Your immune system takes good care of you. Have you been taking good care of it back? There's an undeniable link between what you eat and how well your immune system functions. Add these foods to your shopping list to get the most out of every bite.
Traits of Immune Boosting Foods:
Your gut is the first line of defense against disease. When it's working well, your gut bacteria are to thank. Foods that help your gut bacteria also tend to help boost immunity. We're talking foods with prebiotics (like fruit and veg), probiotics (yogurt and kimchi), and postbiotics (all those nice, slow-digesting fibers you get from whole grains and legumes). Add in some foods with a little extra Vitamin C and Zinc and you've got a diet built for great immunity.
7 Foods Built for Supercharging Immunity
Citrus: Do you reach for the orange juice when you're sick? There's a reason why citrus is a go-to for immunity. Almost all citrus fruits are rich in Vitamin C, which helps increase your body's production of white blood cells. Eat citrus regularly to recover from colds more quickly.
Garlic: Garlic doesn't just taste amazing - it also contains alliin. This compound turns to allicin when you chew or crush it, which in turn becomes sulphur and other immune-supporting sulphuric compounds. All this to say: when you eat garlic, you're equipping your body with what it needs to support a healthy immune system.
Ginger: You're likely to find ginger in a lot of teas marketed for stomach health and cold recovery. That's because ginger helps reduce inflammation. This can help reduce sore throat pain and general body aches.
Greens Powder: Grab a super greens powder to deliver a dose of immunity-boosting ingredients straight to your gut. Greens powders contain the pre and probiotics your gut flora need to thrive. This in turn helps fight disease before it affects the rest of your body. As an added bonus, you'll also get plenty of Vitamin C and Zinc from the fruits and veggies used to make the powder.
Yogurt: Speaking of probiotics… yogurts with live cultures help nurture your gut microbiome. Many yogurts are also a good source of Vitamin D, which can further support great immunity. Keep an eye out for yogurts containing excess sugar, as this can work against a healthy immune system.
Green Tea: Green tea is packed with antioxidants, including a little fella called epigallocatechin gallate (his friends call him EGCG). In studies like this one EGCG is found to enhance how the immune system functions.
Turmeric: And finally, turmeric. This bright yellow spice is full of curcumin. While research into this promising compound is still ongoing, there's some evidence that it can boost your immune system and act as an antiviral. Does that mean you should start drinking turmeric lattes? Well, not unless you really want to. Add a little of the fresh root to savory dishes to get its benefits.