Building Immunity Starts with Your Diet

Now more than ever, we need strong immune systems. Living through a pandemic with flu season upon us, a robust immune system can keep us healthy and help us rebound faster if we do get sick. So, what helps us build a robust immune system? Everything from adequate sleep and exercise, to proper stress management and nutrition. Nutrition plays a key role in helping or hurting us. And if we want a strong immune system, there are many foods and key nutrients that can help us build it. When we talk about nutrition, it’s important to recognize that both diet and supplementation can be helpful. While the diet can supply a plentiful dose of nutrients, we often need an extra boost of specific vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals, and antioxidants to ramp up our immunity. Some key nutrients for immunity include 

vitamin C, vitamin A, zinc, vitamin D, magnesium, and antioxidants such as resveratrol, glutathione, and beta carotene. For vitamin C, eat foods such as citrus, broccoli, strawberries, and bell peppers. For vitamin A, look to dark, leafy greens (such as spinach and kale), sweet potatoes, carrots, and mangos.  Fatty fish such as salmon, sardines, tuna, mackerel (ideally wild caught) are good sources of vitamin D (and omega-3 fatty acids). Oysters, nuts, seeds, beans and lentils supply ample amounts of zinc. For magnesium, include avocados, nuts and seeds, leafy greens and dark chocolate (the darker, the better). Good sources of resveratrol include berries, peanuts, pistachios, dark chocolate, and yes, red wine. Asparagus, cabbage, walnuts, avocado, and garlic contain glutathione. Some antiviral herbs and spices include onion, oregano, sage, basil, garlic, peppermint, rosemary, echinacea, elderberry, lemon balm, fennel, licorice, astragalus, ginseng, and dandelion. While these specific foods and associated nutrients are impossible to remember, strive for a wide variety of colorful fruits and vegetables, as well as nuts, seeds, lean meats, and seafood. 

While we want to give our immune system and nutritional boost, we also want to remove the things that can weaken our immune system, including stress and inflammatory foods. The most inflammatory foods are those we have a sensitivity to (whether we know it or not), as well as processed foods and sugar. 

Additionally, it’s important to check in on our gut health, given that at least 75% of our immune system resides in the gut. If we’re someone who has had chronic or recent gut issues, this might be a good place to start when improving our immunity. If you experience symptoms such as gas, bloating, diarrhea, constipation, acid reflux, frequent nausea, stomach pain, or indigestion, you’re likely in need of some gut healing. An experienced practitioner, such as a functional medicine doctor or dietitian that specializes in gut health, can help to diagnose and treat your gut condition. The right treatment leads to a healthy gut, and a healthy gut means you'll properly digest and absorb the vital nutrients your body needs to feel your best. 

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