How Exercise Can Boost Your Immunity

What’s worse than being in a pandemic with no end in sight? If your answer is to be in a pandemic with no end in sight during the peak of the flu season, you read my mind! 

Actually, what’s even worse is having a family with young children and two working adults, then daycare gets shut down for a week because another child tested positive for COVID. Trust me, it’s no fun trying to convince two kicking and screaming toddlers to let you swab the inside of their noses when they don’t want you to. 

Although getting a co-infection involving COVID and the flu—nicknamed "flurona"—is rare, it’s becoming more of a possibility as the flu picks up steam. I don’t know about you, but getting COVID or the flu sounds bad enough by itself. The thought of having flurona sounds brutal.

Luckily, there are ways to safely, effectively, and naturally boost your immunity to protect against viral infections such as COVID and the flu. Moderate intensity exercise is one solution and has a good amount of scientific research supporting it. So whether you’re looking to protect against a seasonal disease, or just want to naturally boost your immune system year-round, here are some key tips.

How exercise boosts the immune system

It’s well known that physical activity is an important part of healthy living. Exercise can prevent excess weight gain, combat chronic diseases, improve mood, and promote better sleep, just to name a few of the benefits. 

What’s not as well known are the benefits of physical exercise in reducing communicable disease, including viral infections such as covid and the flu. The general consensus in a branch of research known as exercise immunology is that the immune system is responsive to exercise. 

Without getting into too much unnecessary detail, research shows that moderate intensity exercise stimulates immune function in a way that can reduce the risk, duration, or severity of viral infections such as COVID and the flu. About 150 minutes of moderate intensity exercise a week seems to be optimal for...

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