A robust immune system…. Need of the hour!!
The human body has an in-built mechanism that protects it against bacteria, viruses, and other disease-causing organisms: the immune system. The immune system is our shield against disease. It is an efficient, complex defense system. Its uninterrupted functioning is very important in maintaining our health.
Does the way we eat affect the immune system?
Today, one of the most devastating changes in our lifestyle is in our food supply:
1. Livestock (meat and poultry) have been increasingly treated with antibiotics and growth hormones. They are fed with heavily sprayed feed.
2. Our diets are heavily dependent on processed convenience foods full of additives and dyes, and new synthetic foods with hydrogenated or artificial fats and artificial sweeteners.
Ø These are all substances that the body doesn't recognize as nourishment, but rather as toxins that have to be eliminated.
Ø The immune system is already overloaded dealing with such foreign substances.
Ø It also has to fight against the toxic chemicals entering our body from polluted air and water.
Ø Hence, it may not have the reserves to fight against common allergens, germs and viruses.
3. A poor diet and poor quality foods also create a digestive system that gets out of balance.
4. This results in partially digested proteins being absorbed into the body fluids.
5. The immune system labels these proteins as toxins.
Ø Because of this, the immune system overreacts, using valuable energy that could be used elsewhere in fighting against infectious organisms.
6. A weak digestive system leads to poor absorption of important vitamins and minerals, as well as food allergies.
Hence, it is really important to not waste your immune system's energy dealing with common allergens or problem foods. So here’s what you need to know to get started.
Let us first understand the basic components of our immune system and their functions.
How to strengthen your immune system???
What to eat?
Fruits:
- Guava, papaya, strawberries, orange, mangoes, and pineapple are rich sources for vitamin A and C.
- All types of berries are particularly noted for their cancer preventative abilities because they contain large quantities of antioxidants.
- A daily dose of fresh squeezed lemon juice is a great way to improve digestive health, lower the body's acidity, and ample supply of vitamin C.
Vegetables:
- All leafy green, yellow and orange vegetables provide vitamin A.
- Wheat germ, soybeans are excellent sources of vitamin E.
Garlic:
- It possesses notable antibiotic, antiviral, and antifungal properties. Garlic also has immune system boosting qualities, as well as anti-tumor and antioxidant features. Because of the volatile nature of most of the beneficial compounds, it should be used fresh or only added at the very end of cooking.
- Onions, garlic, ginger and turmeric and very effective antiseptics.
Yoghurt:
- Yogurt "packs a healthy dose of good bacteria that can protect the body against harmful bacteria and infections."
- Although they may not have a direct impact on the immune system, these probiotics are very important to keep digestion working properly, so that you can absorb the nutrients from other foods that are essential for immune system health.
Mushrooms:
- Particularly shiitake mushrooms, are one of the top immunity boosting foods.
Green juice:
- Enzymes are an important part of digestive health, and are also used in every other part of the body to break down toxins, for cellular metabolism, and to fight disease – an ideal immune booster.
- Green juice made from wheat grass, basil and mint leaves should be consumed daily in the morning on an empty stomach. It acts as an excellent detoxifier.
- Even all vegetable juices (tomato, spinach, cucumber etc.) enhance the functioning of immune system.
Fats:
- Foods high in omega-3 fatty acids and alpha-lipoic acid include nuts and seeds (walnuts, soybeans), leafy green vegetables, grains, and vegetable oil (corn, safflower, sesame, sunflower and flaxseed oil).
- In particular, fatty fishes such as mackerel, salmon, sardines and tuna offer the most available EPA and DHA to the immune system.
Whole grains:
- Brown rice, millet, oats, barley, and other whole grains are a valuable source of the vitamins, minerals and fiber that are an essential part of keeping the immune system healthy.
- Fiber helps cleanse the colon of toxins and helps prevent intestinal infections.
- Intact whole grains, not the flour products made from them are what really strengthen the digestive system.
- Cooked grains make a great breakfast or a substitute for pasta, white rice or white potatoes.
A healthy diet is the foundation of long term health maintenance and a strong immune system. It increases the effectiveness of all medicines, so that they are required in a small amount, minimizes the side effects of all medicines we take, especially antibiotics, and improves the overall energy and quality of life.
An optimal diet will reduce the risk of disease and strengthen the body's defenses and natural healing power. It will help you to reduce the other daily stresses to your system, and even positively affect your moods and sense of wellbeing!!!
Nice article!! A great post to refer to while choosing what to eat and what not to eat :)
ReplyDeleteHii
ReplyDeletenice n Informative article. But I was just wondering why meat(natural human food) has been excluded from the list. Meat serves as good protein (n Vit B12)source..
very informative.
ReplyDeleteNice to see some schematic diagrams this time...they really help in explaining the big picture.
As Hemant mentioned, I would like to know what role chicken, red meat and eggs play in immune system.
good work vibs, to answer kishnakath's question. Egg white is the best source for protein as it has all the essential amino acids that our body can not synthesize. The yolk is an excellent source of all fat soluble vitamins and also lecithin which is good for healthy cardiac function, but you shouldn't have more than one or two yolks per week as it has high levels of cholesterol. Red meat although a good source of vitamin b12 has much higher fat than white meat. chicken or turkey is a better option for incorporating protein in your diet. Whey protein is a good option also. having chicken liver or goat liver once in a while is another alternative for obtaining b12. however it should not be eaten by people with gout trouble as it has high nucleic acid content.
ReplyDelete@all: thanks a lot!
ReplyDeleteThanks danesh for your information!! it is indeed valuable..
i would like to add something to it....
@hemant and krishnakanth: though meat is considered to be a source of vitamin b12, the way in which the poultry animals are raised (by injecting artificial hormones etc..) is very harmful, especially for people consuming meat very frequently. the explanation to this, you will find in this article..
and there are other better sources of B12 other than meat which you can easily find on the internet.. and another important thing is the way in which we consume this meat.. with a lot of masalas on, fried or tandoor, etc.etc i have doubts as to how much B12 is actually left in it after all these procedures....
Well said Vibhusha... many things like vegetables, fruits, milk, eggs and meat which seem to be very natural are rarely so natural now days...
ReplyDelete- vegetables and fruits mostly get heavy dosages of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, fruits (especially like mangoes) are many times ripen using chemicals
- Milk... firstly, difficult to ascertain the purity and secondly, even if it is assumed to be pure, you never know what all artificial elements are fed to cattle to get higher yields
- As far as meat and eggs are concerned... you have already explained...
thanks nikhil!
ReplyDeletefrom all these articles what i want to emphasize is th need to switch back to our natural diet and to consuming 'fresh' and 'home made' food... rather than depending on the instant and processed foods and junk foods.
and i totally agree that even fruits and vegetables do contain these residues... BUT, they atleast contain nutrients which are helpful.... in contrast to all processed foods... which act like a double edged sword.. chemicals+no nutrients....
and today options are available for that too.... organic foods.... they are safe from all chemicals and now with respect to price almost at par with the regular veggies..... :)
I liked the diagrammatic representation which supplements your article.I t comes in handy to explain the details of your article. Though felt that isn't consuming dry fruits important like walnuts or almonds which in some amount contain polyunsaturatdd fatty acids?Would like to know about it.It is recommended most of the times by physicians that you have small proportions of walnuts or almond in your regular diet.
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