Keeping your immune system strong is vital for optimum health.
When you focus on strengthening your immunity, you are actually doing so many wonderful things for your health. Sometimes, it makes it easier to think about keeping something strong than it is to think about “getting healthy” or improving certain health metrics, like blood pressure or bad cholesterol levels. If this mindset is motivating for you, I’d encourage you to give it a try.
I like to think about the choices I make for my body as a means of keeping my defenses high.
Every food I chose can either help strengthen or weaken my body’s natural immunity. This is why in integrative and functional medicine we say “food is medicine” and believe the kitchen is just as important as the doctors’ office.
That’s not to say that you have to be perfect, 100% of the time. You can indulge in treats occasionally and still have an immune system that’s ready to beat up any intruders on your behalf. So don’t get too stressed out when assessing your diet. Stress can actually lower your immunity too. But do keep some of the following basic rules in mind when you’re thinking about what to put on the end of your fork.
Health Benefits of Probiotics
One of the most important things you can do to support your overall health is to focus on the strength of your microbiome.
I go in-depth into the definition of the microbiome and ways to improve it in this article, but here are the basics.
Your microbiome consists of an enormous colony of bacteria, viruses, and fungi that live in your large intestine. It is basically an organ in its own right. Scientists have discovered that it heavily influences much of your health. And it plays a major role in your immune system function.
When your microbiome is strong, the positive strains of bacteria are able to overcome and overpower many foreign pathogenic invaders. They take care of this on your behalf and are constantly working behind the scenes to help your immune system thrive.
These bacteria love to eat healthy foods! They thrive on a varied diet of vegetables, fruit, and fiber. Their favorite food is prebiotic fiber, since it passes through your digestive system undigested…then when it arrives in your colon, the bacteria feast on it. The better you feed the bacteria, the better they take care of you.
You can also help add to their population by ingesting as many probiotic foods as you can. Probiotics are live, healthy bacteria you eat that can add to your existing colony in your gut.
Some of my top suggestions for keeping your microbiome strong:
- Artichokes
- Asparagus
- Garlic
- Onion
- Bananas
- Apples
- Berries
- Barley
- Oats
- Flaxseeds
- Sauerkraut
- Kimchi
- Kombucha
- Plain yogurt (with live and active cultures)
- Greens
- Broccoli
- Cauliflower
Immune Supporting Vitamins
Keeping your diet full of nutrient-dense foods that contain many and varied vitamins is extremely important for immune system strength.
Certain vitamins can help ward off viruses and pathogenic bacteria, and you should include them in your diet whenever possible.
Vitamin C For The Immune System
You may have heard that vitamin C helps your immune system, and that’s certainly true.
Scientists have agreed for years that vitamin C supports the immune system in a variety of ways and has even been shown to prevent and treat respiratory infections.
It’s a great idea to get as much of it in your diet as you possibly can.
Some of my recommendations for vitamin C rich foods include:
- Broccoli
- Cauliflower
- Kale
- Citrus
- Bell peppers
- Berries
- Cantalope
- Kiwi
Vitamin D For The Immune System
Vitamin C isn’t the only vitamin that boosts immunity, though. Vitamin D is a critical component of immune health too.
While this vitamin is produced by your skin as a response to sunlight exposure, you can also get vitamin D from your diet as well.
I recommend sitting outside in the sun whenever you can, and I also love the following foods for their high vitamin D content (especially during the winter when sunshine is more scarce):
- Salmon (preferably wild-caught)
- Beef liver (grass-fed if possible)
- Eggs (pasture-raised are better)
- Mushrooms
Vitamin A For The Immune System
Vitamin A is another important nutrient to consider when thinking about immune health.
Vitamin A is a powerful anti-inflammatory and has demonstrated its therapeutic effect on many infectious diseases.
Some of the foods I recommend for my patients that include healthy amounts of vitamin A are:
- Sweet potatoes
- Carrots
- Squash
- Greens
- Lettuce
- Mango
- Papaya
- Beef liver (grass-fed if you can find it)
- King mackerel
Other Important Things To Remember
Getting your diet dialed in is critical for keeping your immune system functioning at its best. Upping your intake of healthy foods and decreasing your intake of inflammatory foods like refined carbohydrates, sugar, and hydrogenated fats is key for your health.
But don’t forget to wash your hands!
According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) regularly and properly washing your hands can:
- Reduce death from diarrheal diseases by as much as 50%
- Prevent foodborne illness
- Reduce the risk of respiratory infection by 16%
- Prevent 1 million deaths per year (and that’s even before COVID-19 is considered)
So, let’s get into a practice of handwashing together. Before eating. After touching any common area surfaces. And for at least 20 seconds with as hot water as you can stand.
And — if you’re looking for a way to uplevel your health in every way — schedule a free discovery call with me here so I can help get you on the right track. No face-to-face interaction required.
References
“Vitamin C and Immune Function – NCBI.” 3 Nov. 2017, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5707683/.
“Vitamin C may affect lung infections – NCBI.”
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2099400/.
“Vitamin D and the Immune System – NCBI ….”
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3166406/.
“Vitamin D and Immune Function – NCBI.” 5 Jul. 2013, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3738984/.
“What is vitamin A and why do we need it? – NCBI.”
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3936685/.
“Role of Vitamin A in the Immune System – NCBI – NIH.” https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6162863/.
“Vitamin effects on the immune system: vitamins A … – NCBI – NIH.” https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2906676/.
“Hygiene Fast Facts | Hygiene | Healthy Water | CDC.” https://www.cdc.gov/healthywater/hygiene/fast_facts.html.
