Immune system is vital in keeping our body healthy and strong. Eating the proper food is one key in maintaining it.
The immune system is an essential part of our body. It helps our body fight foreign matters that enter through our different body parts. But sometimes, our immune system is not capable enough to protect our body from those harmful bacteria. We need nutrients and minerals in keeping it strong and healthy. Here are some of the primary nutrients that we need in enhancing its capability to fight sickness and certain infections.
Vitamin C is the most essential nutrient that enhances our immune system’s capability. According to the research, vitamin C improves the production of white blood cells that is necessary if an infection occurs; vitamin C helps in fast healing of wounds and certain ulcers. These white blood cells are considered the first line of defense. It also improves levels of interferon that is required to cover cell surfaces and prevents virus from entering the body. Vitamin C also lessens the risk of cardiovascular diseases by increasing the level of good cholesterol. It also lowers our blood pressure. We can obtain Vitamin C in fruits and vegetables such as kiwi, blackberries, asparagus, and green bell pepper. Research also shows that those people who eat foods that contain Vitamin C have lower chances in getting colon, prostate, and breast cancer. Taking high dosage of Vitamin C is not necessary but definitely helpful.
Vitamin E is also an essential element to a healthy immune system. It speeds up the production of natural killer cells by looking out and wiping out germs and cancer cells. Vitamin E improves the production of B cells. These immune cells create antibodies that wipe out bacteria. Like Vitamin C, it also decreases the risk of cardiovascular diseases. We can only obtain Vitamin E in fruits such as blackberries, bananas, kiwi, and apples. Generally, we are only required to take 100 to 400 milligrams in a day. However, those people who are not having enough exercise, who are drinking large amounts of alcoholic beverages, and those who are smoking are required to take high dosage of it.
Other essential nutrients that enhance your immune system’s capability are the carotenoids. These are organic pigments that are usually found in the chromoplasts of plants and some other photosynthetic organisms. Carotenoid such as beta carotene is the ancestor to vitamin A, a pigment essential for good vision, and for which they can also act as antioxidants. In addition, carotenoids improve the number of cells that fights infection, the natural killer cells, and the T cells. It is also one of the powerful antioxidants that are necessary in wiping out extra free radicals which causes aging acceleration. The beta carotene can also lessen the risk of cardio vascular diseases particularly strokes and heart attacks. It acts as a shield against cancer by accelerating your immune cells called macrophages. These cells produce tumor necrosis factor that is essential in destroying cancer cells. We can have carotenoids by eating vegetables such as carrots, sweet potatoes, kale, collard greens, and tomatoes.
Other nutrients that can help our immune system to defend the cell membranes from the environmental pollutants are the bioflavonoids. They diminish the cholesterol s ability to develop plaques in arteries as well as the formation of microscopic clots inside them. Bioflavonoids are commonly found in fruits and vegetables such as peppers, buckwheat, apricots, cherries, prunes, and rose hips.
Another important mineral which can be seen in almost all cells on our body is zinc. It accelerates the activity of around 100 enzymes that elevate biochemical responses in our body. Zinc keeps a healthy immune system that is necessary for wound healing and is also responsible in taking care of our senses such as our sense of taste and smell. Zinc also keeps the usual and normal growth and development throughout the stages of pregnancy, childhood, and adolescence period. Plus, it improves the production of white blood cells. Zinc is abundantly found in fruits, vegetables, and some meats such as organic beef, lima beans, organic / wild turkey, chickpeas, cashews, pecans, and almonds.
Therefore, keeping our immune system strong and healthy is really not that difficult. We only need to know the proper food with all the nutrients that our body needs and therefore, adding them in our daily meals.
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