5 Foods to Supercharge Your Immunity This Fall

What you eat can be the difference between beating an infection quickly or it hanging on, so choose your foods wisely this fall and eat for prevention! Here are my top foods to eat to help prevent and fight infection.

Get Friendly with Garlic

Garlic is an ancient common cold remedy that packs big immune-boosting power, mainly due to the sulphur compound, allicin. The best ways to consume garlic when you're sick or for prevention includes crushing it and letting it sit for 10 mins, then consuming raw. Additionally, small pieces can be swallowed like a pill or it can be cooked, although this depletes allicin. My favourite way to eat it is chopped up and thrown into a bone broth soup with veggies!

Eat Your C!

It feels redundant to say to eat your vitamin C, but it's a crucial nutrient for the function of immune cells, including the enhancement of natural killer (NK) cells that destroy invaders.

Vitamin C-Rich Foods Include:

• Citrus fruits

• Dark green leafy vegetables

• Sweet red and yellow peppers

• Broccoli and broccoli microgreens

• Cabbage

Soothe with Manuka Honey

Drinking warm water with fresh squeezed lemon juice and raw manuka honey is a fantastic addition when you're fighting a cold or flu. Lemon juice is not only rich in vitamin C and quercetin for anti-inflammatory power, but manuka honey contains a range of beneficial anti-microbial properties which help fight bacterial, fungal and vi ral infections. The main active ingredients are Methylglyoxal and hydrogen peroxide, which are fantastic antibacterial agents.

Get Spicy

The best cold and flu remedies can be found in your kitchen and we can’t forget about herbs and spices! Add a little kick to your foods by using red chilli peppers, oregano, thyme, ginger and turmeric. These foods have a wide range of anti-bacterial and anti-vi ral properties that will give your immune system a good boost.

Fuel Your Gut Bacteria

Probiotic foods like sauerkraut, kimchi, coconut kefir and apple cider vinegar are great fermented foods to add to your daily diet because they’re rich in good bacteria called probiotics that help keep your gut bacteria happy and flourishing. Our gut bacteria are crucial to both preventing and fighting infection and help regulate inflammation levels in the body. Gut good bacteria also supports healthy sleep, which is essential for a strong immune system and recovery. I don’t generally recommend kombucha due to it’s high sugar content, and while some recommend miso, many people are sensitive to soy, so I usually don’t recommend this either. For more info go read 5 Keys to Fostering A Healthy Gut Microbiome.

What to Avoid While Sick (and in prevention of infection)

Avoiding foods that suppress immunity are just as important! Refined sugars, refined carbohydrates and refined oils need to be removed for a strong immune system. Avoid refined and concentrated juices and large amounts of fruit juices, especially if you're sick. Of course you’ll also want to avoid any sodas or other drinks with added sugars. It may be surprising to hear that the majority of packaged broths, soups and supplements contain added sugars, so keep an eye out for these also. Lastly, avoid or minimize inflammatory foods like conventional dairy, gluten, soy and corn.

Lifestyle Factors To Remember

• Rest and sleep are extremely important parts of recovery and strengthening both the nervous system and immune system.

• Support your digestion and upper respiratory pathways with warm liquids like teas such as echinacea, bone broth and warm lemon water.

• Walking, yoga, swimming, stretching with twisting motions and deep abdominal breathing will help stimulate lymphatic flow for a stronger immune system. It's important to keep some movement in your day even if you're sick, without overdoing it.

Supplementation is a crucial piece of the puzzle, which we’ll be talking about next time!

Need some quick, healthy snack or lunch ideas?? You need these 25 Simple, Clean & Easy Snack Boxes for Back to School!

Asher Kleiber

Registered Holistic Nutritionist™

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Sources:

Huijskens M et al. Ascorbic acid promotes proliferation of natural killer cell populations in culture systems applicable for natural killer cell therapy. Cytotherapy. 2015;17(5):613-620. (cells)