IMMUNITY

Nutrition for Your Immune System - Top 10 tips to prevent colds and flu’s.

Here are some quick and easy steps you can take now to support a healthy immune system:

1) Choose a wide variety of fruit and vegetables, in a range of colours. Picking those in season is good for the budget and a great start to winter.

2) For a healthy immune system, having enough zinc, found in lean red meat, fish and poultry as well as wholegrain cereals, legumes, reduced-fat dairy foods and nuts.

3) Start the day with a warm winter breakfast. Missing breakfast can be linked to susceptibility to illnesses.  Try porridge with reduced-fat milk, or poached or boiled eggs on wholegrain toast, and some fruit.

4) Include yoghurt in your diet.  Yoghurt is a good source of healthy bacteria, and a food known for its immunity boosting properties. Make a special effort to up your yoghurt intake if you are taking antibiotics, as the healthy bacteria can ease an upset stomach caused by the antibiotics.

5) Try nourishing winter staples like chunky vegetable and lentil soups, and slow-cooked casseroles made with lean meat and vegetables like sweet potato and carrot. Many soups and casseroles provide a variety of vegetables which contain the best mix of antioxidants for a healthy immune system.

6) Have a diet rich in fruits and vegetables with high levels of Vitamin C.  Vitamin C has been shown to help fight infection by enhancing immune system function, and can be sourced from a myriad of fruits and vegetables. The most obvious sources are citrus fruits (oranges, mandarins, grapefruit and lemons), which are in season in winter. But if you're looking for sources beyond those, consider capsicum, broccoli and kiwifruit, which all have high levels of Vitamin C.

7) Drink some tea. For thousands of years the Chinese have used tea to treat many aliments including colds and coughs, body aches and pains. Tea is a natural source of antioxidants called flavonoids, which help strengthen the body's immune system.

8) Drink plenty of water.  It’s important to stay hydrated, even in winter.

9) Keep up with regular exercise –it's a known immune system booster.

10)  Avoid sugar – it can suppress the immune system.

Nutrition for Tip top Immunity!

The ideal immune-boosting diet is, in essence, no different from the ideal diet for anyone. Since immune cells are produced rapidly during an infection, sufficient protein is essential. Eating the right kinds of fats is important too. Diets high in saturated or hydrogenated fat suppress immunity and clog up the system, while essential fats – found in oily fish, nuts and seeds – boost immune function.

If you have an infection that increases mucus production (eg a cold), it is best to avoid meat, dairy produce and eggs – these foods tend to stimulate more mucus.

To ensure you get plenty of immune-boosting nutrients, eat plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables. Good sources include carrots, beetroot, sweet potatoes, tomatoes and bean sprouts, plus watermelon and berries (strawberries, blueberries, raspberries etc – you can buy these frozen when they are not in season).

Eat what you can raw, and lightly steam the rest. Avoid frying anything as this introduces harmful free radicals that increase your toxic load.

Sugar is not good news at the best of times, but studies show that it can actually depress immune activity, so avoid any forms if you are fighting an infection. Also avoid refined grains (which quickly digest down to sugar and contain few nutrients), instead opting for whole grains (oats, quinoa, rye bread, brown rice etc).