As COVID-19 sweeps across the United States, finding ways to stay healthy and stop the spread of the disease have become a top priority for many of us. Maintaining a strong immune system is crucial to keeping your body healthy, and nutrition is one of the best strategies for keeping your immune system up and running.
While we cannot say eating healthier foods will specifically help you avoid a COVID-19 infection, we can point to ample research that shows good foods are good for our bodies’ natural defense systems.
Read on for a few simple dietary suggestions that your body will certainly thank you for. Specifically, we’ll take a look at a handful of tasty options readily (and cheaply) available almost anywhere, concentrating on foods that are low in fat, high in protein, and loaded with vitamins your body craves.
Fruits and vegetables
Few things are more nutritious for your body than fresh fruits and vegetables. In particular, citrus fruits such as oranges, grapefruit, tangerines, and clementines are loaded with enough vitamin C to power up your white blood cells and are a major key to battling infections. Because the human body doesn’t produce vitamin C on its own, it is important to add a daily dose of citrus or a vitamin C supplement to meals. Alternatively, red bell peppers are another great way to spice up your vitamin C regimen, and in fact have more than twice the amount of vitamin C as citrus.
Vegetables such as broccoli and spinach are also good sources of vitamin C, (and A and B), but also contain a variety of antioxidants and beta carotene which help fight infection. Eating these foods raw helps retain the maximum nutrient value, but light cooking also helps enhance vitamin A and unlocks other nutrients which will lend their strength to your immune system.
Eggs and Lean meats
Meat-related foods are a wonderful source of protein (as well as a variety of other nutrients) that your body will need to fortify its immune system. In particular, eggs provide the body with vitamin D, zinc, selenium, vitamin E, and omega-3s. Lean beef also contains similar nutrients, and can actually help your immune system run at maximum efficiency. Cuts of beef that fall into this category include sirloins, and flank and round steak. While beef may be a relatively more expensive option than eggs, including it in your diet about three times per week will serve as a major boost to the body’s defense systems.
Salmon and tuna are another good source of omega-3s, vitamin D, and antioxidants, and better yet, are generally cheaper to stock up on than beef. Cans of salmon or tuna in water are generally inexpensive items that are great for loading a pantry with. Additionally, canned chicken (and even chicken noodle soup) are other items that are great for assisting your immune system, and are great to buy in bulk during uncertain times.
Yogurt is cheap, tasty, and contains a collection of nutrients your body will need to maintain a healthy immune system. Calcium, vitamin B-2 and B-12, potassium, magnesium, and 9 grams of protein per 6-ounce serving are all healthy components of this wonderful food your body will thank you for. Additionally, yogurt is becoming more popular due to its high level of probiotics, or “friendly bacteria” as they are often referred to. Some research suggests probiotics will help strengthen the immune system and also help the body maintain a healthy digestive tract. As discussed above, a strong immune system will help stave off a wide variety of infections, and probiotics are one of the immune system’s greatest allies.
For busy people on the go, yogurt is a convenient option that is available in a wide variety of flavors that practically take up their own aisle in most grocery stores. Of course, try to choose a healthier brand offering more natural ingredients in order to get the biggest health benefit out of your yogurt selection, and also be aware of whole-milk, low-fat, or nonfat options and choose the type that is best for you, although low-fat yogurt is generally a good option for most people.
Drinking tea regularly is a wonderful way to keep the body fueled up on antioxidants that will boost the immune system. Specifically, antioxidants called polyphenols and flavonoids are two major components found in tea that are most helpful to aiding the body’s fight against infection, and they might also help reduce the risk of heart disease, increase good HDL cholesterol, decrease bad cholesterol and triglycerides. Other teas that are good for the body are black tea, herbal teas, white tea, and oolong tea.
While tea is most popularly consumed as a hot drink, it’s possible to enjoy it as a way to add zest and flavor to some of your favorite meals. For instance, some people enjoy adding tea to butter, rub it into meats, infuse cream sauces for pasta or rice dishes, or add it to shortbread to make tea cookies. No matter how you choose to include tea in your regular diet, there is no question it will help your body stand strong against unwanted infections.
What to Avoid
Just as there are wonderful, easy-to-find foods we can enjoy to boost our immune system, there are also plenty of foods out there that have the exact opposite effect. Processed foods, alcohol, caffeinated beverages, and other items high in sugar can all contribute to eroding your resistance to viruses. Many beverages contain alarmingly high levels of fructose corn syrup and other artificial sweeteners, which add unwanted calories without actually curbing hunger or providing nutrition. Drink soda sparingly, especially if you are not active or partake in high levels of exercise on a daily basis.
Also, avoid processed foods with trans fats, especially artificial trans fats which are commonly linked to a variety of ailments, and will force your body to work harder to fight off illness without proper help from healthy foods. Chips, microwaveable popcorn, fast food, pizza, and other processed (but undeniably delicious) items can be eaten sparingly, but be extra careful about the amount of processed foods you consume.
The bottom line is this: do your body a huge favor, and give it food as nature intended. Consume as many natural, unprocessed foods as possible to fortify the immune system against everyday common illness, and you will be preparing it for handling bigger challenges later in life, like the pandemic we are all currently working through together.