Top 5 Immune Boosters

The furnaces are on, the heavy sweaters are out and today we attended The Toronto Santa Claus Parade. We have been very lucky here in Toronto with warm, sunny weather but the coughing kids on the subway were a reminder that cold and flu season is upon us! Greaaaat.

Did you know? 80% of the body’s immunity lies within the digestive system. Therefore proper food choices and supplementation is of utmost importance now more than ever.

Staying away from refined and processed foods will help your immunity, but there are certain foods and things you can do to be sure to add into your daily life to build a strong immune system.



Here my Top 5 Immune Boosters:

ACE  
 
A - Vitamin A reduces the severity and occurrence of colds. It can be found in pumpkin, sweet potato, carrots, kale, and spinach all of which are in season right now.
C - The most popular immune booster is vitamin C, which enhances immune cell activity and can be found in guava, kiwi, and citrus fruits.
 E - This important antioxidant and immune booster doesn't get as much press as vitamin C, yet it's important to a healthy immune system. Vitamin E stimulates the production of natural killer cells, those that seek out and destroy germs and cancer cells. Vitamin E enhances the production of B-cells, the immune cells that produce antibodies that destroy bacteria.Vitamin E can be found naturally in nuts, seeds and whole grains.


Zinc
Zinc is Vitamin C’s partner in crime also boosting immune cells while reducing the duration and severity of the common cold.  Zinc rich foods include garbanzo and lima beans along with green peas.

CoQ10 (Co Enzyme Q10)
One immunity underdog is CoQ10, which all of our body’s cells need, and although we can make CoQ10 in the presence of a healthy diet, unhealthy diets zap this nutrient out just when we need it most.  Good thing CoQ10 can also be found in nuts and broccoli. Aiming to get a good source of these nutrients daily during cold and flu season, along with a healthy balanced diet, will give your immune system the strength it needs- and can help you save on tissues too.

Exercise 
Stephanie Joanne seasoned health and fitness entrepreneur says, Exercise will reduce those symptoms linked 
to a weak immune like stress, poor diet, sleep etc. It also increases production of bacteria fighting cells! 
Keeping our immune systems functioning better with moderate exercise. But warns us that, Too much 
however (over training) can do the reverse. 
Meditation 
Ai-Linn Chua Henderson Natural Healing Practitioner and Teacher at The Modern Mystery School says, The practice of meditation helps to relieve stress my helping to relax the physical and mental body. Research has shown that just 15 minutes of meditation a day is equivalent to 4 hours of sleep! By having a regular meditation practice the individual will notice a decreased stress response to normal everyday stressors and a much clearer out look on life and improved mental function. Follow Ai-Linn's guide to easy, stress-free meditation here


The information presented here is not intended to replace professional medical care when needed. Consult a qualified healthcare practitioner for disease diagnosis, therapy choice, medicine selection and dosage.

3 comments:

Unknown said...

Great post!! Vitamin C is a great immune booster. It performs several different functions all of which work towards boosting the immune system . It works in the curative process where it helps heal wounds faster. In the preventive role, vitamin c prevents infections from spreading as well as preventing such deficiency ailments as scurvy.

Health-forever said...

Healthy tips! Thank you for sharing these 5 immune boosters.

Anonymous said...

I believe that those foods/vitamins and exercise boost immune system but also I take a soft gel as a combination to be more effective. I get it at Best Factor Corp.

Post a Comment