Fight the Virus with Your Immune System

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With the ongoing coronavirus outbreak, people are seeking for preventative methods. The CDC (Centers of Disease Control and Prevention) gave a lot of good recommendations to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus (click here to access the prevention & treatment page from CDC). On top of following the recommended precautions, it is also important to strengthen your immune system which not only can protect you from seasonal illnesses such as the coronavirus, but also can protect you from allergies, arthritis, and other health problems. Here are some of the important nutrients that can help boosting your immune system.
  •  Protein plays a role in healing and recovery. The protein requirement for people with no illness is 0.8-1.0 grams/kg body weight, which is about 48-60 grams of protein for a person weighing 132 pounds. Some protein sources include animal and plant sources. Make sure to cook animal products thoroughly to make sure that the unwanted bacteria are killed. Some protein resources include seafood, lean meats, poultry, eggs, beans, soy products (tofu, tempeh), nuts, and seeds.
  • Vitamin A helps regulate the immune system, as well as protecting the body from getting infections. Vitamin A keeps healthy skin, tissues, the mouth, stomach, intestine, and respiratory system. The sources for vitamin A include sweet potatoes, carrots, broccoli, spinach, red bell peppers, apricots, eggs, or any “vitamin A fortified” foods, such as milk and cereal.
  •  Vitamin C protects against infections by stimulating the formulation of antibodies and immunity. A lot of people choose to take supplements that have more than 1000mg of vitamin C, thinking that they are more protected with a high amount of vitamin C. However, taking more than 1000mg of vitamin C a day only has less than 50% absorption rate, comparing to 30-180mg, which has 70-90% absorption rate. Some good vitamin C sources include oranges, grapefruit, tangerines, red bell peppers, papaya, strawberries, tomato juice, or foods fortified with vitamin C.
  • Vitamin E plays a role in being an antioxidant, neutralizes free radicals, and improve immune function. Vitamin E can be obtained from fortified cereals, sunflower seeds, almonds, vegetable oils, hazelnuts, and peanut butter.
  •  Zinc boosts the immune system as well as helping in wound healing. Zinc tends to be better absorbed from animal sources such as beef, milk, seafood, and poultry. Some other good sources of zinc include whole grains, beans, tofu, seeds, and nuts.
  • Vitamin D is also great in boosting your immune system. The best source of vitamin D is from sun exposure. However, if you live in Northeast Ohio, this time of the year is not the best time to get sun exposure. Vitamin D can be found in fatty fish, eggs, milk, and 100% juices that are fortified with vitamin D.
  • Probiotics are the good bacteria that can promote health. Some food sources include cultured dairy products such as yogurt and fermented foods such as kimchi.

Even though these nutrients will help boost your immune system, make sure to keep focusing on balanced diets/meal plan. If you are at risk or deficient in any of these nutrients, ask your doctor and dietitian if it is necessary to take supplements. If you do need to take supplements, make sure that you are not using it as a meal replacement. In addition to balanced meals, it is also important to get adequate sleep, keep good hygiene, and cope with stress. These habits would have a big impact on your immune system.

I also want to share a smoothie recipe that would help in boosting your immune system. I like this recipe because it is very easy and the ingredients are very simple that you might even have in your fridge right now.

Tropical Berry Smoothie
  • 3 frozen strawberries
  • ¼ cup frozen blueberries
  • 1 banana
  • ¼ cup pineapple chunks
  • 8 fl oz 100% cranberry juice

Blend them all together and have it as a snack!






https://www.eatright.org/health/wellness/preventing-illness/how-to-keep-your-immune-system-healthy
https://www.eatright.org/health/wellness/preventing-illness/protect-your-health-with-immune-boosting-nutrition
https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminC-HealthProfessional/

-SP

Comments

  1. ELApril 12, 2020 at 6:48 PM

    This is a great post! It's so crazy to me to think that there was a time a few weeks ago when people were panic buying at the grocery stores. The aisles of prepackaged goods were bare, yet the produce section was untouched. That alone is enough to realize that there is a serious public misunderstanding regarding health. In a time where health and immune function is so important, it is disheartening to see people skipping this section of the grocery store!

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