Foods That Strengthen Your Immune System

It’s the season of sharing and caring about flu, colds and protecting your immune system. You want - no, need - to stay healthy and to function for those who depend on you, especially during the winter holidays. While there’s no “healthy pill” that can maintain and enhance your immunity, you can help strengthen your immune system to fight off invaders. On the whole, your immune system does a remarkable job defending off disease-causing microorganisms, but sometimes it will fall short, causing you to become sick. But how can you intervene in this process and strengthen your immune system? What if you improve your diet?   

Focus On Foods

As the old saying goes, “An apple a day keeps the doctor away” may have more truth behind it than you may know. Eating nourishing foods rich in specific vitamins and minerals can help strengthen your immune system. Similar to any fighting force, the immune system relies on its stomach. Eating enough nutrients as a part of a varied diet is required to maintain the health and function of all cells, including your immune system. Each body’s immune response stage relies on multiple nutrients, including antioxidants, probiotics, and healthy fatty acids. Diets that are limited in variety and are lower in nutrients, such as diets consisting of access to processed foods, can leave your immune system weak and even cause harm. So, what foods should you include in your daily diet?

Antioxidants

Antioxidants are potent compounds created to defend your body from reprehensible, DNA-attacking free radicals. Both normal cellular functions and external stressors such as UV rays, cigarette smoke, and environmental pollution can trigger the production of free radicals. These highly reactive substances can cause damage to our bodies leading to inflammation. Antioxidants bind to free radicals and suppress their damage. 

Whole plant foods such as fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds are rich in nutrients and antioxidants that provide you a means of defense against these harmful pathogens. 

Vitamin C
Vitamin C is one of the most effective antioxidants, having a positive effect on virtually every aspect of your immune system. Vitamin C helps boost immunity by identifying and fighting bacterial infections, viruses, and diseases. Since your body can’t produce vitamin C, a plentiful supply must come from your diet. For most people, the first food that comes to mind with vitamin C is orange juice. But juice often has a lot of sugar, and incorporating natural foods with vitamin C is more beneficial. Therefore, it is essential to load your diet with citrus fruits, peppers, strawberries, broccoli, and tomatoes.

If you struggle to include certain food containing vitamin C within your diet or you’re not getting enough, supplements are a great alternative.  OurLiposomal Vitamin C Liquid Gel has a liposomal shell around the Vitamin C molecule, which helps the body absorb much higher doses of Vitamin C, and much faster. This advanced technique provides you with maximum absorption and high bioavailability! 

Probiotics

Fatty Acids

Fatty acids, such as omega-3’s, help regulate the immune and metabolic system and control the inflammatory responses, increasing the number of white blood cells. White blood cells are responsible for fighting off pathogens. Vital to maintaining our health, white blood cells identify abnormalities and kill cells infected by bacteria, eradicate cancer cells, activate other immune cells, and protect our bodies against autoimmune diseases. Therefore, it is essential to consume healthy fats to benefit our immune health positively. So, what are healthy sources of unsaturated fatty acids?

It is necessary to incorporate fatty acids such as omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids into your diet to strengthen your immune system. Plant-based foods such as walnuts, chia seeds, flax seeds, beans, cabbage, and seaweed are all rich in linoleic acid and optimal fatty acid resources.  

Iron

Iron plays an essential role in strengthening both your first and secondary immune responses. It promotes hemoglobin, which provides oxygen to damaged cells, tissues, and organs to help fight diseases and infections. Therefore, low iron can impair immune function and the overall healing process. A diet containing too little iron can cause anemia and weaken the immune system. Foods rich in iron include red meat, poultry, fish, and shellfish. If you are a vegetarian, there is no fear. You can still find iron in beans, broccoli, kale, and iron-fortified cereals.

Vitamin A

Vitamin A, sometimes referred to as the “anti-infection vitamin,” plays a vital role in maintaining your body’s natural defenses. Specifically, vitamin A creates mucus barriers that surround your eyes, lungs, gut, and genitals to trap bacteria, viral, and parasitic infections. It is also essential in the production and function of your white blood cells, which means that vitamin A deficiency can increase your susceptibility to infections and delay your recovery process.  

Vitamin A is an infection-fighter that comes in two forms: preformed, such as in animal foods, or carotenoids from plants. A great source of preformed Vitamin A can come from Tuna. However, it is best to go colorful in carotenoid Vitamin A. Plant-based foods such as carrots, sweet potatoes, cantaloupe, or butternut squash are packed full of Vitamin A. 

Closing

It is essential to eat various foods rich in vitamins and minerals that can help your strength and maintain a healthy immune system. Each stage of your body’s immune system relies on multiple nutrients, including antioxidants, probiotics, and healthy fatty acids. Limiting your diet leaves your body weak to intrusive harmful bacteria, especially during flu season. If you struggle to include certain foods within your diet or you’re not getting enough essential vitamins or minerals, supplements are a great alternative. 

It hard to find genuinely non-GMO products, that have no preservatives, don’t use artificial ingredients, and are genuinely beneficial to keep your body in tip-top shape. Our main priority at Supplements Studio is to help people increase their energy levels and be physically healthier. That is why oursupplements are made with only the highest quality, most natural, whole-food ingredients. If you are struggling to include these vital nutrients into your daily diet try ourWhole Food Multivitamin Plus With Iron. We want to help keep you healthy and functioning for those who depend on you, especially during these winter holidays