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Consuming certain foods helps keep the immune system strong, keeping an individual healthy. However, one must be aware of the specific immunity boosting foods for that.
This article gives a detailed account of immunity, its role in the body and the various food sources that act as immunity boosters to ease this task for every individual. Besides, you will also get to know the foods that weaken the immune system.
Read on to know all about them!
Immunity is defined as the ability of our system to prevent the invasion of pathogens. It is a complex biological mechanism having the ability to differentiate existing bodily microbes from foreign particles and reject the latter.
Wondering how to increase the immunity of your body?
The following sections will make you aware of what to eat to increase immunity.
Incorporating certain immunity foods into one’s diet helps strengthen the immune response. Listed below are some top immunity booster fruits -
Blueberries consist of a kind of flavonoid known as anthocyanin. This contains antioxidant properties that help boost an individual’s immune system.
Oranges are undoubtedly a food source to consider for all those wondering “which fruits increase immunity”. It is packed with vitamin C that boosts the formation of white blood cells (WBCs) or lymphocytes. These cells act as the frontline for defence against infections. All varieties of this immunity boosting food contain over 100% of an individual’s recommended daily amount.
Similar to oranges, grapefruits are among the best immunity boosting foods. These are loaded with vitamin C, which is a reason for their immunity boosting properties. Besides, these fruits contain significant amounts of vitamin A and fibre. They are also low in calories and consist of 88% water.
Apple peels are composed of quercetin, which is a type of plant pigment flavonoid that helps boost an individual’s immune system and lowers inflammation. Moreover, this immunity boosting food is a rich source of natural sugars and fibres.
Along with an adequate amount of potassium and fibre, pears consists of anti-inflammatory flavonoids in their peels.
A single medium-sized papaya contains almost double the daily recommended amount of vitamin C. It also contains a digestive enzyme known as papain that has anti-inflammatory effects. Along with these, this immunity boosting food contains significant amounts of folate, potassium, and magnesium.
Kiwi contains vitamin K, potassium, folate, and vitamin C like papayas and other fruits that boost immunity. Vitamin C helps boost the production of lymphocytes, which fight infections.
Pineapple is another immunity fruit loaded with manganese and vitamin C. It also contains an enzyme known as bromelain, which controls diarrhoea, helps the body absorb antibiotics, and fights heart diseases, cancer, and diabetes.
Watermelon contains plenty of nutrients like copper, potassium, vitamin B5, vitamin C, and vitamin A. Additionally, this immunity boosting food consists of an adequate amount of citrulline.
Avocado contains significant amounts of iron, vitamin E, and potassium. This immunity boosting food is also high in monounsaturated fat that helps reduce cholesterol and promotes a healthy immune system. In addition, there are other nutrients in this fruit required by an immune system to keep an individual healthy. These include vitamins C, D and B6.
Wondering “which vegetables increase immunity”?
Scroll through!
Given below is a list of some high immunity vegetables:
Broccoli is rich in vitamin C and also consists of potent antioxidants like sulforaphane.
Sweet potatoes are loaded with beta carotene, which is a kind of antioxidant. It is also responsible for the orange colour of the skin of potatoes. Beta carotene is also a source of vitamin A that helps make skin healthy and might offer some protection against skin damage from UV rays.
The presence of carotenoids, vitamin C, flavonoids, and vitamin E helps boost the immune system.
Carrots contain significant amounts of vitamin A and antioxidants that help fight inflammations, infections, and cell damages.
The antioxidant compounds present in ginger root contain potent anti-inflammatory and immune-boosting properties.
Garlic has antiviral, anti-fungal, and antibacterial properties. Additionally, its bulbs comprise high amounts of antioxidants that quench free radicals.
Regarded as a top home garden vegetable, tomatoes are rich in vitamin C. This vitamin is an integral part of the strength of t-cells and phagocytes - two major components of a body’s immune system.
Apart from immunity boosting fruits and vegetables, there are several foods that increase the immunity of an individual.
Listed below are some foods to increase immunity -
Almonds are packed with fat-soluble vitamin E, a potent antioxidant necessary for a healthy immune system.
Sunflower seeds contain magnesium, phosphorus, selenium, and vitamins B-6 and vitamin E. Out of these, vitamin E helps regulate and maintain immune system function.
Being rich in flavonoids, green tea is certainly an immunity rich food source. Besides this, it also consists of significant levels of another potent antioxidant - epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG). Plus, this immunity boosting food is a rich source of the amino acid L-theanine which might aid in the production of germ-fighting compounds in an individual’s T cells.
Dark chocolate is one of the best immunity booster foods. This is because it contains an antioxidant known as theobromine which might help in boosting the immune system by protecting the cells from free radicals.
Turmeric consists of a potent anti-inflammatory compound known as curcumin. As per a study published in the Journal of Clinical Immunology, curcumin helps activate the production of T-cells.
Illustrated below are some essential immunity boosting vitamins that are highly beneficial for a body -
Vitamin E is a potent antioxidant that helps the body to fight off infection.This vital vitamin is a part of almost 200 biochemical reactions in an individual’s body and is also critical in the way the immune system functions.
Vitamin C is regarded as a crucial vitamin for immunity.It helps prevent infections or shortens their stay in the body. It raises the body’s antioxidant activity and helps absorb other nutrients such as iron. Plus, it is required for collagen synthesis.
Vitamin B6 is vital in supporting biochemical reactions in the immune system. This, in turn, keeps this system in top-notch condition.
Vitamin A is an infection fighter and is available in two forms - performed as in animal foods like meat, fish, and dairy or from plant carotenoids.
Contrary to immunity boosting foods, certain foods weaken a body’s immunity. Given below are some of these:
There are several processed foods consisting of additives and unhealthy fats. These components can enhance the taste, texture, and shelf life of a product but can also weaken the immune system.
A few processed foods having high amounts of additives are:
Processed foods and those with high levels of refined carbohydrates like refined sugar and white flour are associated with an increase in oxidative stress and inflammation that can harm the immune system.
Some of these foods include -
Maintaining a diet rich in sugar might limit the immune system's ability to combat diseases by increasing inflammation and lowering the effectiveness of WBCs.
Some of these foods include -
A body achieves immunity towards any disease using certain antibodies specific to that disease, present in the individual’s system. These antibodies are basically proteins that a body produces to destroy or neutralise toxins.
Knowing the various kinds of immunity will help in better understanding the role of immunity in a body.
Immunity can be of 3 types –
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Disclaimer #1: *Customer can choose options at the time of availing insurance. Premium amount may vary accordingly. Insured is required to disclose any pre-existing condition or on going treatment before policy issuance in the proposal form.
Disclaimer #2: This information is added only for informative purposes and collected from different sources across the Internet. Digit Insurance is not promoting or recommending anything here. Please verify the information before making any decisions.
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