Boost Your Immune System

Boost Your Immune System

Foods that Boost Immune System

Why Boost Your Immune System?

  • Your immune system does an extraordinary job of defending you against disease-causing microorganisms.
  • But sometimes it fails: A germ invades successfully and makes you sick.
  • The idea of boosting your immunity is enticing, but the ability to do so has proved elusive for several reasons.
  • The immune system is accurately that — a system, not a single entity.
  • To function well, it needs balance and harmony. There is so much more that researchers don’t know about the intricacies and interconnectedness of the immune response. However let us look at what could one possibly do to boost their Immune system

Best Foods to Boost Your Immune System

Brightly colored vegetables

  • The bright green, yellow and orange vegetables have the highest amounts of carotenoids like beta carotene.
  • These are antioxidants which help your immune system to keep in shape. You may try vegetables such as capsicum, carrots and squash.

Nuts

  • Nuts are full of antioxidants and vitamins. Most importantly they contain a good dose of zinc.
  • Eating nuts may lower risk your risk of chronic disease.

Berries

  • Vitamin C is present in berries in very large amounts. Vitamin C is thought to prevent injury to cells and hence it is very useful in boosting your immune system they act as antioxidants which will attack the free radicals moving around your body.

Chocolate

  • Cocoa is an immune boosting food and chocolate contains cocoa when you consume the cocoa you may be able to increase your good cholesterol and decrease the chance of heart disease.

Garlic

  • Garlic fights infection and bacteria (and maybe vampires!) With antiviral properties and also antibacterial features, garlic promotes the growth of your white blood cells.

Yogurt

  • We need more of the good bacteria in our bodies and yogurt is a great source. Live cultures in yogurt can help stop colds in their tracks

Tea

  • Tea contains an amino acid that assists the immune system to stay boosted. L-theanine is present in all types of tea. Even decaf has healthy doses of it. So drink as much as you would like.

Mushrooms

  • For your body to fight infection you need to eat foods that can increase the activity and new production of white blood cells. Mushrooms are that food.
  • There are many different types of mushrooms and they can be used in all sorts of ways to give you the best benefits.

Sweet potatoes

  • Sweet potatoes contain large doses of vitamin A. Our skin needs good amounts of vitamin A to keep it healthy.
  • When the largest organ in your body is healthy, you have a much better chance of staving off infection.

Reviewed By:

Dr. Kaushal M. Bhavsar (MBBS, MD)

Assistant Professor in Pulmonary Medicine, GMERS Medical College, Ahmedabad