Academician Zhong Nanshan: During the epidemic, it is very important to protect your immunity!

Reviewer of this article: Chen Haixu, Deputy Director and Master Supervisor of the Second Medical Center of PLA General Hospital

"Whether or not humans will become ill after being infected with pathogens, and the severity of the disease, is the result of the combined effect of two aspects: the number and virulence of the pathogens, and the body's immunity. The occurrence, development, and prognosis of new coronavirus pneumonia are closely related to the body's immune system. The body relies on its own immune system to truly eliminate the new coronavirus." On April 28, at the 2022 World Immunity Week "Unitedly Fight the Epidemic and Build an Immune Barrier" event, Zhong Nanshan, winner of the Medal of the Republic and academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, pointed out in a video speech.

Academician Zhong Nanshan called on everyone to "strengthen their own immunity, maintain a calm state of mind, exercise moderately, improve immunity, strengthen the immune barrier, start from themselves, and better prevent and control the new coronary pneumonia."

Immunity is the best doctor

In our daily life, some people often get headaches and colds when the weather changes suddenly, but some people are not affected at all. In the final analysis, it is still a question of the strength of immunity.

During the same epidemic, in the same environment, some people were infected, while others were safe and sound; among the same COVID-19 patients, some were seriously ill, while others did not even have any symptoms. The reason for this is still closely related to the body's own immunity. It can be said that immunity is the body's own "good doctor".

Wang Guiqiang, a member of the medical treatment expert group of the joint prevention and control mechanism of the State Council and director of the infectious disease department of Peking University First Hospital, said in an interview that when we talk about infectious diseases or infectious diseases, they are all pathogenic microorganisms that enter the body and then cause our body to become ill. There are two aspects to the mechanism of disease: one is the virulence of the virus and bacteria itself, and its virulence determines your outcome; the second is also very important, which is immunity. If the immunity is in a balanced state, it may not be very serious. If it is particularly strong, it may be very serious. If it is particularly weak, it will become chronic.

Professor Wang Guiqiang explained that we always use the word "fighting" to describe the interaction between pathogens and the immune system after they enter the body, so if the pathogen is particularly strong, the siege will be quickly broken and the patient will eventually die. Of course, both sides will perish, and the virus and microorganisms will also disappear.

Professor Wang Guiqiang gave an example, saying that COVID-19 itself is a typical result of the struggle between pathogenic microorganisms and human immunity, leading to various clinical types. For example:

Asymptomatic infection: After infection, there is no symptom of illness. The virus exists in the upper respiratory tract, but the person himself does not have any symptoms.

Mild: There is no pneumonia in mild cases, but there are symptoms of upper respiratory tract infection and a little fever. This is called mild;

Common type: The common type is more typical, with fever, respiratory symptoms, and pneumonia;

Severe and critical cases: There are also severe and critical cases. Some patients suddenly become severe, their condition suddenly worsens, or even problems occur quickly.

Protect your immunity and do these 4 things!

In 2020, Wang Guiqiang, member of the medical treatment expert group of the joint prevention and control mechanism of the State Council and director of the Department of Infectious Diseases of Peking University First Hospital, Wang Lixiang, former director of the Emergency Department of the Third Medical Center of the General Hospital of the People's Liberation Army, and Zhang Wenhong, director of the National Center for Infectious Diseases and director of the Department of Infectious Diseases of Huashan Hospital Affiliated to Fudan University, edited the book "Live Healthy, Immunity is a Good Doctor". They introduced that to protect your immunity, you need to do these 4 things!

1. Good immunity can be developed through “eating”

A person's health is closely related to immunity. If the immunity is normal, the virus will not easily invade. Balanced nutrition is the most basic requirement for healthy people. Eating scientifically and reasonably can help improve one's immunity, otherwise it will be counterproductive.

It is recommended to maintain healthy three meals a day and ensure the intake of four major types of food every day, including cereals and potatoes (grains), vegetables and fruits, proteins (especially high-quality proteins), and fats (including cooking oils and nuts). It is recommended to eat more than 25 kinds of food a week to help ensure balanced nutrition and reasonable combination. At the same time, pay attention to the ratio of protein to carbohydrates and fat in the diet, which can effectively improve immunity.

2. Moderate exercise is a good medicine to protect immunity

The saying "exercise is good medicine" has been around for a long time, and the World Health Organization has included "moderate exercise" in the four cornerstones of health. Exercise helps stimulate and improve immunity, and population statistics studies show that people who exercise regularly have significantly better cellular immune function than those who do not exercise.

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Scientific and appropriate exercise can strengthen the body, but blind exercise will hurt the body, so excessive and tiring exercise is not recommended. It is recommended to adopt easy aerobic exercise, which helps to improve the body's endurance. Running, yoga, Tai Chi, Ba Duan Jin, and golf are all good sports.

Adults can maximize their health benefits by doing 150 to 300 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise, 75 to 150 minutes of high-intensity aerobic exercise, or a combination of these two intensities per week.

3. Good sleep is a natural immune barrier

The Healthy China Action (2019-2030) issued by the Healthy China Action Promotion Committee clearly pointed out that "long-term lack of sleep will increase the risk of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, depression, diabetes and obesity, and damage cognitive function, memory and the immune system."

Therefore, it is recommended that people pay attention to sleep health, ensure adequate sleep time every day, and follow a regular schedule for work, study, entertainment, and rest.

Nowadays, when almost everyone stays up late, sleep has become as precious as a luxury. Good sleep is the natural immune barrier of the human body. If you want to have good immunity, please start with high-quality sleep.

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4. A good and healthy mentality is the guarantee of immunity

People's psychology becomes more complex as they age. The pressure caused by psychological stress affects immunity through the processes of input, evaluation, and response.

After psychological stress generates pressure, the physiology will react and make active adjustments, which to a certain extent helps the body to resist pressure, restore internal stability, and maintain immunity; it may also become the physiological basis for physical illness under long-term stress, resulting in low immunity and susceptibility to disease.

It is recommended that young and middle-aged people arrange their working hours reasonably, do relaxation training every day, vent negative emotions in moderation, maintain contact with the outside world, actively encourage themselves, and improve immunity by adjusting their mental state.

Finally, diet, exercise, psychology, and sleep are important cornerstones of immunity. Maintaining good immunity and health starts with a healthy lifestyle.

Source: Health Times

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