Whether you live in Auburn, WA, or any other place in the United States, the importance of having a strong immune system is extremely important. A healthy diet is part of improving immunity, but many people don’t understand exactly what a healthy diet entails. In broad terms, it’s eating more healthy whole foods, avoiding processed foods and foods with added sugar. You can even make food selections that have nutrients, which will specifically boost your immunity.
You’ll get vitamins and minerals from whole foods.
You need to select the right food to ensure your diet contains all nutrients. Stick with whole foods for maximum benefits. Citrus fruit, red and green bell peppers, broccoli and strawberries are high in vitamin C, an antioxidant that boosts the immune system. Lean red meat, shellfish and legumes are high in zinc, another immune booster. Vitamin E, found in almonds, hazelnuts, sunflower seeds and peanuts contain vitamin E, which is critical for healthy immune functioning. The vitamin A in carrots and sweet potatoes is also an infection-fighter.
It’s more than just vitamins and minerals necessary for a strong immune system.
You can’t just take a vitamin supplement and expect to stay healthy if your meal consists of Snickers, fries and a milk shake. It’s not just because of all the sugar that such a meal contains, it’s also about what’s missing. While you’ll get some benefit from the supplement, you’ll be missing many of the phytonutrients that you get from plants. Phytonutrients, which include polyphenols, resveratrol, flavonoids, carotenoids, limonoids and anthocyanins are just a few. One study showed the anthocyanins found in elderberries have the same effect as Tamiflu for fighting off not only the flu, but also inhibiting the H1N1 Swine flu virus. You’ll boost the healthy bacteria in your gut, which plays a big role in immunity, by consuming fermented foods like yogurt and sauerkraut.
If you can’t get adequate sunshine daily, eat vitamin D rich foods.
You’ll get a lot of vitamin D from safe sunning, but if you live further north, it’s impossible during the winter months. Vitamin D, important to the immune system, is harder to get from plant sources and more prevalent in fatty fish, eggs and fortified products, but mushrooms are one plant source. Mushrooms are often sited in traditional Chinese medicine and their properties are still being studied and utilized.
- Folate is an important nutrient for the immune system that has been added to enriched rice, pasta and bread in the synthetic form, folic acid. Beans, beans, lentils, leafy greens and avocado are natural sources.
- You need iron for many different functions of the immune system. Heme iron, from animal sources, is the easiest for the body to absorb. It comes from red meat, chicken, mostly shellfish, sardines and tuna. Other sources of iron include kale, beans, and broccoli.
- If you want to prevent infection, eat food high in selenium, like seafood, meat and liver, cottage cheese, poultry and Brazil nuts. Just one Brazil nut contains 100% of the daily requirement.
- Sometimes, the most important part of a healthy diet is not what you eat, but what you don’t eat. Skipping food with added sugar and highly processed foods that can cause inflammation, a precursor of many diseases, helps prevent damage that weakens the immune system.
For more information, contact us today at Targeted Nutrition Technologies
