“Why do I keep getting colds?”
If that question keeps coming up every few weeks, you are not alone. Some people catch every virus in the air, while others make it through colds season without a single sniffle.
Frequent colds can signal that your body is not recovering properly, your immune response is off, or that daily stress and poor sleep are dragging your defences down. In our years of experience working with macrophage-activating factors (MAF), we have identified common patterns behind recurring colds and how supporting macrophage activity helps bring the immune system back into balance.
In this blog, you will learn the most common reasons why you keep getting sick and how MAF plays a key role in helping your immune system respond more effectively to illness.
Top 5 Reasons You Keep Getting Sick
Cold-causing viruses (often rhinoviruses) spread through airborne droplets and by touching contaminated surfaces. Once they enter your body, they trigger an immune response that appears in the form of a runny nose, sore throat, or sneezing.
However, catching a cold frequently doesn’t necessarily mean you get exposed to these viruses often. Instead, it could mean your immune system isn’t effectively stopping them. This can happen due to one of the following reasons:
1. You Don’t Sleep Enough
Research indicates that people who sleep less than six to seven hours at night are four times more likely to catch a cold when exposed to a virus.
Sleep is your body’s way of recuperating, especially when you’re sick. So when you don’t sleep enough, your body’s defence mechanisms are weakened, and natural killer cells become less active.
Insufficient sleep can also increase pro-inflammatory cytokines, which make you more vulnerable to infections and slow down recovery. Over time, this creates a state where your body is constantly playing catch-up, never fully clearing viruses before the next one hits.
Notice how you feel sleepy when you’re sick? That’s your body telling you to slow down. So the next time you feel groggy, take that as a sign that your body needs the extra snooze to fully recover.
2. You’re Stressed Out
Cortisol — also known as the stress hormone — can be useful in small, controlled doses. During brief periods of stress or infection, it helps regulate inflammation and ensures your body has enough energy to respond.
But when cortisol stays elevated for too long, as it does with chronic stress, it starts doing more harm than good.
Ironically, extended long-term cortisol increase elevates inflammation as the body becomes less sensitive to its effects. High levels of cortisol weaken immune responses, reducing antibody production and leaving fewer immune cells (lymphocytes) ready to fight off infections.
3. Your Diet Is Missing Key Nutrients
The nutrients in our daily diet fuel the immune response. Like any engine, a lack of fuel can cause the immune system to weaken.
Even mild deficiencies in vitamins C, D, and zinc can significantly impair immunity. These nutrients support barrier functions, antiviral responses, and cytokine regulation.
Besides eating more food rich in these vitamins and minerals, you can also strengthen your body’s defences by taking supplements. If you’re not sure which one to choose, our blog on how to determine the best supplements to boost your immune system can help.
4. You Lack Physical Activity
Exercise is good for you, and that’s a fact.
The general consensus remains the same: maintaining an active lifestyle can help keep the sniffles away, even as the debate about the negative effects of intense and prolonged physical activity on the immune system continues.
To be safe, keep your physical activity moderate but consistent. This can be at least 30 minutes of aerobic exercise (e.g., leisure running, bicycling, or brisk walking) or playing golf regularly.
5. You Have Gut or Nasal Health Issues
You’re probably wondering: “What does the gut and nasal microbiome have to do with why I catch a cold easily?”
Studies found evidence of a direct correlation between gut health and immunity. In fact, about 70 to 80 per cent of the immune system resides in the gut, making it an important factor that doctors now consider when treating viral and bacterial illnesses.
Meanwhile, the nasal passages serve as the body’s first line of defence against airborne viruses. When you have a healthy nasal microbiome, there is a lower chance that harmful pathogens can spread in the body. In contrast, any disruptions here, which range from pollution and smoking to chronic sinus issues, can weaken your defences and make it easier for cold viruses to take hold.
Check Your Immune Resilience
Why am I always getting sick?
If you’re still asking yourself this question, take our immunity quiz to understand how strong your immune system is. This will allow you to identify what you need to focus on to improve your defences.
How MAF Can Help: Immune Support in Capsule, Lolly, or Powder Form
Besides your usual immune-boosting vitamins, you can also increase your defences against colds with MAF supplements.
As discussed in our previous blogs, MAF (or macrophage-activating factor) triggers the production of macrophages in the body. Known as the cleaner cells of the immune system, macrophages perform various roles that can help keep you from catching colds all the time:
- Memory for Immunity: They help the immune system “remember” past infections so that it is better prepared should the same virus enter the body again.
- Cellular Cleanup: They trigger programmed cell death (apoptosis) for a clean cellular turnover after an infection, preventing the spread of the disease.
- Gut Protection: They support a balanced gut microbiome, preventing it from being overrun by bad bacteria.
- Enhanced Immune Surveillance: Macrophage activation supports microglia production, which helps improve immune surveillance so that killer cells can act quickly and rid the body of the infection.
Support macrophage activity through GcMAF capsules, lollies, or powder supplements, and give your immune system the boost it needs to lower your risk of catching a cold.
Break the Cycle of Frequent Colds
Having a good grasp of why you keep getting sick is the first step in tackling frequent colds. Address lifestyle factors like sleep, stress, and nutrition and support your immune system with MAF to restore balance and enhance your body’s defences. The right approach lets you break the cycle, so you can start feeling healthier, more resilient, and less prone to illness.
Author
Dr Toshio Inui
Doctor, expert in internal medicine and worldwide authority on GcMAF treatments, Dr. Inui is the visiting professor at Kagoshima University. He has dedicated his career to developing innovative treatments using MAF, and has 22 research works and 266 citations into macrophage activating factors.