Boosting Immunity Through Food

At this time of year it’s easy to just say ‘It’s cold. Everyone gets a cold when it’s cold’. But that’s not exactly true. The common cold and influenza are viruses, so they spread easily and are usually relatively easily fought off in a healthy host, ie you. 

It’s not actually the cold weather that makes us more susceptible to viruses like these, but our choices during the colder months that can effect our immune system’s ability to eradicate them from our system. Winter often comes with a lack of sunshine and fresh air, less fresh fruit and vegetables, often less adventurous foods, and more sedentary lifestyles. All of this can lower our immune system just enough for those nasty little viruses to take hold.

So how do we make choices that support our immune system during winter?

Let The Sunshine In

Our bodies produce less vitamin D during winter but just 15mins of mild sunlight a day can prevent the loss and keep our D stores high. Vitamin D is important for many functions throughout the body, especially any involving calcium and phosphorus. So this means Vitamin D can effect our bones, energy levels and almost every energetic process in our systems. 

Luckily we don’t need a lot of Vitamin D to benefit from it, so while sunlight is by far the easiest source, it can also be found in foods. Try adding mushrooms (particularly shiitake), fatty fish like salmon or beef liver into your diet. Maybe have it for lunch... sitting in the sunshine.  

Getting Fruity

Fruit often gets a bad rap as having too much sugar, but the fructose in fruit comes with a whole mess of vitamins and minerals designed to keep your immune system healthy. 

Water soluble vitamins - Vitamin C and B Vitamin group - are essential for building compounds that recognise and fight off viruses and foreign substances in our bodies. Vitamin C is basically a super soldier that stops infection and ensures if you do get sick your army of antibodies get you healthy as quickly as possible. I could write pages on the B vitamin group’s role in immunity, along with energy, internal systems and blood heath... but let’s just say, they’re almost as important as Vitamin C in the fight against invading pathogens. 

Try citrus fruits like orange, mandarin, lemon, lime and grapefruit as a wonderful vitamin boost. You can also find both vitamins in berries. Remember, Vitamin C is damaged by heat so best to consume your fruit raw. Adequate intake of these vitamins is vital in winter, but an easy 2 serves of fruit a day should provide the perfect levels to keep your immune system in great condition. 

Don’t Forget The Veggies

I talked a lot about veggies being important in winter in our last nutrition blog, so I won’t harp on here. Suffice to say, eating your veggies = happy immune system. 

Spice It Up

In our last blog we also talked about winter comfort food. Why not combine some great winter cooking methods with some spicy culinary adventures! Spices not only make our food taste fantastic,  they can boost our immune system as well! 

My trifecta of winter booster spices are garlic, ginger and turmeric. Apart from the fact that they taste amazing in any combination, these guys boost immunity by adding phytonutrients, antioxidant compounds and have an anti inflammatory effect. I prefer to use these raw and grate/slice them into foods as needed. Garlic is best kept out of the fridge, while ginger and turmeric can be frozen if needed to prolong lifespan. 

Other dry spices can support your immune system by adding minerals such as calcium, phosphorus, magnesium and zinc. These taste amazing to boot but keep in mind they’re dried so you won’t need quite a much. Try adding cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, cloves, paprika, fennel or fenugreek to your meals for an exotic twist. 

Probiotics

I’ll discuss this more in a later blog post, but probiotics warrant a mention here. Your gastrointestinal health can have a major impact on your immune system, along with almost every other system in your body. So keeping your gut bacteria happy is paramount to you feeling healthy. 

Try adding basic probiotic foods to your diet such as yoghurt, sauerkraut, pickles, kefir or kimchi. These will nourish the little guys in your gut, who will in turn reward you with less digestive discomfort, more energy and a stronger immune system. 

The Last Word on Immunity

Your immune system is effected by your age, gender, heritage, genetic makeup, environment... the list goes on. Some of these factors you’re stuck with for better or worse (thanks parents), but the modifiable factors you do have control over. 

The good part is that those modifiable factors, like getting some sun, eating some fruit and spicing up your meals, are easy to do and really have an impact on your immune health.