This time of year always brings out the “new year, new me” resolutions, often consisting of improved diets and fitness regimes, and experts say keeping our immune system in good shape is even more important amid the COVID threat.

Brisbane woman Donna Dyson said since the pandemic her lifestyle had “dramatically changed”.

“My lifestyle has changed in the way I’m eating, the way that I’m exercising, and also just being mindful of the wash the hands and the routines we all have to go through,” she said.

Ms Dyson is legally blind and had a number of strokes. She said she didn’t consider herself “sporty” so an exercise regime was a whole new experience for her.

“It’s been the most wonderful lifestyle choice I’ve made,” she said.

“I attend the gym every second or third day and I have a beautiful team there who work with me and I’m certainly much more balanced now and growing a lot stronger.

“I think it’s really important to make a change, and the new year is coming soon, and there’s always New Year’s resolutions, but sometimes we don’t follow through with those.

“We will be exposed to the virus and I think it’s really important we ensure we do everything we can do while we’re well; I’m not saying we’re all going to get sick, but I just think everyone should wake up in the morning and be the best person they can be.”

The first step toward a stronger immune system

Senior Lecturer at the Primary Care Clinical Unit at the University of Queensland, Dr David King, said exercise for even 30 minutes a day would do a world of good to the immune system.

He said a strong immune system would not prevent a person contracting COVID but decades of research had proven people with healthier immune systems were much less prone to getting colds and flus, and they recovered faster.

“There’s no magic cures really, people are looking for a holy grail, but the immune system is very complex, it’s like an army — it has many functions,” he said.

“We can assist it with lots of general health measures — it’s the things we already know — but it doesn’t hurt to be reminded about good diet, exercise, good sleep and being happy.”

Brisbane exercise scientist Luke Glacken said it was also easy for people to go overboard and fatigue their bodies.

“We actually see that a lot, where people decide they’re going to jump in and they don’t really know what they’re doing to start off with, and they try to go hell for leather and that’s the quickest way you burn out right at the start,” he said.

“Make sure you see a professional, make sure to get something tailored specifically to you, and that way the exercise you are doing is beneficial.

“I think just getting moving, getting up off the couch and making the most of everyday is the best place to start.”

Have you had two fruits and five veggies today?

Brisbane dietician Hannah Wilson said many people sold their immune systems short.

“A lot of us aren’t nourishing our bodies as best as we could, as consistently as we could,” she said.

“What we want to see is increasing your veggies, increasing your whole grains over time and eating the right portions.”

She said it was important not to skip any food groups, including carbohydrates.

“For probably two reasons when it comes to immune function: not actually getting enough energy in our bodies, which is also associated with immune function so we do actually need to meet our energy requirements,” she said.

“If we’re actually living in a deficit all the time trying to cut out carbs, that’s actually going to be worse off for our immune function.

“The second reason is carbohydrates actually go hand-in-hand with fibre. So if we’re eating high quality carbs like whole grains, fruits, legumes, and starchy vegetables, then that’s actually going to give us a wide variety of different fibres.

“So if we cut out carbs, we don’t get the opportunity to get those fibres in.”

What about ‘immune boosting’ supplements?

Ms Wilson said immune boosting supplements don’t really do anything in already healthy people, and Dr King agreed.

“[For gut health] it’s about plant diversity and fibre quantity.

“When it comes to fibre quantity, we want to be hitting around 30 grams of fibre each day.

“[But] we don’t want to be eating the same fruits, the same veggies, the same whole grains each day, we actually want to be hitting 30 different plant foods a week, so it’s quite a lot, which this is why I don’t think people are maximising their gut health or their immune function.

“It’s easy for the grocery list, it’s easy for the meal planning but it’s as simple as, instead of buying a lettuce, buy the four salad mix. Rather than buying one tin of chickpeas, buy the four beans mix, or mixed nuts versus cashews, so little swaps like that can really help.”

Dr King said research on the Mediterranean diet had been found to be beneficial.

“Lots of fresh fruits and veggies and salads and tomato and all of those antioxidants,” he said.

“And that’s linked to decreased heart problems and cancers and actually improves mood.”

Ms Wilson said it was hard to say whether there was a benefit to taking probiotics.

“If you’re looking after your body you probably aren’t going to benefit from probiotics,” she said.

“If you have been living on quite a high-processed diet, there’s not much fibre in there, not much plant foods, you probably could benefit, and that can actually help your immune function.”

What about sleep?

Dr King said the recommended “ideal” amount of sleep was seven to eight hours a night.

“Research shows that we’re getting about an hour’s sleep less than a generation ago, BC — before computers,” he said.

“The need for sleep varies from person to person. Some people might need more, some people get by on less.

“Very often our health status is reflected on how we feel and if we’re pushing ourselves, we know we’re not getting enough sleep.”

Giving our immune system a break

Dr King said it was important not to challenge our immune system by eating too much unhealthy food, including excessive amounts of meat, and keeping count on our calorie intake.

“When you put things in the body that it doesn’t like, it triggers an immune response and causes inflammation,” he said.

“Likewise when there’s too many refined things in our food, we’re probably reacting to some of those and there’s good evidence that excessive meat everyday, hundreds of grams, for meals, increases your risk of diabetes and bowel cancer.

“We know obesity has a huge impact on outcomes when you get COVID so losing some weight, will make a big difference in helping us survive COVID.

“It’s not ‘boosting’ our immune system, it’s giving it a break so it’s ready to go when it needs to.”