Feeding your body isn’t just a matter of busting your hunger. While that is an important part of it, there are certain foods to boost immunity levels and improve your health overall. It is for this reason that nutrition needs to be an important factor in our food choices. –
When your goal is to keep illness away, one of the best things you can do is feed yourself foods to boost immunity levels. These help to support your entire body and immune system as opposed to focusing on specific wellness points. These are the ingredients you can add to your foods to help your body prepare to fight off infections, the flu, colds and other unwanted nasties to which you’re exposed on a regular basis.
As you next head to the supermarket, consider adding the following foods to boost immunity levels to your grocery list:
• Red bell peppers
Vitamin C is one of the best nutrients you can give your body for immune system support. It plays a direct role in the production and health of your white blood cells. While most people turn to citrus fruits when they want a vitamin C boost, those are far from the heroes of the vitamin C world. They do contain this nutrient and taste great when you have a cold, but if you want to take this vitamin seriously, there are other options that will serve you better like red bell peppers and many dark green veggies, too!
• Garlic
It’s not just for keeping vampires away. Garlic – particularly raw garlic – contains a substance allicin. A number of studies have linked the regular consumption of raw garlic with several health benefits from an improved immune function to reduced blood pressure and decrease artery hardening. This ingredient has been used for centuries for its infection fighting properties.
• Turmeric
This bright yellow powder has a mustard-like flavor and is found in many curries. Its curcumin content acts as a powerful anti-inflammatory. This helps to reduce many symptoms within the body while supporting overall immune health. It can also decrease swelling and pain and recent research suggests it’s also helpful in decreasing exercise-induced muscle damage.
• Green tea
Green tea and black tea are both chock full of a form of antioxidant called flavonoids. In green tea, these are exceptionally high in the form of epigallocatechin gallate, also known as EGCG. It is that antioxidant that has been linked to enhanced immune function in a growing body of research.