If you fall sick, this typically means the pathogen have successfully invaded your body and your immune systems has started its job of defending itself. Therefore, keeping a healthy immune system and having dietary habits that boost your immune system is essential.
Food Rich with Vitamins and Minerals
If you are looking to find food that will help you with getting additional vitamins on a daily basis, you need to be looking at the consumption of fruits, nuts and eggs, for example:
Vitamins C is known for helping repair and grow tissue in the body, it also helps the body make collagen and helps with healing wounds while also maintaining healthy bones and teeth. If this is what you feel you are lacking then you need to add more oranges, strawberries, broccoli and kale to your diet.
Vitamin E is essential for keeping a
strong immune system; it also greatly benefits skin and eyes in keeping them healthy. Foods that are rich in Vitamin E are almonds, peanuts, sunflower seeds and oils.
If you are looking to help with your resistance to infections and to produce more antibodies and antigens, you need to increase the foods rich with Vitamin A. Foods like eggs, cod liver oil, milk and fortified cereals are full of Vitamin A.
Not only do you need vitamins in your diet to protect yourself and stay healthy, but minerals are also just as essential. When you are looking to boost the minerals in your diet, you are looking for foods that are full of Selenium and Zinc. Selenium is usually found in the immune tissue, spleen, liver and lymph nodes, and the food you want to boost these minerals include Brazil nuts, fish, eggs (which also include Vitamin A), turkey, chicken and pork.
Zinc can be found in red meats, shellfish and legumes and can help cells in the gastrointestinal tract.
Growing Your Own Food
Not only is growing your vegetables great in this current pandemic for keeping food supplies, helping with your mental health but also an activity that can help you stay busy. Some fantastic foods you can grow in your own garden that help boost your immune system are:
- Garlic – With a high concertation of sulphur, which has the antibiotic property that helps clean your digestive system and eradicates toxins. This smelly food is also perfect to clearing blocked arteries for smooth blood flow.
- Lemons & Oranges – Homegrown lemons and oranges supply you with more electrolytes than any artificial/preserved juice. They are also full of Vitamin C, which we said is excellent for helping your body repair and grow.
- Oil of Oregano – With a combination of antioxidant and anti-inflammatory, oil of Oregano is easy to obtain from the Oregano plant, which is easy to grow in your garden and doesn't require too much maintenance.
Elderberries
This magic berry has had many people swearing by it during the COVID-19 pandemic, saying it has helped with the symptoms. However, it is thought to be known that there are no current tests that say it helps treat or prevent the virus.
Watch How Much You Eat
When it comes to fighting off viruses and flus it's essential you are having a variety of food, this is key to proper nutrition. Make sure you are aware of how much you are eating, that you aren't eating too much of one food and aren't missing out on the goodness of some other foods. It is recommended that you don't have a large intake of just one single vitamin or mineral every day but spread throughout the week.
Other Ways to Boost Your Immune System
Although a great diet is essential for a healthy immune system, you can also follow simple lifestyle strategies to make your immune system healthy:
- Avoid smoking
- Avoid alcohol or keep it to a moderate level
- Plenty of sleep
- Exercise daily
- Carrying out correct hand washing and oral hygiene
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