Your immune system's ability to protect you from germs and viruses is influenced by your overall health, and a healthy diet is critical to maintaining good health. You also need proper nutrition to promote heart health, which is important because your immune system is reliant on blood flow. Good nutrition also helps your body produce and maintain germ-fighting cells within your immune system. Gaining immune-boosting nutrients via food is more effective than supplementing. Always consult a health care professional before changing your diet.
Step 1
Include foods rich in vitamins C, E and beta carotene in your diet because they promote your immune function. Eat between five and nine servings of colorful fruits and vegetables in lieu of supplementing. Place two different colored veggies and fruits on your plate with each meal, recommends Charles Stephensen, U.S. Department of Agriculture Western Human Nutrition Research Center research scientist in the CNN article, "Follow This Eat-Right Plan to Fortify Your Immune System." Produce also is rich in bioflavenoids, which help your immune system by protecting cells against environmental pollutants.
Step 2
Create a plate that has the proper balance of foods at each meal. Draw an imaginary line down the plate's middle. Cover half of it with vegetables and fruit. Cut the other side of your plate in half and place whole grains and beans on one of the sections, and place lean protein on the other.
Step 3
Place zinc- and selenium-rich foods on the portion of your plate reserved for lean proteins. Zinc helps your body produce infection-fighting white blood cells, while selenium also increases killer cells and mobilizes your cancer-fighting cells. Find selenium in red snapper, tuna, lobster and shrimp. Gain zinc from beef, oysters, turkey, crab and beans. Alternately, gain your zinc from a whole-grain fortified cereal and your selenium from whole grains.
Step 4
Swap saturated fats for the heart-healthy unsaturated variety to boost heart health, recommends the American Heart Association. Limit tropical oils, partially hydrogenated vegetable oils and animal fats. Use olive, canola, safflower, sesame and sunflower oil instead. Also eat avocado, nuts and seeds.
Step 5
Enjoy omega-3 rich fish twice a week to reduce inflammation in your body and to increasing activity of your phagocytes, which are white blood cells that gobble up bacteria. Tuna, mackerel and salmon are omega-3 rich fish. Alternately, sprinkle ground flaxseed on your veggies or use flaxseed oil as part of your salad dressing to gain omega-3s.
Step 6
Cook frequently with garlic because it's a proven immune booster, recommends Dr. William Sears, clinical professor of pediatrics at the University of California, Irvine, School of Medicine. Garlic also serves as an antioxidant that fights cell-damaging free radicals.
References
- "Thrive: The Vegan Nutrition Guide"; Brendan Brazier; 2007
- CNN Health: Follow this eat-right plan to fortify your immune system; Stacey Colinoc; November 14, 2007
- American Heart Association: Fats
- AskDrSears.com: Feeding Your Immune System
- American Diabetes Association: Create Your Plate
