From childhood, you are trained with fruits, vegetables, and common home healthy foods like soups.
This is one way your immunity is built stronger. There are lots of health websites talking about boosting immunity with drugs, and herbs but let’s make this clear. Immunity is something that can be increased or decreased at our will by ingesting so-called ‘immunity boosters’, and if we ingest the wrong substance into the body, then we are waging war on the immune system and pathogens.
Traditionally, many foods help in increasing immunity like fruit, vegetables, and some medicinal plants. They help to boost the immune power. In fruit, citrus fruits like lime, and orange contain essential nutrients that support immunity. Same as other plants like pawpaw, pineapple, mango, dragon fruit, strawberry, and apple can also boost your immune power. In vegetables broccoli, tomato, Red bell paper, and spinach support immunity. All the vegetables around us are good and they all have the support to boost immune power.
We should add and consume all the vegetables in our diet because they hold antibacterial and anti-fungal properties which support the immune system to stay strong.
While there is much food that increases your immunity, There are also certain foods and drugs that reduce your immunity. Yes, you heard it right. These foods when eaten regularly affect health seriously and can lead to certain disorders or diseases whilst products or drugs that claim to boost the immune system tries to put their consumer at risk. They sometimes have one or two ingredients that are recognized as immunity boosters while the other side of it might contain loads of sugar or even hydrogenated oils. Apart from that, many of these products even drain bucks from your pocket.
Today, SaluBris will be listing down some of the food items that are bad for your Health and foods that can boost your immunity.
List Of Unhealthy Foods That Suppresses Or Weakens The Immune System.
1. Fast Foods.
It is not that fast food is bad for your health, but consuming it too much is not healthy, and thus can result in the rise of unhealthy cholesterol. The presence of trans fatty acids in fast foods is severely harmful to one’s health. Trans fat is created through the process of hydrogenating vegetable oils, and these vegetable oils are commonly used by the Fast Food industry. Apart from fatty oil, Fast food usually contains lots of calories, too much sugar, less fiber, and excess salt which can be harmful to the health and further weaken the immune system.
2. Alcoholic beverages.
Research from Oregon Health & Science University informed that moderate alcohol drinking may help strengthen the immune system and reduce the risk of falling sick. However, it is crucial to keep in mind that excessive alcohol consumption can be bad for your health. Consuming too much alcohol affects your digestive system, immune system, nervous system, and the bacteria present in the epithelial lining. By damaging the epithelial lining, it disturbs the ability to absorb nutrition by the body and causes severe harm to the kidney and liver. Cutting down on your drinking or abstaining from alcohol is never a bad idea if there is a need to.
3. Caffeine.
People consume caffeine foods to give themselves a mental boost or to keep them awake if they haven’t slept properly the previous night but when this process is continued over and over again it is associated with lower working levels of the immune system and makes it difficult for the body to fight infections. Furthermore, it promotes high blood sugar and reduces the circulating of vitamin B, elevates cholesterol, and triglycerides. It also worsens panic attacks, anxiety, restlessness, nervousness, insomnia, stomach upset, tachycardia, irritability, and addiction. All these disorders take place when the excess intake of caffeine foods destroys or weakens the immune system.
4. Refined Sugar(Refined Carbohydrates) and Sugar Snack .
Absolutely, sugar snacks produce sweets that fill your fat cells and they travel through the blood causing small veins to clog and slow down the movement of oxygen to the eyes and the brain. If you never knew, about 75 grams of sugar can weaken the immune system and once the white blood cells are affected, it takes about 4-5 hrs for the immune system to recover, exposing you to illness or infections. Sugar is responsible for several chronic conditions which over time, puts pressure on the immune system and can cause death. Instead of a sugary snack, add fruits to your diet and stay healthy but if you can’t resist your favorite snack, then reduce the number of times it is consumed.
5. Processed and Junk Foods.
Junk or processed food can never make our immunity stronger, there have serious repercussions like affecting the body’s metabolism making it difficult for the immune system to function properly. The memory of a person sometimes depends on the food they eat. A balanced diet gets you going and keeps you fit and fine. Professional fitness teams would recommend eating a cheat meal once in a while but not always. Embracing healthy foods, and avoiding junk or processed foods will help boost your metabolism and the body. You can eat junk food in a while but be wary of the sugar and sodium intake. Consuming them too much can harm you.
6. Diet Soda or Any Type of Soda.
Drinking soda makes you want it more since they are highly addictive and too much of everything is bad. The acid contents in many sodas contribute to the depletion of calcium which causes issues with osteoporosis when consumed too much over time. Instead of harming the immune system it also causes harm to the body as a whole. Drinking soda severally every day can lead to poor health.
7. Fried Fatty Foods and Refined Oil.
Fats are an important nutrient for the body just like how important proteins and carbohydrates are but refined fats are responsible for weight or body fats increment, heart damage, suppresses the immune system, and can cause cancer. Consuming the right kind of fats is important. Hydrogenated vegetable fats are vegetable oils whose chemical structure has been altered to prevent rancidity in foods, and increase how long the food should be but here is the case they increase bad cholesterol and decrease good cholesterol when taken into the body. Furthermore, refined fats promote inflammation and harmful cholesterol levels.
Foods and Habits That Support The Immune System.
Ten Immunity Boosting Tips.
- Eat Breakfast daily.
- Eat Healthy and Regularly.
- Stay Hydrated.
- Eat more vegetables and Fruits.
- Avoid Sweets, Junk foods, and Trans Fat.
- Get plenty of Sleep.
- Exercise Regularly.
- Maintain a Healthy diet.
- Minimize Stress.
- Empty Bowls Regularly.
Top Ten Foods, Fruits, and Vegetables That Support The Immune System.
Vitamin C, E, A, D, Folic Acids, Iron, Selenium, and Zinc are the main ingredients needed to provide support to the immune system. Below are foods that have these nutrients to support the immune system and give it a boost.
- Orange
- Pineapple
- Papaya
- Kiwi
- Guava
- Tomatoes
- Carrots
- Spinach
- Cabbage
- Broccoli
- Egg Plant
- Lemon
- Garlic
- Ginger
- Turmeric
- Berries
- Walnuts
- Almonds
- Onions
- Fish
Conclusion.
If your diet provides the minimum requirements for the vitamins and minerals essential for the body, has a healthy balance of proteins (preferably animal proteins for complete nutrition) and carbohydrates, and an appropriate caloric intake so that you are neither being starved nor obese, then your immune system will be JUST FINE.