Foods to Support your Immune System
A healthy diet and lifestyle can help to keep your immune system functioning at its best this winter.
Vitamin C
Also known as Ascorbic Acid, this powerful antioxidant supports the adaptive & innate immune system and is necessary for growth, development and repair of all body tissues.
Oranges are not the only food source of Vitamin C - lemons, limes, broccoli, chillis and red bell peppers are also good sources of Vitamin C, as well as berries.
Unfortunately, your body cannot produce it’s own Vitamin C, or store it. Therefore, the best way to ensure you are getting enough Vitamin C is to eat a varied diet full of colour.
Vitamin D
The sunshine vitamin!
You’ve heard of Vitamin D in relation to bone health before, but did you know that VItamin D also plays a role in regulating our immune system?
From about late March/early April to the end of September, most people should be able to make their own Vitamin D by exposing their skin to sunlight, however during the autumn and winter you will need to consider food sources of Vitamin D, or a supplement to keep your levels up.
Food sources of Vitamin D include oily fish such as salmon, salmon, herring and mackerel, red meat, liver and egg yolks. Some foods may also be fortified to contain Vitamin D.
If you’re interested in learning more about Vitamin D, check out my blog post here.
Zinc
Zinc is not only necessary for healthy skin, hair and nails but is also needed for the formation of new cells and enzymes, wound healing and stomach acid production.
This mineral supports immune health as it supports the formation of immune cells and the function of cells responsible for fighting off infection. There is also evidence that zinc can assist in reducing inflammation in the body.
Food sources of zinc include meat, dairy and shellfish.
Prebiotics & Probiotics
Firstly, whats the difference?! In short, prebiotics are fibers that feed the bacteria that live within our digestive tract. Probiotics are strains of live bacteria & yeasts that live within our digestive tract. To find out more about this, check out my blog post here.
Prebiotic foods include chicory, garlic, onions, leeks and asparagus
Probiotics foods include fermented foods such as kimchi, kombucha, kefir & yoghurt, as well as miso & sauerkraut. To get the most out of these foods, opt for unpasteurised versions or try making your own at home.
Whilst prebiotics can help immune function by stimulating the immune system, you need to be careful supplementing probiotics if you are immunocompromised.
Others:
Mushrooms such as reishi and shitake contain beta glucans which have been shown to support a healthy immune response & through interactions with our gut microbiome, they may also improve the functioning of individual immune cells.
Garlic & ginger are anti inflammatory, antiviral and antimicrobial, plus contain antioxidants.
Water - hydration is super important for the optimal immune function! Don’t forget your blood stream is made up mostly of water.
Moral of this article - as a basis, eat a wide variety of fresh, whole foods & if you want to go one step further, also consider other pillars of health including your sleep (click here for tips to optimise your sleep) and exercise routines.
Go well,
Charlotte
