Eating certain foods may definitely help to boost your immune system and keep it strong.
If your goal is to prevent diseases, such as several types of infections, colds, and the flu – then must have a visit to your local grocery store. In order to boost your immune system, plan your meals and add these 15 powerful foods – rich in vitamins and minerals.
But there is one thing
There is no supplement that guarantees you cure or prevent disease.
Especially, with the COVID-19 pandemic, you’ve to understand that there is no supplement, diet or other lifestyle modification that can protect you from coronavirus. But physical distancing, as well as social distancing and hygiene practices, can actually help you protect the coronavirus COVID-19.
Foods That Boost the Immune System
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1. Citrus Fruits
Citrus fruits are supercharged with Vitamin C as well as it produces white blood cells which help you to prevent infection.
You might’ve noticed that people tend to eat vitamin C – once they’ve caught a cold. And the reason behind this is it helps your immune system get stronger.
All the citrus fruits are fully packed in vitamin C. And you can easily add a squeeze of this vitamin to any of your favorite food. Moreover, there are lots of variations you can choose from.
Most popular citrus fruits include:
- Lemons
- Oranges
- Limes
- Grapefruit
- Tangerines
- Clementine
The important fact is that you need to consume this vitamin regularly for continued health.
And the daily recommended amount for most adults is:
- 90 mg for men
- 75 mg for women
2. Red bell pepper
Red bell pepper is used in almost every cuisine in the world.
Moreover, it’s a great source of beta carotene. And more importantly, if you count the ounce for ounce, red bell pepper contains vitamin C 3-times as much (127 mg) as a Florida orange (45 mg).
Besides building up your immune system, you’ll get healthy skin by consuming vitamin C.
Again, your body converts beta carotene into vitamin A, which will help you to get healthy eyes & skin.
3. Broccoli
Broccoli is totally packed with vitamins A, C, and E. It’s high in vitamins and minerals as well as fiber and several other antioxidants.
If your goal is to get many health benefits in one go, you should add broccoli to your plate. Cook it as little as possible – if you want to get the best out of it.
Studies have shown that the way to keep more nutrients in the food is by steaming it.
4. Garlic
Garlic is a popular spice found in almost every cuisine all over the world. It contains a little bit of zing which is also required for your health.
Early civilization found it effective in fighting infections. And it may help you lower your blood pressure. By consuming garlic, the hardening of the arteries would slow down.
5. Ginger
Ginger is a popular ingredient most people turn straight to after they’ve caught a sore throat. It may help with nausea as well as decrease inflammatory illnesses.
It’s also used in sweet desserts wildly. However, Ginger may possess cholesterol-lowering properties as well as decrease chronic pain effectively.
6. Spinach
Well, spinach is also a great source of vitamin C. There are numerous amounts of beta carotene and antioxidants. And they both will help increase the infection-fighting ability of our immune systems.
When it’s cooked as little as possible, it turns to be the healthiest food, as we did recommend doing with broccoli earlier.
7. Yogurt
When you are looking at yogurts, try to find one that has the phrase “live and active cultures”. You’ll find it on the label. However, Greek yogurt is one of them. By consuming these cultures, your immune system will get stronger to fight diseases.
Always try to avoid flavored yogurts that are loaded with sugar. You can eat plain yogurts and to add flavor, you can add a drizzle of honey and healthy fruits as well.
Yogurt is a rich source of vitamin D, so make sure your selected brand is fortified with this vitamin.
8. Almonds
Vitamin C is really amazing for preventing and fighting off colds. But it’s also true that vitamin E is really a powerful antioxidant to a healthy immune system.
In order to perform well in our body, vitamin E requires the presence of fat as it’s a fat-soluble vitamin. There are lots of variations in nuts, including almonds, have healthy fats, and are loaded with the vitamin.
A half-cup of the serving of almond has the recommended daily amount of vitamin E. However, 15 mg of vitamin E is required for adults per day and 46 whole shelled almonds which is equal to a half-cup serving can meet the needs.
9. Sunflower Seeds
Vitamin E helps our immune system perform accordingly. In sunflower seeds, there are numerous nutrients such as vitamin B-6, E, magnesium, and phosphorous.
There are some other foods rich in vitamin E including dark leafy greens and avocado, of course.
Moreover, just one ounce of sunflower seeds provides almost half the selenium of the daily requirement of average adults.
10. Turmeric
Turmeric is found in almost every cuisine in the world. And it has so many medical benefits. It has anti-inflammatory that’s been used in treating both rheumatoid and osteoarthritis arthritis.
Turmeric has high concentrations of curcumin, which basically gives a distinctive color to it. Studies have shown that curcumin can help reduce exercise-induced muscle damage.
Moreover, curcumin is an antiviral and boosts our immune system to perform better.
11. Green Tea
There are flavonoids, a type of antioxidant, in both green and black tea. Moreover, green tea also has epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), which is a powerful antioxidant.
Research has shown that EGCG boosts our immune function. Where black tea destroys a lot of EGCG through the fermentation process, green tea, on the other hand, is not fermented. Thus, ECGC in green tea is preserved.
However, it’s a rich source of amino acid L-theanine which basically helps in the production of germ-fighting compounds in your T cells.
12. Papaya
The most important thing about papaya is that you’ll get double the recommended amount of vitamin C in single medium papaya. Moreover, papaya has papain, a digestive enzyme, an anti-inflammatory effect.
Thus, papaya is a rich source of vitamin C. However, it contains a decent amount of folate, magnesium, potassium, all of which are really important for our overall health.
13. Kiwi
Similar to papayas, kiwis are also a rich source of a ton of essential nutrients, such as vitamin C, K, potassium, and folate.
While vitamin C helps your white blood cells fight infection, other nutrients help to function the rest of the body accordingly.
14. Poultry
Chicken soup is not only great when you feel sick, but also the placebo effect makes you feel better. This soup could reduce the symptoms of your cold as well as helps lowering inflammation in your body.
Well, poultry is a rich source of vitamin B-6. You can go with chicken and turkey. You can your daily recommended amount of B-6 by consuming 3 ounces of light turkey or chicken meat.
Vitamin B-6 is vital to the formation of new red blood cells in your body.
15. Shellfish
Shellfish don’t come to mind when your goal is to boost the immune system, right? But there are some types of shellfish which are loaded with zinc.
Actually, zing is not much popular with us like other kinds of vitamins and minerals, but it’s really great and required for our body so that our immune cells perform accordingly.
Types of Shellfish that are rich in zinc including:
- Lobster
- Oysters
- Mussels
- Crab
And the daily recommended amount of zing for adults is:
- 11 mg for men
- 8 mg for women
Consuming too much zinc can cause inhibit immune system function.