October is here and fall is officially in full swing. The temperature is dropping and chilly days are approaching quickly. This also means that cold season is right around the corner. It’s more important now with COVID to take extra care of your body, specifically your immune system. Immunity is one of the most important functions your body carries out and it is the epicenter of many aspects of your health. While your body does an incredible job of defending you against disease-causing microbes daily, it will never hurt to give it a little boost. One of the easiest and most effective ways of boosting your immune system is by eating foods rich in zinc, vitamin C, protein, and antioxidants.
I’m not a nutritionist or expert, but I love learning about what certain foods can do for your body.
Here’s a list of the best immune-boosting foods you can eat and will also enjoy!
1. Cook with Garlic
Garlic has been shown to provide a variety of health benefits. Garlic can help boost your immune system because it contains a compound called allicin that helps the immune system fight off germs. Eating garlic not only prevents you from getting cold-like symptoms but it can reduce the severity of the symptoms if you do get sick. So crush it up and mix it in with your roasted vegetables or mix it in with pasta; there are so many ways garlic can be consumed.
2. Bell Peppers
Everyone knows how important vitamin C is for preventing sickness but did you know that bell peppers contain more vitamin C than oranges. Bell peppers are very high in vitamin C, providing up to 169% of your recommended daily value according to healthline.com. Bell peppers also contain lots of other vitamins and minerals. If you don’t like bell peppers, citrus fruits also contain a lot of vitamin C.
3. Add More Protein
Protein has a key role in building and repairing your body tissue and fighting infection. Since our immune systems are made up of proteins, it’s important that you’re getting enough of it in order to build up your immune system cells. Meats such as chicken, beef, and tuna contain high amounts of protein. But, there are many non-meat foods that also contain a lot of protein such as tofu, lentils, greek yogurt, nuts, and beans.
4. Leafy Greens
Eating dark green vegetables like spinach, kale, swiss chard, broccoli and many more are great for boosting your immune system. They contain so many essential vitamins like vitamin C and K as well as being high in antioxidants. This helps your body fight off free radicals and help support a healthy immune system. If you’re not a big veggie person, stick some baby spinach into smoothies and you won’t even taste it!
5. Zinc!
Find foods rich in zinc to incorporate into your diet. Zinc has been linked to improving your immune system and has shown to shorten the duration and severity of a common cold. Some zinc-rich foods include oysters, beef, pork, legumes such as chickpeas and lentils, eggs, seeds, and the best of all—dark chocolate.
Hopefully, this article got you thinking about how you can stay healthy through food this fall. How we feel starts with what we eat so make sure you’re giving your body what it needs to be happy and healthy.
Edited 9/29/20 by Grace Willean