How To Boost Immune System Naturally With Food
Your immune system is a complex concert of organs, cells, tissue and proteins with the sole purpose of protecting your body from dangerous viruses, bacteria, and foreign bodies that cause infection or disease.
Learning how to boost your immune system naturally is a vital health factor that can significantly impact your wellbeing. While certain environmental and genetic factors will undoubtedly affect your natural immune system, incorporating immune-boosting and nutrient food into your diet can effectively strengthen your immune system.
While this list is in no shape or form exhaustive, it’s a fantastic way to start your journey towards a more robust immune system. Discover the best foods for your immune system for a healthier and happier you.
Understanding The Immune System
Before we begin, let’s embark on an immune-system crash course. A large portion of your immune system exists in your gut or microbiome. Home to approximately 100 trillion microorganisms, your microbiome performs vital functions like fermenting Dietary Fibre, producing Vitamins and helping to absorb minerals like Calcium and Iron by releasing enzymes.
The nutrients in our food significantly impact the performance of your immune system and your gut health. A diet with low nutritional value can result in a low level of microbiome diversity, a common characteristic of those with diseases like inflammatory bowel disease, some forms of arthritis, diabetes, eczema and obesity.
Beyond nutrient-rich food, probiotics are another vital factor in immune health. These microorganisms provide health benefits when consumed in adequate amounts, supporting the
body’s natural functions by directly interacting with the person or optimising their intestinal microbiome’s composition and/or activity.
To properly boost your immune system, your diet needs a balance of nutrients, including probiotic-rich foods.
Keep reading to learn more about natural foods to boost the immune system.
Dairy
Milk
Cow’s milk is undoubtedly one of the most popular drinks globally. An excellent source of protein, full of Vitamins A, D, B12 and Riboflavin, milk is also rich in minerals such as Calcium, Phosphorus, Zinc and Iodine. Even humans rely heavily on milk foods to increase immunity in children naturally. However, because mainstream milk contains both the A1 and A2 protein, it can often lead to gastrointestinal discomfort.
Read on to discover how you can avoid lactose induced discomfort.
Yoghurt
Yoghurt is made by fermenting milk. Fermentation allows bacteria (Lactobacillus) to convert the sugar in milk, or lactose, into lactic acid, which causes the milk to coagulate and set into yoghurt. The bacteria or live yoghurt culture are associated with probiotics, positively impacting immune health.
Unlike mainstream milk, yoghurt is easier to digest, and may even improve lactose tolerance and digestion, thanks to live yogurt cultures that can process the lactose in other dairy products.
NATUREDAY A2+ Powdered Milk
NATUREDAY A2+ milk powder contains two patented probiotics that improve gut health and optimise nutrient absorption. A2+ milk comes from genetically verified New Zealand cows that only produce the A2 β-casein protein, which benefits digestive health. Going far beyond a standard glass of A2 milk, NATUREDAY is all about Dairy Plus.
Each glass of NATUREDAY A2+ Powdered Milk contains 8.4g of protein (equal to 1.4 eggs). Double the Calcium of standard A2 milk. And a healthy dose of Vitamin A, C, D and E for superior nutrition with better absorption and improved health benefits that the whole family can enjoy.
In short, NATUREDAY A2+ milk powder is the most efficient way to drink milk and boost your natural immune system.
Fruit & Vegetables
Citrus Fruits
Packed full of Vitamin C, citrus fruits like grapefruit, oranges, tangerines, lemons and limes are heralded as cold defenders. That’s because Vitamin C is an essential building block for the strength of your immune system. Citrus fruits, considered one of the best foods for your immune system, release a ton of Vitamin C, assisting the production of white blood cells, an integral component to fighting off disease and infections.
According to the Australian government, the Recommended Dietary Intake (RDI) for Vitamin C is around 45mg for adults, roughly half an orange or a cup of strawberries. For children, the RDI varies from as low as 35mg a day for those aged 1 to 8 years old to 40mg for adolescents. Infants below the age of 6 months have an RDI of 25mg a day.
Papaya
Much like citrus fruits, Papaya is a fantastic source of Vitamin C, offering double the RDI for adults, alongside a healthy dose of Potassium, Magnesium and Folate. Plus, their digestive enzymes, known as Papain, provide anti-inflammatory benefits.
Kiwi
In addition to essential nutrients like Folate, Potassium and Vitamin C, Kiwis contain Vitamin K. Used by the body to produce prothrombin Vitamin A plays a vital role in blood clotting, bone metabolism, and regulating blood calcium levels.
Capsicum (Red Bell Peppers)
Fun fact, capsicums or red bell peppers have roughly 3x the amount of Vitamin C as an orange. Single red capsicum can contain as much as 127mg of Vitamin C versus the measly 45mg in the juiciest oranges. They also contain high amounts of Beta Carotene, which your body converts into Vitamin A, an essential vitamin for eye health. And a benefit that has become synonymous with our next vegetable.
Carrot
During World War II, the British managed to fool Nazi Germany into believing their airforce pilots were able to see in the dark thanks to a hefty diet of carrots. Why carrots? These orange vegetables are packed full of Vitamin A in the form of Beta Carotene, a red-orange pigment with links to improved eye health.
Through a careful campaign of carrot propaganda, the British were able to hide the development of a new, secret radar technology, which enabled them to repel the German fighters during nighttime Blitzkrieg air-raids by the German Luftwaffe in 1940.
One poster from the war recommended eating carrots and leafy greens or yellow vegetables, “…rich in Vitamin A,” they were “essential for night sight.” Another said, “CARROTS keep you healthy and help you to see in the blackout”.
While there’s no way of knowing whether Nazi Germany bought the propaganda, the Western world certainly did, with this pervasive myth transforming an undoubtedly nutritious vegetable into a so-called superhero food.
Although carrots won’t directly improve night sight, beta carotene is an essential nutrient for eye health.
Broccoli
These miniature trees, often pushed aside by fussy eaters, are supercharged with immunity-boosting vitamins and minerals. Containing Vitamin A, C, and E, alongside plenty of much-needed fibre and many antioxidants, Broccoli is arguably one of the healthiest vegetables you can eat.
Garlic
Much like its close family members, the onion, garlic is a common ingredient in practically every worldwide cuisine. Used in fiction to ward off Vampires, garlic is used to stave off the common cold and the flu in the real world. Moreover, eating garlic may provide a wide variety of health benefits, like reducing the risk of heart disease, improving cognitive health, and decreasing the risk of certain cancer types.
Its immune properties are where garlic really shines. Containing a compound called Alliin, when garlic is crushed or chewed, the Alliin is converted into Allicin, which also contains sulphur, a leading contributor to garlic’s distinctive taste and smell.
This sulphur-containing compound benefits our immune system as it has been shown to boost the disease-fighting response of white blood cells, making it ideal for reducing cold-like symptoms.
Spinach
There’s a reason Popeye ate spinach to deal with challenging situations. Rich in Vitamin C and Vitamin A and numerous antioxidants and Beta Carotene. To get the most out of your spinach, eat it fresh or up the nutrition by cooking it lightly. Cooking spinach releases nutrients from Oxalic Acid, an antinutrient, making it easier to absorb.
Nuts, Plants, Roots & Seeds
Ginger
A remedy as old as time, ginger has long been used to treat common colds and ailments. Able to decrease inflammation and nausea, ginger is a prevalent solution for sore throats.
Turmeric
Turmeric is a bitter spice with a bright yellow colour, popular in curries and used as a natural anti-inflammatory, thanks to its high concentration of curcumin. This yellow pigment colours turmeric, but it can also decrease exercise-induced muscle damage.
Almonds
Almonds are a fantastic source of Vitamin E and are an often forgotten nutrient in the immune-boosting category. Since Vitamin C tends to hog the spotlight on immune protection, we won’t blame you if you weren’t aware of how important Vitamin E is to a healthy immune system.
Sunflower Seeds
Love munching on sunflower seeds? Then you’ll be happy to learn they’re packed full of immune-boosting nutrients like Phosphorus, Magnesium, alongside a bevy of Vitamin B-6 and Vitamin E.
Green Tea
Tea is packed with antioxidants known as flavonoids which have been shown to enhance immune function. Green tea, for example, has high levels of epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), along with the amino acid L-theanine, which is linked to the production of germ-fighting compounds.
Boost Your Immune System Naturally
With so many natural foods to boost your immunity, it might be hard to know where to start. While eating a healthy and balanced diet is one way to boost your immune system, the most straightforward path towards a happier and healthier you is by drinking NATUREDAY A2+ Probiotics Formulated Full Cream Milk Powder.
An enjoyable formulated full cream family milk that’s authentic, delicious and cutting-edge. It’s Absorption PLUS.
