Start boosting your immune system today with just a few small changes to
your everyday diet.
Our bodies are affected in many different ways. We often increase the
chances of illness with poor habits, such as
our diets, our sleep patterns and more often then not, our exposure to
unhealthy environments.
By incorporating both, healthier diets and better sleep patterns we can
begin to increase our immune system and fight against the common winter cold
and other winter born infections.
Here are five great immune-boosting foods to incorporate into your diet
this season.
1. Yogurt
Probiotics, or the "live active cultures" found in yogurt, are
healthy bacteria that keep the gut and intestinal tract free of disease-causing
germs. Although they're available in supplement form, a study from the
University of Vienna in Austria found that a daily 7-ounce dose of yogurt was
just as effective in boosting immunity as popping pills. In an 80-day Swedish
study of 181 factory employees, those who drank a daily supplement of
Lactobacillus reuteri—a specific probiotic that appears to stimulate white
blood cells—took 33% fewer sick days than those given a placebo.
2. Tea
People who drank 5 cups a day of black tea for 2 weeks had 10 times more
virus-fighting interferon in their blood than others who drank a placebo hot
drink, in a Harvard study. The amino acid that's responsible for this immune
boost, L-theanine, is abundant in both black and green tea—decaf versions have
it, too.
Your optimal dose: Several cups daily. To get up to five times more
antioxidants from your tea bags, bob them up and down while you brew.
3. Mushrooms
Mushrooms are known to help support the immune system, but the ones with
the greatest impact are medicinal mushrooms such as maitake, reishi, Coriolis
agaracus, and shiitake. These mushrooms contain powerful compounds called
beta-glucans, which are proven to help activate the immune system.
"Studies show that mushrooms increase the production and activity of
white blood cells, making them more aggressive. This is a good thing when you
have an infection," says Douglas Schar, DipPhyt, MCPP, MNIMH, director of
the Institute of Herbal Medicine in Washington, DC.
4. Berries
Blueberries, raspberries, goji berries, and acai berries all contain high
ORAC values (antioxidant capacity) and thus offer protection against free
radicals and sickness in the body. Berries also contain essential vitamins,
minerals, and dietary fiber—all contributing to overall wellness.
5. Fish
Selenium, plentiful in shellfish such as oysters, lobsters, crabs, and
clams, helps white blood cells produce cytokines-proteins that help clear flu
viruses out of the body. Salmon, mackerel, and herring are rich in omega-3
fats, which reduce inflammation, increasing airflow and protecting lungs from
colds and respiratory infections.
Your optimal dose: Two servings a week (unless you're pregnant or planning
to be).
One More Food To Think About
Red Bell Peppers
Bell peppers are part of the nightshade family and originated in South
America before spreading to Europe and the rest of the world. Bell peppers are
both low in calories and dense in nutrients. They are a good source of
phytochemicals as well as beta carotene's and vitamin C.
Research has gone far enough to show that increasing vitamin C intake can
reduce the length of time cold symptoms last as well as reduce the severity of
those symptoms.
In fact, gram for gram, red bell peppers have twice the vitamin C of most
vitamin C-containing fruits and vegetables, Blatner said, including oranges.
Linus Pauling, one of the most influential scientists of the 20th century,
was an advocate of megadoses of supplemental vitamin C to prevent colds.
Whether vitamin C is effective at preventing a viral infection that will cause
a cold is under debate and hasn't been fully proved or disproved.
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