygen surplus (hyperoxia) shuts circulation down while oxygen depletion (hypoxia) activates circulation. Alternating between these two environments allows for maximum circulation AND the super saturation of oxygen throughout the body. This enables the body's organs and tissues to return to optimal functioning.
Expedite Healing + Recovery: O2 Training reduces inflammation throughout the body, which can aid in recovery from both illness and injury. Adaptive Contrast Training can also force metabolic waste out of the body, which further strengthens the integrity of all of our systems. See more about metabolic waste and immune functioning in the section above.
Reduce the Probability of Future Illnesses: since anaerobic viruses, bacteria, and fungi are unable to live in an oxygen-rich environment, this modality can help to fortify the body's line of defense. During bouts of hyperoxia, oxygen saturation increases by as much as 400%, which makes it increasingly difficult for pathogens to set up camp in your body.
The best part? Our Oxygen Training system delivers oxygen flow rates that meet (or exceed) the researched levels required to reach therapeutic results in just 15 minutes!
Cryo Recovery is taking the COVID-19 outbreak very seriously. While much information is yet to be determined, we are taking every precaution to ensure your safety while at our store. We have implemented a series of enhanced sanitation protocols, and will be rolling out a few additional practices that we hope will bring you peace of mind. If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions for us, please feel free to let us know!