A weak or compromised immune system can open the door to a multitude of ills, and complicate serious conditions such as heart disease and cancer. But you can protect your immune system by eating certain foods. Today, we’ll look at nutritionists’ top picks…
Yes… Garlic is the number one food recommended by doctors and
nutritionists to help you strengthen your immune system.
Hate the taste? Well… You can’t have everything…
Spring is one of the peak times in the year for colds, flu and other such aggravations. It’s all the more important to have a strong, healthy immune system. And it turns out that keeping it that way is as easy as eating certain foods regularly…
The best of the best
I was surprised to see how many of the top-recommended immune system boosters were already on other lists of recommended healthy foods.
I was also surprised to see how these familiar foods rated in the official rankings…
Fighting biases…
I’ve always been old school enough to think of oranges as the way to fight a cold or flu – with vitamin C, of course. Well, that urban legend was recently debunked by science.
Eating Well reports, “Many fruits and vegetables contain significantly more vitamin C than the […] 70 mg found in a medium orange. Top sources include guava (125 mg/fruit), yellow bell peppers (up to 340 mg/cup), red bell peppers (190 mg/cup), kiwi (85 mg/fruit), and broccoli.”
On the other hand… I’ve also learned that Chicken Soup really does have charms to sooth the savage breast. As in coughs and colds.
So I embarked on the research for his post with a fairly open mind…
Here we go!
- Garlic
- Bell Peppers (especially the red ones)
- Spinach
- Citrus Fruits
- Yogurt Turmeric
- Almonds (and certain other nuts and seeds)
- Broccoli (and other ‘cruciferous’ veggies)
- Green Tea
- Ginger
And… Don’t forget:
- Berries (especially dark red and blue ones!)
- Fermented foods and…
- Mushrooms!
All of the above, and many more (to a lesser degree) can help you maintain a strong, responsive immune system. And, as I said at the outset of this post, they are all vitamin and mineral power-houses. Many of them also contain valuable bioactive substances that are good for the gut…
A question of ‘more’
For most of us, it’s not a question of how much; it’s a question of ‘more’. We all eat these foods (or at least some of them) regularly if not frequently. Their importance to our immune systems suggests we should be eating MORE of hem, a trying those we haven’t cooked with yet.
Don’t like Garlic, Spinach or Broccoli? I’ll be it’s the taste that puts you off. But there’s a way around that. The Supplements sector offers hundreds of options, including concentrates, extracts and infus-ions, of those and many more. And you CAN get tasteless or pleasantly-flavoured versions…
My take
It’s so easy and delicious to boost your immune system simply by choosing common, everyday foods… Why wouldn’t you?
I have a handful of Blueberries with breakfast every morning. I love Broccoli and Bell Peppers in soups, stews, stir frys and casseroles. I’ve been experimenting with turmeric and ginger in all the Asian dishes I make…
And for me, Garlic is literally in a class by itself!
~ Maggie J.