Top Nutrients That Boost Your Immune System

Top nutrients that boost your immune system

So you learned how a strong immune system is important in the management of sickle cell disease. Well when it comes to diet & nutrition,it takes much more than an apple a day to keep the doctor away. It turns out that eating some pretty surprising nutrients will help keep your immune system on guard.

Hold on; let’s go back to the beginning for a minute. On the whole, your immune system does a remarkable job of defending you against disease-causing microorganisms. But sometimes it fails very easily, especially when you have a condition such as sickle cell disease: A germ invades successfully and makes you sick. The idea of boosting your immunity is enticing, but the ability to do so has proved elusive for several reasons. The immune system is precisely that — a system, not a single entity. To function well, it requires balance and harmony. So is it possible to intervene in this process and make your immune system stronger? What if you improve your diet? Take certain vitamins or herbal preparations? Make other lifestyle changes in the hope of producing a near-perfect immune response?

Your first line of defense is to choose a healthy lifestyle. Following general good-health guidelines is the single best step you can take toward keeping your immune system strong and healthy. Every part of your body, including your immune system, functions better when protected from environmental assaults and bolstered by healthy-living strategies such as these:

·         Don’t smoke.

·         Eat a diet high in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, and low in saturated fat.

·         Exercise regularly.

·         Maintain a healthy weight.

·         Control your blood pressure.

·         Avoid alcohol.

·         Get adequate sleep.

·         Take steps to avoid infection, such as washing your hands frequently and cooking meats thoroughly.

·         Get regular medical screening tests for people in your age group and risk category.

Like any fighting force, the immune system army marches on its stomach. Immune system warriors need good, regular nourishment –yeah, here’s where the diet part comes in. You can ensure that your body and immunity run smoothly by rounding out your plate with plenty of colorful servings of fruits and veggies, plus 8 to 10 glasses of water a day, at the very least.There is some evidence that various micronutrient deficiencies — for example, deficiencies of zinc, selenium, iron, copper, folic acid, and vitamins A, B6, C, and E — alter immune responses in animals.

So what can you do? If you suspect your diet is not providing you with all your micronutrient needs — maybe you don’t like vegetables or you choose white bread over whole grains — taking a daily multivitamin and mineral supplement brings health benefits of many types, beyond any possibly beneficial effects on the immune system. Taking mega-doses of a single vitamin does not. More is not necessarily better. Researchers are investigating the immune boosting potential of a number of different nutrients, such as:

    a)     Vitamin A

For vitamin A, go colorful. Foods that are high in colorful compounds called carotenoids — carrots, sweet potatoes, pumpkin, cantaloupe and squash — are all great options. The body turns these carotenoids into vitamin A, and they have an antioxidant effect to help strengthen the immune system against infection.Experts have long known that vitamin A plays a role in infection and maintaining mucosal surfaces. Vitamin A deficiency is associated with impaired immunity and increased risk of infectious disease.

    b)     Vitamin B2

There is some evidence that vitamin B2 enhances resistance to bacterial infections in mice, I wonder what that can do for us!

    c)      Vitamin B6

This important vitamin — part of nearly 200 biochemical reactions in your body — is critical in how your immune system functions. Foods high in vitamin B6 include bananas, lean chicken breast, cold-water fish such as tuna, baked potatoes and chickpeas. Several studies have suggested that a vitamin B6 deficiency can depress aspects of the immune response, such as lymphocytes’ ability to mature and spin off into various types of T and B cells.

    d)     Vitamin C

You probably know about vitamin C’s connection to the immune system, but did you know you can get it from much more than just citrus fruits? Leafy green vegetables such as spinach and kale (sukuma wiki), bell peppers (hoho), Brussel sprouts, strawberries and pawpaw are also excellent sources. In fact, vitamin C is in so many foods that most people may not need to take supplements unless a doctor advises it.As much as itdoes this, it normally works with other micronutrients in boosting immunity rather than providing benefits alone.

    e)     Vitamin D

It’s best to get most of your vitamins from food, but vitamin D may be the exception to that rule. For many years doctors have known that people afflicted with tuberculosis responded well to sunlight. An explanation may now be at hand. Researchers have found that vitamin D, which is produced by the skin when exposed to sunlight, signals an antimicrobial response to the bacterium responsible for tuberculosis, Mycobacterium tuberculosis. So there’s another disease crossed off the list!You can increase your intake through foods such as fatty fish (salmon, mackerel, tuna and sardines) and fortified foods such as milk, orange juice and cereals. Many people have a hard time absorbing vitamin D from food, so if you have a vitamin D deficiency, talk to your doctor about supplements.

    f)      Vitamin E

Like vitamin C, vitamin E can be a powerful antioxidant that helps your body fight off infection. Almonds, peanuts, hazelnuts and sunflower seeds are all high in vitamin E. So are spinach and broccoli if you prefer to increase your intake through meals rather than snacks.

    g)     Zinc

Zinc is a trace element essential for cells of the immune system, and zinc deficiency affects the ability of T cells and other immune cells to function as they should. You can find zinc in oysters, crab, lean meats and poultry, baked beans (skip the kind with added sugar), yogurt and chickpeas. Zinc appears to help slow down the immune response and control inflammation in your body; this is why it’s probably the most talked about nutrient in the management of sickle cell disease.Caution: While it’s important to have sufficient zinc in your diet (15–25 mg per day), too much zinc can inhibit the function of the immune system.

     h)     Folate/folic acid

Folate is the natural form, and folic acid is the synthetic form, often added to foods because of its health benefits. To get more folate, add more beans and peas to your plate on a regular basis, as well as leafy green vegetables. You can also get folic acid in fortified foods (check the labels) such as enriched breads, pastas, rice and other 100 percent whole-grain products.

     i)       Iron

Iron, which helps your body carry oxygen to cells, comes in different forms. Your body can more easily absorb “heme iron,” which is abundant in lean poultry such as chicken and turkey, plus seafood; and “non-heme iron” in plant sources such as beans, broccoli and kale.

     j)  Selenium

Selenium seems to have a powerful effect on the immune system, including the potential to slow the body’s over-active responses to certain aggressive forms of cancer. You can find it in garlic, broccoli, sardines, tuna, brazil nuts and barley, among other foods.

    k) Herbs and other supplements:

Walk into a store, and you will find bottles of pills and herbal preparations that claim to “support immunity” or otherwise boost the health of your immune system. Although some preparations have been found to alter some components of immune function, thus far there is no evidence that they actually bolster immunity to the point where you are better protected against infection and disease. Demonstrating whether an herb — or any substance, for that matter — can enhance immunity is, as yet, a highly complicated matter. Scientists don’t know, for example, whether an herb that seems to raise the levels of antibodies in the blood is actually doing anything beneficial for overall immunity. 
But that doesn’t mean we should discount the benefits of all herbal preparations. Everyone’s immune system is unique. Each person’s physiology responds to active substances differently. So if your grandma says she’s been using an herbal preparation for years that protects her from illness, who’s to say that it doesn’t? The problem arises when scientists try to study such a preparation among large numbers of people. The fact that it works for one person won’t show up in the research data if it’s not doing the same for a larger group. Some of the supplements that have drawn attention from researchers are these:

·          

     Garlic contains the active ingredient allicin, which fights infection and bacteria. British researchers gave 146 people either a placebo or a garlic extract for 12 weeks; the garlic takers were two-thirds less likely to catch a cold. Other studies suggest that garlic lovers who chow more than six cloves a week have a 30 percent lower rate of colorectal cancer and a 50 percent lower rate of stomach cancer. So eating two raw cloves a day (or night, to avoid giving others a sniff of your garlic breath) and adding crushed garlic to your cooking several times a week is a brilliant idea.

·        Probiotics (good bacteria), or the "live active cultures" found in yogurt, are healthy bacteria that keep the gut and intestinal tract free of disease-causing germs. So as you shop for your yogurt, make sure you pick a brand with a ‘Live and Active Cultures’ label because it contains some beneficial “bugs”… I know it’s not as gross as it sounds.

·         Ginseng.

·         Aloe vera.

·         Astragalus membranes from the astragalus plant.

·         Echinacea.

·         Glycyrrhiza glabra (licorice root).

And that my friends, brings me to a conclusion in today’s article. I know, I know, you’re probably wondering how and where to get these nutrients and herbs from, how can they possibly improve my health and most importantly, how can they manage sickle cell disease. No worries, let’s hold onto this piece of info and take it all in. We will begin a series of articles focusing on each nutrient and supplement in the weeks to come. Until then, eat healthy and stay active!

Love life!

Sharlene