With the world losing its mind over Coronavirus (COVID-19), here are some nutrition tips to support your immune system.
First, looking after your immune system is something you should do every day and not just when you are ‘coming down’ with a bug or threatened with a pandemic like Coronavirus. The good news is there is something you do every day that can support your immunity – eating!
Eating to support immunity
The best way to strengthen immunity is to eat a variety of nutritious whole foods. Eating a variety of plant foods creates diversity in our gut microbiota (ie lots of different types of bacteria that all have different roles). The gut is a major player in our immune system because up to 70% of immune cells live there. It’s recommended we eat at least 30 different plant foods each week to get this gut bacteria diversity. Now most people freak when they hear that number, but it’s easily done if you eat a variety of nuts, seeds, legumes, fruit, vegetables and whole grains. If you eat a muesli with oats and a variety of nuts and seeds topped with berries and you could easily be starting your day with seven to ten different plant foods right there.
Nutrients that support immunity
Eating a variety of foods also means getting a variety of nutrients to support your immune system. Zinc and selenium are exceptionally important minerals for our immune system. Zinc helps fight infections and can reduce the duration of upper respiratory infections. Selenium is a potent antioxidant that strengthens immunity and lowers inflammation and the great news is you only need two Brazil nuts daily to get your selenium dose.
Vitamins A and D are fat soluble vitamins important for immune function. It’s why people with vitamin D deficiency are at increased risk of not only illness but also autoimmune conditions. Most people get their vitamin D from the sun, but if you are deficient in vitamin D it’s a good idea to use a supplement (your doctor will tell you how much) but you can also get vitamin D from eggs, liver, oily fish (think sardines and herring) and fish liver oils. Vitamin A is a great immune performer for immunity and is also found in eggs and liver, as well as milk fat. Cod liver oil is a super rich source of both vitamin A and vitamin D (and also omega-3s) which is why it’s one of my favourite supplements that I use daily (and sneakily drizzle over my son’s dinner)!
Herbs such as thyme, oregano, sage and rosemary have anti-microbial benefits and some can also reduce the amount of mucous the body produces. I listened to a podcast recently where she said “I’m not talking about mainlining oregano oil…” which totally made me laugh and I’m not recommending you do that either! But incorporating those herbs into cooking is an easy and flavoursome way to consume them daily.
Lifestyle factors that affect your immunity
Other factors that influence your immunity include:
- Sleep. Lack of sleep impairs your immune system. Think of how tired we feel when we have a virus or the flu, all we want to do is sleep. Resting allows your body to spend its energy fighting the virus. So forcing yourself to the gym or to work may just prolong it (and spread it)!
- Stress. The stress hormone cortisol suppresses the immune system’s ability to fight pathogens. And chronic stress will lower white blood cells making you more susceptible to illness. So the colder months is a great time to take up meditation or my fave to warm up and wind down – a hot yoga class.
- Alcohol. If you’re like my mother-in-law, you’ll swear an evening scotch protects you from many bugs. But if you’re drinking a lot of alcohol, it will weaken the immune system.
The above isn’t a magic list to prevent illness, but it will give you a head start to fight off whatever comes your way.
Foods that support your immunity
Nutritious foods to feed your immune system are listed below. You can also find recipes here and I have a specific board for immune recipes on my Pinterest account.
- Lots of different vegetables!
- A variety of fruits and berries
- Ginger
- Garlic
- Onion
- Shiitake mushrooms
- Brazil nuts
- Oysters
- Legumes
- Mixed nuts
- Pumpkin seeds
- Sunflower seeds
- Red meat
- Liver
- Eggs
- Oily fish
- Cod liver oil
- Oregano
- Thyme
- Rosemary
- Sage
- Peppermint
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