Health Tips

Top Foods That Boost Your Immunity

“Everytime you eat or drink, you’re either feeding the disease or fighting it.” – Heather Morgan, MS, NLC.

Are you wondering why that annoying cold keeps coming back despite your best efforts to maintain hygiene? Well, you’re not alone. Thousands of individuals from around the world struggle with recurring illnesses every day. A healthy outside starts from the inside and the state of your immune system (your body’s natural defense mechanism) is mainly responsible for your disease-fighting capacity. Hence, it’s crucial to maintain a healthy and balanced immune system. One must learn how to eat healthy during pregnancy and other stressful conditions.

Australia has the highest life expectancy in the world, and the Australian Burden of Disease Study states that 31% of the disease burden was preventable and due to modifiable reasons. Undoubtedly, your food choice, food ingredients, fitness level and lifestyle decide how effectively your immunity works for you. It’s never too late to embark on a journey towards sound health. It all begins with one thing – including the right foods in your diet. Foods that provide you with the essential nutrients that help you strengthen and maintain your inbuilt resistance to the diseases.

What are the signs of a weak immune system?

  • Diarrhoea, constipation, and flatulence are common stomach complaints. Because your gut contains up to 70 per cent of your immune system, maintaining good gut health (a lot of friendly gut bacteria) is critical for strong immunity.
  • Slow-healing wounds – for healing, your body relies on healthy immune cells, sending nutrient-rich blood towards the injury to regenerate it. When your immune system is weak, your skin fails to heal or regenerate quickly.
  • Frequent infections – requiring more than two courses of antibiotics per year for infections such as ear, respiratory, ears, coughs, colds, and influenza are signs of a compromised immune system.

Here’s a comprehensive list of food items to aid you in boosting your immunity:

Citrus fruits: Vitamin C is known to tackle the recurring illnesses by enhancing the body’s resistance. Including citrus fruits to your diet such as tangerine, sweet lime, orange, limes, lemons etc. would assist you to stay away from common ailments especially during cold weather. Also, foods rich in vitamin A and E like bell peppers, carrots, kale and fish oils are known to enhance immunity.

Eggs: Eggs are the superfoods providing you with the beneficial nutritional elements such as Vitamine D, K, E and A. Vitamin D is believed to have immune receptors for the proper functioning of the immune system. Eggs also comprise of selenium and zinc that add an antioxidant value to your meal.

Turmeric: This aromatic spice is a superfood for a reason. With its fantastic anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, turmeric invariably makes it to the list of foods you should never miss if looking for an immunity hike. So, season your meats and cereals with this perfect ingredient and help your body fight against cold, cough, congestions and other inflammatory conditions.

Yogurt: To keep the gastrointestinal system working effectively and smoothly, it’s wise to add yogurt to your diet. Not only yogurt serves as a fat-free alternative to several other dairy products, but it also adds the gut-friendly bacteria to your system. Such foods, also called probiotics, uplift the colonies of the good bacteria residing in your intestines that assist in digestion. It is one of the best foods to stay health all the time.

Almonds: Almonds belong to the most neglected food category – nuts and oilseeds. Known to provide defense against viral illnesses, almonds help fat-soluble vitamins assimilate in the body. Approximately 46 whole, shelled almonds (half cup) serve the daily recommendation for vitamin D for an individual.

Tea (green/black): Flavonoids are the naturally occurring components found in plant sources and abundantly so in tea. Green tea retains a copious amount of epigallocatechin gallate, or EGCG, a powerful antioxidant, as it is steamed and not fermented like black tea.

Chicken soup: Just another reason to relish that hot, simmering bowl of your favourite chicken soup – it’s the magic ingredients packed in it. Encompassing vitamins A and C, magnesium, gelatin and antioxidants, this delectable dish is a winner in fighting off the viruses. Including chicken soap in your diet is one of the best tips to achieve permanent weight loss.

Bonus

: The chicken component renders it rich in amino acids that in turn act as building blocks for producing antibodies to fight diseases.

As the old adage goes, prevention is better than cure. So, don’t ignore the disease relapses and prepare your body for fighting back the noxious organisms by enriching it with these superfoods.

Next Article

Our Patrons