Boost Your Immune System with Healthy Foods
June 25, 2016
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The best and most natural way to fight
infections and to avoid getting sick during cold and flu season is to let your
immune system do the work. Your body’s natural defenses are equipped to
recognize, attack, and eliminate a number of foreign invaders like bacteria and
viruses.
Although your immune system is elegantly
designed to fight off sickness, it is not perfect. You can keep it in top
fighting form and boost its effectiveness by eating certain foods. When you add
those foods to your smoothies, you can make a potent recipe for staying
healthy.
What Your Immune System Does
Your body is the perfect place for many
microbes to live. In fact, your body is home to trillions of bacterial cells.
Most of them are not harmful and many are even necessary. However, there are
bacteria that can make you sick. There are also parasites, fungi, and viruses
that love to take up residence inside the human body and the result for you is
not usually good.
When your body is infected by something that
should not be there, your immune system has a few different ways of preventing
sickness. The first is to keep the microbes out in the first place. Your immune
system provides a barrier. When that fails, the cells of your immune system
detect and destroy invading microbes before they can reproduce and spread. If
the microbes manage to reproduce, the immune system keeps working away trying
to kill and eliminate the invading cells.
This description is extremely oversimplified.
Your immune system is complex, and as yet still not completely understood. For
instance, no one yet knows exactly why the immune system turns against the body
in some people. When this happens, we say that the person has an autoimmune
disorder. Somehow the cells of the immune system see your healthy body cells as
foreign invaders and attack them. Such diseases include rheumatoid arthritis,
lupus, multiple sclerosis, and Chrohn’s disease.
Smoothies for Healthy Immune
Systems
When you build a smoothie out of a variety of
healthful ingredients, you are on the right track to having an immune system
that functions well. Many of the vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients that
are found in your smoothie ingredients are needed by your immune system. When
you get a complete balance of nutrients every day, your whole body functions
better.
Some of the nutrients that are particularly
important for immunity include vitamins A, B2, B6, C, D, and E, and the
minerals selenium and zinc. Make sure you vary your smoothies every day to get
all kinds of good foods and a wide variety of nutrients in your daily diet.
Immunity Boosting Smoothie
Ingredients
In addition to maintaining a balanced daily
diet, you can include some immune system boosters in your smoothies. While
nothing is guaranteed, you can include these ingredients in your smoothies and
expect to see positive results. Many of these have research to back up their
benefits, but in some cases, experts would like to see more rigorous study for
absolute proof that they help your immune system function better.
Probiotics: Probiotic is the
term used for bacteria that are good for you. These are the little critters
that live in your gastrointestinal tract and help you digest food. It is a
symbiotic relationship. Research is just beginning to show that these helpful
bacteria also work to improve your immune system.
More specifically, taking a
probiotic supplement has been shown to boost the immune system of participants
in research and to reduce symptoms associated with autoimmune diseases and
allergies. You can find probiotic supplements in any health food store and you
can also eat yogurt or kefir with live and active cultures to get probiotics.
Kombucha: Kombucha is a tea that has been
fermented from different species of yeast and bacteria. It originated in Asia
where it has been used for a variety of health purposes including boosting
immunity. The ancient Chinese went as far as labeling it “Immortal Health
Elixir”.
It’s also great for digestion, detoxification of the liver, increasing
metabolism and energy, and is anti-cancerous. Store bought kombucha is good,
but somewhat pricey and not as healthy as homemade. Making it yourself isn’t
that difficult.
Blueberries:
Antioxidants are important compounds when it comes to keeping your immune
system in good working order. They help you stay healthy by combating the toxic
free radicals in your body. Antioxidants include vitamins C and E, polyphenols,
selenium, and zinc among other compounds. The little blueberry is one of the
most common foods that is highest in antioxidants. Don’t ignore the other
berries, though. Raspberries, strawberries, cranberries, and blackberries also
have antioxidants
Acai Berries: Acai
berries have even more antioxidants than blueberries, but they are not as easy
to find. They come from a palm tree that grows in the Amazon and have more
antioxidants than any other food. You can find acai juices, but these are often
high in sugar and other ingredients. For your smoothie, look for frozen acai
pulp which usually contains no additives.
Goji
Berries:
Goji berries have been long revered in Asia for their healthful properties.
Modern science is just finding out why and one reason is the presence of
compounds called polysaccharides that seem to boost the immune system.
They
also seem to help your immune system better distinguish between your own cells
and invaders. This makes the berries a great addition to a smoothie if you have
an autoimmune disorder
Green Tea: Another ingredient for your
smoothie that is packed with antioxidants is green tea. Replace water or juice
in any smoothie recipe with green tea for an extra immunity boost. The
compounds in green tea that act as antioxidants are called polyphenols. One of
these polyphenols is called epigallocatechin gallate, EGCG, and it has been
shown in numerous studies to boost immunity and to have anti-cancer properties.
It can slow the growth of cancer cells while leaving healthy cells alone.
Pumpkin: A
surprisingly tasty addition to a smoothie is pumpkin, which is rich in vitamin
A. This vitamin plays many roles in your body, including communication between
cells. This communication is how your immune system recognizes healthy, normal
cells and distinguishes them from invaders. Vitamin A also helps to keep your
respiratory tract in good shape. Canned pumpkin is an easy way to get this
immune booster in a smoothie, but be sure you get plain pumpkin with no added
sugar.
Astragalus: Astragalus
is an herb that is used in traditional Chinese medicine and is believed to be a
potent immune booster. There has been a wealth of medical research that backs
up these claims. One of the most exciting effects of the herb is on tumors. Not
only does it help reduce tumors, it also reverses the immunosuppressant side effect
of chemotherapy. This herb can be used by anyone to improve the functioning of
the immune system and there are no known adverse side effects. You can find a
powdered form of astragalus as a supplement. One teaspoon in a smoothie is a
good amount.
Other Ways to Help your Immune
System
Eating a balanced, healthy diet is a very
important way to keep your immune system in good shape, and adding immune
boosters to your smoothies helps even more. You can also do some other things
as part of a healthy lifestyle to keep your immune system strong and to keep
illness at bay.
- Get plenty of exercise. Raising your heart rate by doing
aerobic exercise for at least 20 minutes, three times each week has been
shown in research to increase your immune system’s function. It does not
have to be terribly rigorous either. Try a brisk walk five days a week.
- Laugh and relax more often. The act of laughing
actually decreases the amount of stress hormones your body produces. At
the same time, it increases the amount of certain white blood cells, a
crucial part of your immune system for fighting infections. Relaxing has a
similar effect because it helps to decrease stress hormones. Spend more
time laughing with friends and watching funny movies. For relaxation, try
practicing meditation.
- Get more sleep. Most Americans do not get nearly
enough sleep each night. Adults should get between seven and nine hours of
sleep. When you are deprived of adequate sleep, you are more likely to get
sick. This may be related to stress hormones, but researchers do not fully
understand the connection.
Your immune system is a vital part of your
body and your health. Keeping it functioning well helps keep you from getting
sick with the common cold and can even help reduce your risk of getting cancer.
Your immune system is complicated, but researchers have been able to determine
many foods and nutrients that affect it. With a healthy, well-rounded diet,
some special immune-boosting foods, exercise, and good sleep, you will be doing
your best to stay in good shape.
Are there any other ingredients you feel I should
have included? Do you have a specific immune boosting smoothie recipe or go to
immune boosting ingredient? Please share in the comments below.To your good
health!
Source: https://www.healthysmoothiehq.com
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