Immunity Boosting Tips and Tricks

With the weather changes and traveling these past couple of months, our bodies are exposed to all sorts of things! if our defenses are not up, you might be welcoming a whole array of of colds, coughs and sneezes. So here’s how to get protected…Slide1

Immunity boosting nutrients come in all shapes, sizes, colours and taste so it is important to know that loading on one specific food is not going to do the trick! Nutrients and foods to be on the lookout for include the following:

Note: These choices include foods that can easily be found. You do not have to hunt down any exotic products that you’ve never heard of nor cost an arm and a leg. 

Vitamin C Citrus fruits, strawberries, rock melon, kiwi fruit, tomatoes, leafy greens, broccoli, cabbage.

Vitamin E  Vegetable oils, cold pressed seed oils, olive oils, wholegrain products, nuts & seeds.

Beta-carotene – converted to Vitamin A in the body  Sweet potato, carrots, potatoes, spinach, parsley, apricots, mangoes, paw paw.

Selenium Wholegrain foods, seafood, lean meat, eggs.

Zinc  Wholemeal bread, wholegrains, milk, seafood, lean meat, chicken , legumes (lentils, beans and chickpeas)

Lycopene, Flavonoids and Isoflavones These are phytochemicals or phytonutrients which are naturally occurring chemicals that are found in all foods of plant origin. Sources of each phytonutrient are listed below:

*Flavonoids: Tea, particularly green tea, onions, red grape juice, red wine (note: Red wine is a source of flavonoids but exceeding alcohol guidelines is not a good idea)

*Lycopene: Tomatoes, watermelon, pink grapefruit

*Isoflavones: Soy beans, tofu, soy products

Now, there is an increasing trend of over-consuming multivitamins when feeling under the weather. With or without illness, many feel that loading on multivitamins will boost their body’s line of defence.

First of all, you will need a health professional’s opinion on whether you require a multivitamin supplement. A multivitamin supplement does not replace a healthy diet and is only used when your diet is inadequate. Furthermore, multivitamins are not cures for illnesses such as colds or infections. The reason why large doses of multivitamin supplements can be harmful is due to the toxic effects that can occur. For example – vitamins K, D, E, A are fat soluble vitamins; which means that they are stored in our liver and body fat for a long time. Consuming a large dose of these vitamins over a long period of time, especially vitamin A, can be toxic resulting in harmful side effects. Hence, get your balance and immunity boosters from your diet first and consult a health professional on whether supplementation is necessary. 

Another way to boost your immunity is getting active! A number of studies have shown that exercise can help boost your body’s immune system by increasing the circulation of natural killer cells that fight off viruses and bacteria. So brisk walking for 30-45 minutes 4 to 5 times per week can give you that extra protection. You can always mix it up a bit with your routine and incorporate both aerobic and anaerobic exercises including activities such as yoga, pilates, light-weight training and swimming. 

Finally, getting enough sleep is important for overall health and a well functioning immune system. Science has demonstrated that getting enough sleep can help regulate hormones that are important to a properly functioning immune system in order to protect you from infections and illnesses effectively. I would usually suggest people aim for 6 to 8 hours of sleep to feel rejuvenated, get protected and renergise to face the day! 

Stay healthy everyone and if you feel like your diet needs the extra umpf to get you protected, then look no further and get in touch!

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1 Comment
  1. Excellent post! We have a lot of cancer in the family and autoimmune diseases so I research a lot about how to boost the immune system the right way.. this was very informative. Thank you! xoxo

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