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Experiencing minor health issues caused due to the change in the seasons or catching a cold or flu during the winter may be due to your weak immune system as strengthening your immune system would help your body in providing resistance to toxins and infections.
Although there exists medical treatments and ways to boost up your immune system and make you stay fit and healthy, why go to the chemicals when it can be done naturally?
Here mentioned are the foods that help in boosting your immune system.
1.Citrus:
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Vitamin C is said to boost up the immune system as it is thought to increase the production of the white blood cells which in turn helps the body for building the resistance power against the infections and toxins.
Taking this as a part of your daily meal is essential as there is no production or storage of Vitamin C by your body internally and the intake of this vitamin tends to be easy as all the citrus fruits are the source of Vitamin C while grapefruit, oranges, tangerines, lemons, limes are few among them.
2.Garlic:
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Garlic is the basic ingredient in almost all the cuisines and it is said to be the food that helps to fight the infections which would help you in staying healthy. The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health has said that eating garlic would also help in lowering the blood pressure and slow down the hardening of the arteries.
It has been said that the heavy concentration sulfur- containing compounds like allicin are responsible for the property of boosting the immune system.
3.Spinach:
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Spinach is not only acts as a source of vitamin C as it is said to be rich in the vitamin but it is also known to comprise of other properties which help in boosting up the immune system as it is said to be packed with several number of antioxidants and beta carotene.
This vegetable can be said as the less it is being cooked the healthier it turns out because cooking spinach for less amount of time would help in retaining the nutrients that are present in the vegetable.
4.Almonds:
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Almonds tend to be comprising of Vitamin E which serves in preventing and fighting against cold. Although Vitamin C plays a major role in boosting up the immune system, it is said to be backed by Vitamin E which is a fat- soluble vitamin.
The term fat- soluble vitamin is used to describe the vitamins that require the presence of fat in order to get absorbed properly.
It has been found out that about 46 whole shelled almonds which would measure up to half a cup would provide nearly 100 per cent of the vitamin E that is recommended on a daily basis.
5.Papaya:
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Papaya is said to be a fruit that is loaded with vitamin C where in 224 per cent of the vitamin C that is recommended on a daily basis can be found in a single papaya. This fruits is also found to have satisfactory amounts of potassium, B vitamins and folate which provide a great help in maintaining a healthy life.
6.Chicken:
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Chicken soup serves the best when sick as it not only helps in making you feel better but also has a placebo effect which in turn helps in protecting you from getting sick as chicken is said to contain vitamin B-6 and would provide you with around 40-50 per cent of vitamin B-6 that is recommended on a daily basis.
This is said to help in boosting up your immune system as the vitamin B-6 plays a major role in the formation of the red blood cells in the body. The soup that is made when bones of the chicken are boiled is said to contain several nutrients such as gelatin, chondroitin and several others which help in increasing the immunity.
By Shrithika Kushangi
