20 foods that will boost your immune system

It’s getting to winter time again, and whether you want to avoid getting the cold or flu, or just improve your health in general, you may be thinking about giving your immune system a boost. Are you looking for foods you can add into your everyday meals to really strengthen your immunity? Read on to find out the best immune boosting foods. Looking back on this list, most of the food is what I grew up on as part of a Chinese family. I guess I was building my immune system without even knowing it haha.

1. Citrus fruits

So first up in the list of foods that will boost your immunity, citrus fruits such as grapefruit and oranges. Citrus fruits are high in vitamin C. As our body doesn’t produce or store vitamin C it’s important to get our dose from food.

2. Red bell peppers

Red bell peppers are also high in vitamin C. They are also rich source of beta carotene (red-orange pigment that gives plants, fruits and vegetables their colour), our body converts beta carotene into vitamin A. Why is vitamin A important? It has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects as well as helping to protect cells from damage.

I like to throw in a few peppers when I’m making a spaghetti bolognese. It’s such an easy way to include the vegetables and I find it makes the bolognese tastier than just having mince on its own.

3. Broccoli

Broccoli is packed full of nutrients: vitamin A, C, E, fibre and antioxidants. Vitamin E helps maintain our health in a lot of ways – vision, reproduction, skin, blood, brain, as well as having antioxidant properties.

I like to stir fry broccoli with a bit of salt and garlic. Which brings us to the next immune boosting superfood!

4. Garlic

I guess it’s not hard to add garlic to your diet as it’s used in just about every recipe 😊

5. Ginger

Some easy ways to use ginger in your food and drink are: add a bit to a smoothie, add them to soup, to a stir-fry, sprinkle them on top of fish before popping in the oven.

6. Spinach

Spinach is another nutrient rich food – high in vitamin C, antioxidants and beta carotene (I know beta carotene is an red-orange pigment but turns out leafy green vegetables contain beta carotene too). I love adding spinach to pasta, in fact I love the taste of spinach so I often add it to soups too.

7. Yoghurt

The best yoghurts to help your immune system are plain or natural yoghurts. Also, yoghurts that say on the label they contain “live and active cultures”.

8. Almonds

Almonds are high in vitamin E which helps contribute to a healthy immune system. Try toasting almonds in a frying pan (no oil needed) with a pinch of salt for a delicious snack. The almonds only need to be toasted for 5 minutes, so easy and tasty, once you have tried toasted almonds you will never look back.

9. Sunflower seeds

Sunflower seeds are full of nutrients such as phosphorous, magnesium, vitamin B6, vitamin E and selenium.

• Phosphorous – needed for the growth, maintenance and repair of cells and tissues, also for the production of DNA and RNA. Phosphorous also helps balance and use other vitamins and minerals such as iodine
• Magnesium -helps with function of muscles and nerves, regulates blood pressure, and supports energy production
• Vitamin B6 – helps to keep the nervous system and immune system flourishing
• Selenium – supports many processes in the body such as fertility, also helps to make DNA and protects cells from damage and infections

I remember snacking on these as a kid, my parents would buy bags of sunflower seeds from the Chinese supermarket and we would sit round the coffee table eating them. I’m not sure if it’s just an Asian thing or other countries have sunflower seeds as a snack too?

10. Turmeric

Turmeric is not only an immune booster, turmeric is fab for the skin too. An easy way to use turmeric is to add it to scrambled eggs. You can find other easy ways to use turmeric here.

11. Green tea

Green tea contains epigallocatechin gallate which is an effective antioxidant that boosts the immune system.

12. Papaya

Papaya contains vitamin C, vitamin B9 (folate), potassium and magnesium. One of the key roles of vitamin B9 is to breakdown homocysteine which is an amino acid that is harmful for the body if there is too high an amount. Potassium is an electrolyte which helps with a lot of bodily processes such as normal water balance, heart rhythm and PH balance.

13. Kiwi

Kiwi provides vitamin B9 (folate), potassium, vitamin K, and vitamin C.

14. Chicken

Chicken is high in vitamin B6 which helps to maintain a healthy nervous system and immune system.

15. Blueberries

Blueberries contain a pigment anthocyanin that has strong antioxidant properties. I love sprinkling some blueberries on top of my porridge.

16. Echinacea

Echinacea or coneflower are from eastern and central North America. Herbalists recommend echinacea to boost the immune system however please be aware to not take echinacea continuously for more than 8 weeks straight due to possible damage to the liver. You can take echinacea in many forms such as a tea, liquid, or capsules.

17. Oily Fish

Oily fish such as salmon, tuna are a source of omega-3 fatty acids. Our body cannot produce omega-3 fatty acid which is why it’s important to include foods that contain them in our diet. They are a key part of cell membranes and needed to make hormones that regulate a lot of bodily processes such as blood clotting. They are especially good to maintain a healthy heart.

18. Sweet potatoes

Sweet potatoes are a good source of beta carotene. There are sooo many ways to eat them, roasted, fries, in a soup. Growing up, I ate sweet potatoes cut in half and roasted in the oven, still with the skin on, we would munch on them as a snack.

19. Watermelon

Wow am I glad watermelon is on this list of foods to boost your immune system.; it’s my favourite fruit! Watermelon contains an antioxidant glutathione which strengthens the immune system.

20. Button mushrooms

Finally, on this list of foods to boost the immune system, button mushrooms. They contain selenium, vitamin B2 and vitamin B3.

Conclusion

So there you have it, 20 foods that boost the immune system. Hope it helps you to stay healthy this winter and beyond! If you found this post helpful please share 😊