8 foods to boost and improve your immune system
Eating the right foods not only helps improve your mood, it can aid in boosting your immune system. A strong immune function fights off infection and health problems that can escalate with stress. Dr. Taz Bhatia, an immune support and wellness physician, says a healthy immune system begins in our gut. “The gut actually is 75% of your immune system.” The majority of the immune fighting antibodies we need are made in the gut, so what we eat definitely matters. It’s important to note that no research has been done on foods that help fight against COVID-19 specifically, but these eight expert-approved foods can improve your overall health.
Video Transcript
TAZ BHATIA: A healthy immune system begins with your gut. The gut actually is 75% of your immune system. These eight foods are going to help you boost your immune function.
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Fatty fishes, like salmon, tuna, mackerel, boost your immunity because they have vitamin D. And in study after study, we are understanding the critical role vitamin D plays in how our immune system works.
So tumeric has been used for centuries as a spice. But it has such potent anti-inflammatory activities, meaning it brings inflammation down, even inflammation when it pertains to your brain. I love adding tumeric as a spice to your food. Sometimes, though, that taste might get a little overwhelming. So using a tumeric tea is a great win-win. And you have a tasty, healthy, anti-inflammatory drink.
Kale boost our immune system because it has two critical ingredients. One is the type of fiber and antioxidants, specifically vitamin C helping us to fight off things like the cold and even the flu.
Guava is that surprise fruit that you never think about that actually has one of the highest vitamin C concentrations in the fruit family. Red peppers also have a ton of antioxidants and fiber. Now, they actually are one of the highest antioxidant vegetables out there.
So use those red peppers. Put them in a salad. You can roast them. There's so many different ways to enjoy them. But they're going to help keep your immune system primed by providing the oxygen your cells need to fight off virus and bacteria.
Green chilies are interesting. So they actually also help boost antioxidant. And that in turn helps, not only improve your metabolism and kind of get everything humming and active again, but it also provides a nice antioxidant burst.
Tomatoes have many uses. But their magic ingredient is something called lycopene. Lycopene plays a role in something called cytokine storm, which is when your immune system goes haywire and needs to be shut down. Lycopene actually plays a role in this and is very helpful in boosting overall immune function.
Now, oranges may not surprise you. We've known about oranges for a really long time. But we have to include it, because most people can get their hands on a couple of good oranges. It's high in vitamin C, high in fiber. It actually doesn't have as much sugar as many people think. So go ahead and have at least an orange a day, especially in the season when we're so concerned about immune function.
Many people don't realize that the majority of the very immune-fighting antibodies that we all need and want and are supposed to have, they're all made in the gut. There's so many factors that really determine the status of our immune health. First of all, our diet is critical. I think your digestive health is critical as well.
And lastly, stress. If you are super stressed-- you have a high cortisol level-- then it's very hard for your immune system to function properly and goes haywire very quickly.
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