It is always best to take care of yourself and make sure that you do not get sick. Many people believe that eating a lot can help boost the immunity; however, eating to make immunity stronger is not merely about consuming a lot of fresh juice or vitamin C. The best thing to do is to improve the ability of the body to fight infections. In order to do this, we have to learn about the physiological system that is responsible for immune responses and the essential nutrients that it needs to be always at their best. This boils down to creating a strong lifestyle and dietary habits to help fight infections, viruses and as well as stress. Some of the essential nutrients included in boosting immunity are protein-rich food, amino acids and some vitamins like A, C, E, zinc, probiotics, and prebiotics. Check out value q, it offers vitamins, Omega 3 and probiotics at great discounts.
Simple Guide in Boosting Your Immune System
Superfoods – People tend to think of food with vitamins when trying to keep away from harmful bacteria that they forget to involve zinc and iron on their diet. If you like meat then you have to consume it three times every week so you will always have high iron levels needed to boost your immune system.
If you are not into meat, then make sure you eat legumes that are rich in iron every day. Also, involve some cereals and wholegrain bread. Spinach is also rich in iron so you can also have this every day together with a vitamin C source. Some fruits and vegetables that are rich in vitamin C are tomatoes, capsicum, and sweet potato. Zinc is also very essential in helping your immune system and you can find this in nuts, shellfish, meat, and pumpkin seeds.
Healthy Gut – The health of your gut greatly affects the function of the immune system.
Nowadays, we put so much stress on our guts by living a modern life. We eat a lot of processed food, drink too many antibiotics and these put a lot of pressure on our guts. We can make our gut healthy by including prebiotics and probiotics in our diet. Probiotics have good bacteria and some of these can be found in fermented greens drink, yogurts and fermented vegetables like kimchi.
On the other hand, Prebiotics are the ones that feed the good bacteria in our gut. Eat foods that are rich in fiber like leeks, asparagus, lentils, beans, onions, and artichokes. Probiotics and prebiotics in the diet will keep your gut healthy. There are some sites like value q which offer probiotics at a great discount.
Vitamin C – Taking vitamin C can help reduce symptoms of colds. Do not also forget to eat vitamin C-rich foods like berries, oranges, tomatoes, kiwi fruit, broccoli, and red capsicums.
The recommended intake of vitamin C daily is 40mg, but there is no harm in doubling the dose by eating citrus fruits or berries.
Soup – Most people still believe in soup’s healing power. Homemade soup is the best when it comes to improving the immune system. This is because it has a lot of water and nutrients. Chicken bones also have this immune system benefit. Based on the research conducted by the American Journal of Therapeutics the carnosine that is found in the chicken soup helps improve the immune system by fighting against flu.
Avoid Fast Food – If you want to have a strong immune system, limit your fast food buying. It is not only about the food that we eat but also about the food that we avoid.
These kinds of food weaken immunity against bacteria and infections. According to research at Bonn University, fast food can make the immune system react to bacterial infection, similar to that when it is infected by bacteria. Consuming fast food regularly will just leave you at great risk of developing some chronic diseases like diabetes.
Healthy Oils – Omega 3 fats have the best anti-inflammatory benefit and it has been known to help improve the immune function.
Proven Supplements – There are a lot of supplements that are claiming they help boost the immune system. There are a lot of supplements like ArtemiC that are claiming they help boost the immune system. One of these is garlic which is known to have antibiotic ingredients.
It can treat high blood pressure, infections, and colds. If you combine it with vitamin D it will help stimulate macrophages production which is also called immune cells. You will be able to enhance its benefits by eating garlic raw or even in capsules and then catching some sunlight every morning.
Another common herb that helps cure the flu and colds is Echinacea. You may take 3g of this each day. You may also take olive leaf extract that is known to have antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties.
Return to Basics – Always keep yourself hydrated, even in cooler weather when you are not that inclined to drink more liquid. The immune system is greatly affected by dehydration. Any kind of condition like runny nose or congestion will get worse if the body is dehydrated. Focus on getting a lot of water. This is probably the simplest way to help boost immunity. It may be plain water, infused tea, herbal tea, vegetable juice or even fruit juice, these are all good options.
Rest – Do not underestimate the power of getting enough rest. If you will notice, we tend to get sick if we are busy or exhausted or if we are not eating properly. Sleep is the best way to get enough rest. Sleep has been known to have the best effect in the immune system. So if you are not feeling well, get plenty of rest.
