IMMUNE BOOSTING FOODS

By: Lucia Dicesare

Supporting the immune system is not about taking one supplement or avoiding certain foods.

There is no quick fix. It’s about a comprehensive strategy to provide your body with what it needs to function at its best.

Poor diet, stress, lack of sleep and too little exercise all have an effect on your well-being and can lower the body’s ability to fight infections and viruses. What can you do? 

1. EAT A BALANCED DIET

• “Eat the Rainbow” is the best way to introduce more nutrient-rich fruits and vegetables. By doing this, you ensure a variety of vitamins and minerals, which are the catalysts for all body functions, especially for the immune system.
• Consuming healthy proteins provide essential amino acids that are the building blocks of the immune system.
• Don’t be afraid to eat complex carbs, like grains and legumes, as they provide substantial energy that the body needs to function properly.

Ideally, you should choose to buy organic. Lowering your exposure to toxic chemicals is just one way to lower inflammation and take some pressure off the body and the immune system.

Nutrients the immune system loves:

• Essential Fatty Acids: chia, flax, hemp, cold-water fish, such as salmon and tuna, butter, eggs, raw nuts and seeds
• Vitamin A-Rich Foods: eggs, butter, cod liver oil, sweet potatoes, carrots, tuna, squash, spinach and other green leafy vegetables
• Vitamin C–Rich Foods: citrus fruits, carrots, kiwi, bell peppers, tomatoes, strawberries and other berries, broccoli and cabbage
• Vitamin E-Rich Foods: olive oil, avocados, sunflower seeds, walnuts, salmon, turnip greens and mangos
• Vitamin D-Rich Foods: cod liver oil, salmon, mushrooms, milk or fortified milk substitutes and eggs
• Zinc-Rich Foods: meats, lentils and legumes, dairy products, vegetables, oysters, sesame seeds, cashews and other nuts, chocolate and cocoa, baker’s and brewer’s yeast

2. IMPROVE GUT HEALTH 

The gut, and the good bacteria that reside there, is a major player for a healthy immune system. You can’t be healthy without a healthy gut. Unfortunately, it’s complicated, but there are foods and supplements that can help. If you need a more comprehensive strategy, you can always work with a health practitioner. 

Improving gut health is essential for a healthy immune system. The simplest way to start, is to feed your gut the food that good bacteria loves and remove the food it doesn’t. Fortunately, the good bacteria, just like the immune system, love foods that are full of nutrients. That’s not a coincidence.

Here are some examples of foods that help the gut:

• Probiotic and/or fermented foods: cultured vegetables, miso, tempeh, sourdough, sauerkraut, kimchi, kefir, yogurt, kombucha
• Raw honey contains 10 strains of good bacteria and has antimicrobial properties
• Good quality probiotic supplements can be used if you are not keen on the above food sources.

3. REDUCE INFLAMMATION

When the immune system fights pathogenic bacteria or viruses, many elements come into play to neutralize the problem. Inflammation, either localized or throughout the body, is part of the tools your immune system uses to help fight anything it sees as harmful to you. Sometimes, it’s wrong, as in the case of allergy or autoimmunity. And sometimes, it’s right, as in the case of viruses and pathogens.  

Too much inflammation can cause severe damage, therefore, controlling inflammation is important. Many people are chronically inflamed. Should they contract a virus or bacterial infection, even more inflammation is going to occur, increasing the risk of a serious outcome. For example, if there is too much inflammation in the lung, breathing can be impaired, which can be life-threatening. 

There are many foods that have been studied to have anti-inflammatory properties. It is a good idea to include some of these in your diet to help keep the immune system strong:

• Herbs and spices: turmeric, ginger, cinnamon, garlic, cloves, black pepper, cayenne pepper, sage, rosemary, basil, peppermint, coriander and cilantro/coriander
• Many vegetables have phytonutrients that are anti-inflammatory: tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, broccoli, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, kale, bok choy, carrots, cauliflower and asparagus
• Many fruits have anti-inflammatory phytonutrients: berries, pineapples, papaya, citrus fruits, apples, cherries, avocado and sea buckthorn

Along with these three dietary strategies, it is also important to implement techniques to reduce stress and ensure you get a good night’s sleep. Adding some daily exercise can accomplish that as well as improving circulation, which allows your cells and the immune system to function better. It can be a simple as going for a walk.

Trying new foods can be fun. If you are not sure where to start or need some food inspiration, you can find me here: www.simplyhealthyliving.ca 

Photo By: Dan Gold