Foods to boost your immune system

In today’s world, maintaining a strong and healthy immune system is more important than anything.  Immune system are the natural defense system of the body which protect the body against infections, viruses and other harmful bacteria. There are various foods to boost your immune system. If you consume the right foods then you can easily boost your immune system, and make it more functional. If the choice of the food you eat are perfect and healthy then your immune system becomes strong and makes you fit physically and mentally. Thus, food we eat plays a very important role in our daily life.

In this blog, we discuss a detailed guide on various foods to boost immune system. We explore various foods that help to enhance your immunity. 

Understanding the immune system

The immune system is a network of cells, tissues, or organs that work together to protect the body from harmful things like bacteria and viruses. If your immune system is healthy or strong then there is a less chances of developing diseases in you. If you really want to make your immune system strong then there are various foods to boost your immune system. These foods help you a lot in making your immune system strong and powerful. A balanced diet plays an important role in making immune system strong. So, a balanced diet rich in vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants are really very important.

Foods to boost your immune system

1. Citrus fruits

Citrus foods are among the best foods to boost your immune system. They play a very important role in making immune system healthy. Actually, the citrus fruits are rich source of vitamin C, which increase the production of white blood cells. White blood cells are the key to fight with infections.

Why vitamin C?

Vitamin C act as an antioxidant and thus protects the body from dangers and damages caused by free radicals. Not only that but it also strengthens the skin’s defense system. 

Examples of citrus fruits

• Oranges
• Lemons
• Limes
• Grapefruits
• Tangerines

You can take citrus fruits in various ways. You may take them complete as a whole or may take juice. Start your day with a glass of fresh orange juice or squeeze lemon into water, or add grapes fruit to your salad.

2. Garlic

Garlic is the best immune boosting food. It is among the best foods to boost your immune system. It is known for centuries due to its medical properties. Garlic contains allicin, a compound which is released when garlic is crushed or chewed and this is the best things that help in boosting the immune system.

How does garlic help?

Garlic helps in enhancing the production of WBC(white blood cells) that helps the body in fighting with infections. Not only that, but it also contains other powerful antioxidants that help the body’s natural immune system to neutralize the harmful bacteria and viruses.

How to add garlic to your diet

As you already known, that garlic comes among the best foods to boost your immune system. So, you must think how to add it into your diet. You can add garlic to all of your dishes while cooking food. Garlic can may be added to almost of the dishes. It works well in the soups, sauces, roasted vegetables and salads.

3. Ginger

Ginger is among the excellent foods to boost your immune system. It has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. In addition to boosting the immune system there are also a lot of other benefits of eating ginger. Benefits of ginger for immunity are given below:

Benefits of ginger for immunity

Ginger helps in reducing inflammation, which can improve the immune response. It also helps in controlling various diseases or illnesses like nausea, sore throat, and inflammatory diseases like arthritis. Furthermore, ginger also helps in lowering the level of cholesterol and improve digestion.

How to add ginger to your diet

As discussed earlier, ginger comes among the best foods to boost your immune system. So, it is very important for you to understand how to add it into your diet. You may use fresh ginger in teas, soups, smoothies or in vegetables. If you consume ginger tea with honey and lemon than it is the best soothing drink for you that helps in boosting the immune system. Not only that, but the ginger tea also helps in relieving the cold symptoms.

4. Yogurt

Like ginger and garlic, yogurt is also come among the super and excellent foods to boost your immune system. Actually, yogurt is an excellent source of probiotics (a beneficial bacteria that helps in maintaining a healthy gut). As a large part of your immune system is in your gut so, it is very important for you to maintain a healthy gut. Moreover, yogurt helps in keeping your digestive system healthy which is crucial for a healthy immune system.

How yogurt helps:

Yogurt has probiotics in it, which helps in stimulating the production of immune cells such as natural killer cells and T-lymphocytes. These cells play a very vital and crucial role in protecting the body from infections.

How to choose right yogurt

While selecting yogurt, look for yogurt that contain live and active cultures, which means they have large quantity of probiotics. In addition to probiotics yogurt also contain proteins, which is important for a healthy immune system. For more energy, you may add some fresh fruits in yogurt.

5. Spinach

Spinach has a huge quantity of essential nutrients like vitamin A, C and E. In addition to these vitamins, spinach also contain beta-carotene and antioxidants. Spinach is also come among the best foods to boost your immune system.

Why spinach is a super food

The vitamin C present in the spinach helps in the production of white blood cells, which has the ability or power to fight with infections. Moreover, beta-carotene present in the stomach enhance the ability to immune cells. Additionally, spinach is also a great source of iron, which is crucial or vital for a healthy immune response.

How to add spinach to your diet

Adding spinach to your diet is important for taking advantages from it. You may add spinach to your salads, smoothies, or stir-fries. If you lightly cook spinach it can enhance the absorption of certain nutrients such as vitamin A.

6. Almonds

Like a lot of other foods, almonds are also come among the best foods to boost your immune system. Almonds are the best source of vitamin E, a powerful antioxidant, that plays a crucial role boosting immune system.

How almonds boost immunity

Almonds are the best source of vitamin E, which helps in fighting against infections by enhancing the activity of immune cells. Almonds have the special ability to protect the cells from oxidative stress, which can weak the immune system.

How to include almonds in your diet

Incorporating almonds in your diet is very important to take advantages from it. If you take a handful of almonds daily then it gives you a good dose of vitamin E. You can also add almonds to oatmeal, yogurt, or salads.

7. Turmeric

Turmeric is a yellow colored spice often used in curries and has been recognized by its anti-inflammatory properties. It is also come among the best foods to boost your immune system. The ingredients present in the turmeric has special powers to boost the immune system.

Benefits of turmeric

Instead of boosting the immune system, turmeric also has a lot of other benefits, but if we talk about immune boosting then we say that turmeric has the ability to reduce inflammation and boost the immune system. Turmeric is also known to have antiviral properties so, it can also become the part of spices during cold or flu season.

8. Green tea

Green tea is rich in antioxidants which has the special powers to boost the immune system. It also has a special compound named as L-thiamine, an amino acid, that supports the production of germ cells.

Benefits of green tea

The antioxidants present in the green tea protect the body from oxidative damages and helps the immune system to function properly.

How to add green tea to your diet

Enjoy a cup of green tea daily for a healthy immune system. You may squeeze some lemon in your green tea for extra flavor or taste.

Conclusion

Foods are really very beneficial for boosting your immune system. Boosting your immune system with the right foods is a natural and effective way to enhance your body defense. There are a variety of foods to boost your immune system. A well and balanced diet rich in vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants are very good for boosting your immune system. The foods to boost your immune system come in a variety of ways. From vitamin C-rich citrus fruits to zinc-packed immune-boosting foods. All these foods have their unique and special advantages. By adding these to your diet you can improve your overall health and well-being.