4 Foods that Stimulate your Immune System

These foods can help in the prevention of colds or the flu because they contain properties that widely benefit your immune system.

Your immune system is in charge of preventing diseases that harm your body. If you want to protect yourself naturally, your daily diet must include several foods that directly stimulate your immune system and help it to do a great job.

We’ll also cover some other methods to protect your body from viruses and bacteria. If you include these foods in your diet and apply our tips, you’ll protect your body against outer hazards.

What is the immune system?

We’ve heard people talking about the immune system thousands of times, but do we really know what it is? Since we want you to be well-informed on the matter, let’s begin by explaining in a very simple way what the immune system consists of.

Your immune system is your body’s natural defense to prevent viruses and bacteria from affecting your health. Thanks to the functions it carries out, your body is able to face the agents that try to invade it.

Keep in mind that the immune system isn’t the same for everybody. It depends on genetics, diet, and lifestyle. It’s up to each one of us to ensure our immune system is in an optimal state. By doing this, we’ll prevent a wide number of diseases from affecting us.

Diet plays a fundamental role to stimulate and strengthen your defenses. In the following list, we’ll explain which foods directly impact your immune system and help it to be in perfect condition.

Foods that stimulate your immune system

It’s fantastic that there are so many foods with the ability to strengthen and stimulate your defenses. There are also many different ways to cook and prepare them, so the possibilities are endless. You still don’t know about them? Keep reading and discover what they are:

Garlic

It’s one of the strongest foods to protect us against viruses and bacteria. Since it contains very high amounts of antioxidants, it’s the perfect food to prevent colds and the flu, on top of other illnesses that may affect your body.

You can include pickled garlic in your salads. Another way to eat it is finely chopped and on top of meat of grilled fish.

Cereals

Cereals strengthen and stimulate your immune system because they contain a lot of vitamin B6. The best part is that you can eat them in an infinity of different ways. Generally, everybody likes cereal.

Citrus

Citrus fruits are the most popular foods to stimulate your immune system. They owe their effectiveness to their high vitamin C contents. Starting your day with a freshly squeezed orange juice is one of the most effective ways to prevent colds.

Nuts

Nuts contain a considerable amount of selenium, which positively affects your immune system. The only thing you must remember is that nuts also contain a very high number of calories, which is why you should consume them in moderation.

Other ways to protect and stimulate your immune system

Your immune system doesn’t become stronger through your diet alone. While the foods you eat play a fundamental role, there are other aspects you must take into account if you want to prevent your defenses from dropping. We’ll take a look at the most important factors in the following paragraphs:

• Avoid stressful situations: with our current lifestyle, it’s really hard to not be affected by stress, anxiety and nervous episodes. Either way, making an effort to improve your health is totally worth it. Yoga classes or relaxation exercises can be a great help with this.
• Avoid drastic temperature changes: most colds start during the winter. This isn’t a coincidence; low temperatures have a direct effect on how often we become sick. This is why we should do as much as we can to maintain a constant temperature in our body. The best way to do this is by wearing warmer clothes during the coldest months of the year.

• Don’t drink or smoke: two of the main hazards for our defenses are alcohol and tobacco. They both increase our risk of infections and considerably weaken our defenses.
• Sleep for eight hours every day: sleeping is essential to alleviate daily fatigue. It also contributes to regenerating our body and stabilizing our immune systems.

Caring for our body’s defenses greatly depends on our habits. With some small changes (in case you need them) you’ll be healthier and more vital. It’s super easy!