Boosting Immune System
|
Boosting Immune System Health With Antioxidants
With the cold and flu season getting worse every year due to the virus's ability to morph into new strains, the best way to strengthen your immune system is as close as your local grocery store.A diet rich in fruits and vegetables can help you ward off infections like colds and flu, in turn boosting immune system.
That is because these foods to boost immune system health contain antioxidants.
What are antioxidants?
They are vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients that protect and repair cells from damage caused by free radicals.
Many experts believe this damage plays a part in a number of chronic diseases, including hardening of the arteries (atherosclerosis), cancer, and arthritis.
Free radicals can make your immune system work harder. So, fighting off free radical damage with antioxidants in your diet helps keep your immune system strong, making you better able to ward off colds, flu, and other infections.
Big 3 Antioxidant Super Foods
Adding more fruit and vegetables of any kind to your diet will improve your health by boosting immune system, but some foods are higher in antioxidants than others.
The three major antioxidant vitamins are:
1. Beta-carotene
2. Vitamin C
3. Vitamin E
You’ll find them in colorful fruits and vegetables – especially those with purple, blue, red, orange, and yellow hues.
Foods Containing Beta-Carotene and Other Carotenoids:
Apricots, asparagus, beets, broccoli, cantaloupe, carrots, corn, green peppers, kale, mangoes, turnip and collard greens, nectarines, peaches, pink grapefruit, pumpkin, squash, spinach, sweet potato, tangerines, tomatoes, and watermelon.
Vitamin C: Berries, broccoli, brussels sprouts, cantaloupe, cauliflower, grapefruit, honeydew, kale, kiwi, mangoes, nectarines, orange, papaya, red, green or yellow peppers, snow peas, sweet potato, strawberries, and tomatoes.
Vitamin E: Broccoli, carrots, chard, mustard and turnip greens, mangoes, nuts, papaya, pumpkin, red peppers, spinach, and sunflower seeds.
Other super foods that are rich in antioxidants include:
- Acai Berries
- Alfalfa Sprouts
- Apples
- Beans
- Blueberries
- Eggplant
- Onions
- Plums
- Prunes
- Raisins
- Red Grapes
Vitamins aren’t the only antioxidants in food. Other foods to boost immune system health and immunity include...
Zinc: which is found in:
Oysters, red meat, poultry, beans, nuts, seafood, whole grains, fortified cereals, and dairy products.
Selenium: which is found in:
Brazil nuts, tuna, beef, poultry and fortified breads, and other grain products.
What is ORAC value?
ORAC stands for Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity.
The antioxidant values of foods is expressed in ORAC (Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity) units. Orac values are a unit of measurement for antioxidants developed by the National Institute on Aging in the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
The chart below shows foods to boost immune system health which have high ORAC values.
Orac Values
Return from Boosting Immune System to Home Page
