4 Foods for your immune system
The change of seasons is here & that can bring with it seasonal colds, sore throats, fever, congestion — not ideal! Your immune system is constantly fighting for you, so here are some foods that can help you to feel well.
Capsicum — Red capsicums have 4 times the Vitamin C as oranges! Vitamin C is an important antioxidant for your immune system.
Mushrooms — Mushies are a great dietary source of Vitamin D; “sunning” your mushrooms; leaving them belly up in the sun for 30 minutes increases the amount of Vitamin D they can hold. Studies have shown vitamin D supports your immune system, with some studies showing supplementation reduced instances of contracting the flu (1)
Manuka Honey — it’s anti viral, anti bacterial so helps in both instances where your cold is caused by a virus or by a bacterial infection. Pop a teaspoon straight in your mouth or in some warm (not hot as heat destroys some of the immune boosting compounds) water with a squeeze of lemon and ginger. What’s also interesting about honey is that it seems to be complex enough that bacteria cannot become resistant to it, which might become helpful as we see the rise in antibiotic resistant strains of harmful bacteria (2).
Pumpkin seeds & Oysters — two for one! Both of these foods are high in Zinc, a mineral that has been found to reduce length of a cold and severity of symptoms when supplementing early (3).
Finally, eating a diet rich in fibre will support a healthy gut microbiome, which is crucial for your immune system to function since 70% of your immune cells are made there! A diet rich in fibre looks like lots of colour on your plate from all the vegetables on there, whole grains like brown rice, barley, rye, spelt, whole wheat, amaranth and oats, 2 fruits a day and starchy carbs.
Aim for 40 plant foods per week, 5 vegetables and 2 fruit a day and enough water (between 1.5-2L for average person).
Get out in nature! Forest bathing has been researched with results finding it increases the natural killer cells in our body (4) - they are cancer fighting! They literally kill off cancer cells in our body every day, and forest bathing has excellent stress management benefits also.
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