BOOSTING YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEM

immune system

Your immune system is the body’s first line of defence when it comes up against harmful pathogens.  A low immune system means that your body is more susceptible to germs such as bacteria, air-borne viruses and to coming into contact with other infected people.

HEALTHY WAYS TO STRENGTHEN YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEM.

Your immune system can be affected by such factors as your physical health, mental stress, and smoking.  If your diet lacks healthy nutrition, your mental health will also suffer and put more stress on your immune system.

If you have a compromised immune system or a low immune system, your health is at high risk. This is because an immune deficiency allows pathogens to take a strong hold… to invade and attack different organs of the body.

BOOST YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEM…

by EATING HEALTHY FOOD

Not eating healthy food plays havoc on a weak immune system, whereby disease can greatly affect, not only your physical health, but your mental health as well.

A healthy well-balanced diet each day will not only strengthen a low immune system but keep the immune system strong and healthy. It has the potential to fight off any impending disease or pathogens as it creates a strong barrier.  

A HEALTHY DIET WITH NUTRIENT-RICH FOOD…

PROTECTS THE IMMUNE SYSTEM

Three quarters of your immune system resides within the gut. This is why it’s important that you eat healthy nutrient-rich foods, along with probiotics for immune system boosting.

Eating healthy food, full of nutrition, helps the body’s first line of defence against the likelihood of chronic disease developing.  Eating a variety of healthy fruits and vegetables, as well as natural Greek yogurt containing probiotics for immune system building, allows the healthy gut flora to flourish. The digestive system absorbs the essential nutrients in food and transports them into the bloodstream, thereby strengthening the immune system and gives the body immunity to bacteria that maybe harmful.  

Quick fixes don’t happen overnight and eating an orange or two now and then won’t prevent a cold or the flu from developing. Most people are chronically lacking in many of the important vitamins and minerals the body requires for a healthy diet. However, you can boost a low immune system by paying close attention to your diet choices. Having nutrient-rich healthy meals builds a healthy immune system.

A healthy immune system requires a variety of nutrients

IMMUNE BOOSTER NUTRIENTS

Vitamin C

Found in citrus fruits such as lemons, limes, and oranges as well as tomatoes, red bell peppers, broccoli, and berries.

Vitamin E.

Vitamin E is found in broccoli and spinach, some seeds, and almonds.  Both Vitamin E and C help fight infection due to their powerful antioxidant benefits.

Vitamin D.

Vitamin D is found in eggs, and fatty, oily fish such as salmon, sardines, mackerel, and tuna.

Vitamin A.

Found in colourful carotenoids such as sweet potato, pumpkin, carrots, and cantaloupe. These foods containing Vitamin A have antioxidants with strengthening benefits to the immune system to helps fight against infections.

Folic acid.

Folic acid is found in green leafy vegetables, beans, and peas.

Iron.

Iron is found in lean poultry, turkey, red meats, fish, and seafood.

Zinc.

Zinc is found in crab, lean poultry and meat, chickpeas, and yogurt.

Selenium

Selenium is an important antioxidant for maintaining a strong immune system.  Eating selenium-rich foods is one of the best ways to boost the immune system.

Selenium is an important mineral which plays an active role in turning on the immune system cells and protecting them from any damage, while helping eliminate infections and pathogens.  The amounts of selenium in different foods varies depending on how rich the soil is in selenium, where it is grown, the amounts of water availability, pH levels and whether pesticides are present.

Selenium is found in foods such as Brazil nuts, salmon, sardines, tuna, halibut, some grains, brown rice, oatmeal, whole wheat breads, sunflower seeds. baked beans, some nuts, mushrooms, milk and yogurt and spinach, all with varying amounts.  Mushrooms and broccoli may also help slow cancer cell invasion.

PROBIOTICS FOR IMMUNE SYSTEM BOOSTING

Probiotics are active bacteria, often referred to as good gut flora. They create a barrier defence mechanism whereby they fight and protect against diseases that may harm the immune system.

Probiotics not only assist digestion but detoxify your system, allowing healthy absorption of essential nutrients to be far more efficient.  One of the main organs in the body is your liver and it relies heavily on healthy gut flora to enable it to detoxify and remove any toxins.  Filtering out pathogens enables the body to recover from illness or stress more quickly.

Replenishing the body’s gut with probiotics each day helps the liver to function properly by removing any toxins, as it relies on healthy gut flora. Probiotics also promote active energy levels that are essential for maintaining a strong immune system.

Probiotics not only promote a healthy immune system but have a direct effect on your mood and general wellbeing.  When you have an imbalance of good gut flora in your system, bad gut bacteria can take over, causing major gut bacteria problems to exacerbate.

Taking medications or foods containing preservatives or eating foods exposed to pesticides can destroy any good flora, which can further deplete a low immune system and result in a compromised immune system.

PROBIOTIC FOODS

A healthy immune system relies on a healthy gut flora.  Therefore, feeding your gut with active live bacterial cultures promotes immune support.

Immune system probiotic foods are one of the best ways to not only strengthen but maintain a strong immune system.  Natural Greek style yogurt augments your natural immune system and has greater propensity for improving your overall health and wellbeing.

When buying probiotic yogurt and foods, select your food carefully and pay close attention to the label. Select refrigerated foods, those containing “active live cultures” raw and unpasteurised.  Avoid others, as your immune system will not receive the necessary benefits.

FERMENTED FOODS

Raw, unpasteurised milk cheese develops its natural bacteria when placed in a special cool environment where live cultures can begin the fermentation process.  Fermentation takes varying times with differing cheeses, but all the probiotic goodness is preserved.

When you are eating these wonderfully aged, fermented cheeses, your immune system gets a huge boost of healthy probiotics. There are a wide variety of milk cheeses available these days in speciality stores and supermarkets.  There are many hard cheeses as well as soft delicate cheese to indulge yourself, such as delicious goat’s cheese that will not only tantalise your taste buds but enhance your immune system.

Fermented foods provide the greatest benefits to the immune system and it’s for this reason you should eat them every day.  Fermentation preserves food for longer and has long been used throughout the world.  It’s an excellent way of sealing in the goodness, whilst still enabling us to eat these foods out of season at a later date.  Some of these foods need to be kept in the fridge so that your immune system gets the greatest benefit.

Select probiotic foods carefully by always reading the labels… make it a habit.  Check for hidden extras, as your immune system will only get the greatest benefit from fully fermented probiotic foods.

There is a wide range of fermented probiotic foods available.  Here are a few you might like to try first.

+ Yogurt, sour cream, and buttermilk fermented, beets, carrots

+ Milk cheese as well as goat’s cheese

+ Fermented, beets, carrots, sauerkraut

+ Fermented relishes, pickles, ginger, jams, and chutney.

Sauerkraut, Cheese, Fermented Vinegar, Fermented Cucumber

Many of these popular foods can be easily added to an array of so many other healthy foods to make a delicious meal, full of immune system boosting, nutrient-rich foods.

THE IMMUNE SYSTEM AND MENTAL HEALTH

A healthy immune system creates a buffer for stress and quickly restores you back to health.  It allows stress levels to ease while it strengthens your mental health.

THE IMMUNE SYSTEM AND GENERAL HEALTH

The bottom line is that eating lots of good nutrition-based healthy foods with fermented probiotics improves your overall health and wellness.  If you have been taking antibiotics, probiotics will counteract any negative effects very quickly and restore and strengthen your immune system.

Read more about maintaining Good Health