One of our daughters has often chided me through the years about how I think exercise and nutrition are the answers to any malady of which she may complain, be it is physical or emotional. It’s funny to a point…I guess having a mom who is a fitness professional might just have its occasional annoying side. The truth is, I actually do believe this to be true. Despite the fact that I was raised by a pharmacist, I am not one to automatically jump on medications at the first sign of impending illness.

As it turns out, I am not alone in this camp.  According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), regular exercise is a vital part of supporting our immune health. Their abundant research reveals that physical activity flushes bacteria out of our lungs and rids the body of unwanted toxins by increasing waste, such as sweat and urine. The accompanying increase in core body temperature as we work out may even have the potential to keep many bacterial strains from gaining a stronghold on our systems.

Along with these benefits, it appears that pushing your body to meet new physical demands increases circulation of your bloodstream’s amazing white blood cells. These are our disease-fighting blood cells, and exercise may actually encourage the cells to detect disease earlier. 

As many of us have no doubt already observed, exercise is a wonderful way to reduce stress in our lives – and who among us doesn’t have that? Alleviating stress levels has been shown to lower the body’s risk of contracting illness. That sounds like a win-win situation to me.

Admittedly, I may not be totally holistic; I do embrace medications when a situation is serious enough to warrant their unique capabilities. However, overall I am a big proponent of working out: as in, working to escort potential unwanted illness out of the body. This is one aspect of nature that you can control; empower the ‘U’ in immunity!