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| Superfood: 10 Healthy Foods |
Healthy Foods That Alter the Immune System for Good
There are several parts to the immune system, and each part plays an integral role in the body. The different parts are the skin, the gut, mucus, and the lymph system, and they need to be healthy.
Signs That Your Immune System Could Be Weakened
Most times, our immune system protects us from illness and infection, and healthy food and fitness are also huge contributing factors. It will recognize any unfamiliar cells, such as viruses and bacteria, and destroy them.
But still, sometimes the immune system can become weakened, making it less effective and also making you prone to frequent infections.
There are some key signs and symptoms that your immune system could be weakened:
- You frequently feel unwell.
- You feel tired all the time.
- You have wounds that heal slowly.
How Foods Boost the Immune System
Studies show how foods boost your immune system. Healthy fruits and veggies, particularly, those that contain vitamin C, like:
- strawberries,
- oranges,
- broccoli,
- red and green peppers may boost your immunity.
Don’t forget beta-carotene, which is vitamin A, including red peppers, spinach, carrots, and yellow fruits like mangoes and apricots.
These keep your respiratory tract healthy and strong to fight infections. You also need plenty of zinc in your diet.
Zinc is found in foods like meat cheese shellfish, sunflower, pumpkin seeds, bread, and fortified cereals.
This mineral is what keeps the immune system healthy, which is vital for wound healing.
A poor diet is often the reason you are overweight. You may be lacking the minerals and vitamins supplied by a healthy diet.
Eating non-processed foods, high carbs, sugar, and unhealthy fats all contribute to a weakened immune system. Harvard Health Publishing offers valuable tips and advice on how you can boost your immune system.
Here are some immune-boosting superfoods to help with a variety of things.
10 Immune-Boosting Superfoods:
- Turmeric: It’s excellent for fighting viral infections, also reducing inflammation. The curcumin in turmeric suppresses different inflammatory agents caused by virus damage.
- Mushrooms: All medicinal mushrooms have powerful polysaccharides in them. These are called beta-glucans, known to fight inflammation and balance the immune system.
- Nuts: Nuts, such as walnuts, contain several minerals and vitamins, including valuable vitamin B6 and copper, which help to maintain nerve, bone, and the function of the immune system. Vitamin B6 strengthens the immune system, supporting nerve health.
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| Walnuts contain several minerals and vitamins |
- Spinach: Remember Popeye, the guy who ate so much spinach. Spinach has heaps of minerals and vitamins in it with very high doses of vitamins A, C, and E, which are known to fight off infections and replenish blood cells, boosting the immune system.
- Sweet Potatoes: These are necessary to a healthy diet plan because their orange flesh contains one of the richest natural sources of beta-carotene, which is Vitamin A. It is critical for the health of the immune system.
- Garlic - Garlic is antiseptic, antifungal, and antibiotic. It is capable of helping the body to resist and destroy microorganisms and viruses and does this by boosting the immune system.
- Sunflower seeds: Sunflower seeds have selenium in them, which helps the body to fight certain cancers and the immune system fight free radicals.
- Chicken Soup: Chicken soup contains vitamins A and C, phosphorus, magnesium, gelatin, and antioxidants - these build a strong immune system and fight off viruses.
- Chocolate: The phenolic compounds inside the cocoa of dark chocolate boosts the immune system. It is also rich in flavonols, which provide protection for the heart. Dark chocolate is considered good even for coughs.
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| Dark chocolate boosts the immune system |
- Fish: Salmon, cod, king mackerel, and tuna – these are good sources of vitamin A. Also, the B vitamins in fish keep the immune system working properly because they regulate inflammation and promote white and red cell development while fighting diseases.
Stay Healthy While Dieting – With Phenocal
Remember, if you are dieting, decreasing your calorie intake can weaken your immune system. When you eat less than 1200 calories a day, you starve your body of needed nutrients and the hormone levels can go completely out of sync.
There is one hormone, leptin, which decreases when you starve yourself, and it is the key hormone to regulate your metabolism, causing an inflammatory response throughout the body. It’s not only the number of calories but the quality as well.
Get a healthy supplement – look here for some Phenocal reviews on dieting because it has 100% natural ingredients to boost your immune system and burn calories naturally, while you eat right and exercise at the same time.
Conclusion
The Covid19 virus that the world is facing right now is not kind to the immune and respiratory systems. It continues unabated across the world. At this time, having an immune system that functions optimally is a top priority.
Most medical professionals agree that eating right with the most appropriate supplements and vitamins will enhance your immune system, but with a few extra things to consider. Keep your stress levels down because it can hurt the immune system.
That’s what Morgan Katz says, assistant professor of infectious diseases at Johns Hopkins University. Andrew Diamond, the chief medical officer of One Medical, says that cortisol, the stress hormone, turns off cells in the immune system.
Work on relaxing and de-stressing. Exercise is able to naturally lower cortisol levels, helping the immune system to function properly. Along with good sleep, Dr. Katz also recommends eating plenty of yogurts to boost your probiotics and support good bacteria, which helps to fight viruses and bad bacteria.
See what wonderful fuel there is in the form of colorful healthy fruit and veggies to boost your immune system. Stay away from smoking because it’s very challenging to the lungs. Also, reduce your alcohol intake, which disrupts healthy sleep.
“The right raw materials can double or triple the protective power of the immune system,” says Joel Fuhrman, physician, and believer of ‘the right nutrition means superior health. He’s right, and the correct way to do that is to “let food be your medicine."
Reference:
[2] American Psychological Association