How to build a strong immune system

A co-worker sneezes and a cloud of viruses fills the air. A mere inch of freshly washed skin may be home to more than 1 million bacteria. Walk barefoot across a lawn, and you are picking up fungi, parasites, and still more bacteria. A dangerous world? It would be if you didn’t have your immune system to protect you. Without strong immunity, microbes in and on our bodies would quickly multiply to unimaginable numbers.

To a large extend, your ability to maintain a healthy immune system depends on what you eat. In fact, eating more of certain foods and less of others can substantially boost the body’s ability to fight most illnesses, from colds to cancer. The most powerful protection that you can give your immune system is to eat a well-balanced diet containing a variety of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, seeds and nuts, low-fat dairy products, and seafood.

The triumvirate of vitamins A, C, and the all-important E provides an enormously powerful and protective antioxidant force that defends the body’s cells against attacks by bacteria, viruses, and free radicals. You can get a lot of vitamin C in citrus fruit, broccoli, guava, strawberries, radishes, and rose hips tea. Good sources of vitamin E include dark green leafy vegetables, walnuts and pecans, wheat germ, peanut butter, and vegetable oils. Other nutrients that are required for healthy immune system function include the essential amino acids, the essential fatty acid linoleic acid, folate, vitamins B6, vitamin B12, zinc, iron, copper, and selenium. Having a low level of even a single nutrient may cause the immune system to pay the price.

One of the great immune boosters is the high natural bacteria content of live yogurt. Not only do these beneficial bacteria colonize the gut and control the growth of harmful bacteria, but the enzymes they produce are absorbed directly through the gut wall and strengthen the immune system.

Just as eating the right foods can help keep the immune system strong, eating the wrong ones can put it at a disadvantage. Junk food, processed, and high-fat foods take a real toll on your immune system. Avoid alcohol, nicotine, and caffeine.

Healthy sleep and sufficient physical activity are also necessary for building a strong immune system. As well, yoga, meditation, or any other relaxation technique is a must if we want to survive in the modern stressful world.

Reference: Yeager, S. and the editors of Prevention (2007). Doctors book of food remedies. Rodale Press, Inc.

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