Strengthen Your Immunity With These 7 Diet Tips

A diet to strengthen immunity should be used especially during flu season, which is now if you live in the United States. Your body is a marvelous machine that is capable of killing bacteria, virus and other pathogens. But it needs your help in order to work. Here's how to use a diet to strengthen your immune system.

Tip Number 1: Start your day right. Vitamin C is one of the best nutrients for your immune system. It increases your body's production of antibodies and white blood cells that fight infection. It increases the level of natural interferon, which is the antibody that coats cells and stops virus from entering. It raises your good cholesterol and helps prevent plaque build-up in the arteries. But waiting until you get sick isn't enough. This is definitely one vitamin you should get plenty of, since it can help you prevent getting a cold or flu. It takes time for your body to get these effects.

To get enough in your diet on a regular basis, start your day with an orange or grapefruit. Be sure to eat berries and other fruits and vegetables throughout the day. If you absolutely need to supplement, 200 milligrams a day should be enough. This would be equivalent to about six servings of fruit and vegetables a day.

Tip Number 2: Eat steel-cut oats, as in oatmeal for breakfast. The type of fiber found in this cereal contains beta-glucans which activates your killer cells. The steel-cut oats take more time to cook than the quick-cook kind, but it has twice the amount of this nutrient.

Tip Number 3: Top your lunch salad or sandwich with plenty of tomatoes. Besides being high in vitamin C, they are an antioxidant with tremendous cancer fighting powers. In studies, people who ate a diet rich in tomatoes compared to a diet with no tomatoes had less free-radical damage to their infection-fighting white blood cells.

Tip Number 4: Add five cups of chamomile tea a day to your diet. Studies have recently shown that people drinking this amount of tea for two weeks had more polyphenols in their bloodstream. These plant compounds are phytonutrients, which increases your body's bacteria-fighting ability. In addition, this tea is well known to be a sedative and nerve relaxant. This is beneficial since your body does most of its healing and repairing while you are asleep.

Tip Number 5: Eat proteins that contain plenty of zinc. These foods include dark meat turkey, beans, beef and even crab. Zinc increases your body's T-cell count, which are a type of cell that fights infections. It helps all your white cells, or immune cells, to release more antibodies and increases the production of many more. It also causes them to work more aggressively. However, don't rely on zinc supplements. Too much zinc can actually inhibit your immune system. Instead, eat the foods that contain natural zinc.

Tip Number 6: Add fresh garlic to as many meals as you can. Add it to soups, sauces, or even fresh vegetable juice if you make it. It stimulates production of your natural killer cells and increases antibody production. It is well-known as a powerful antioxidant that fights cancer, among other things. It protects your heart by stopping platelets from sticking together which can clog blood vessels. This is helpful in the prevention of heart attacks.

Tip Number 7: Spice it up. Use lots of chili peppers, onions, radishes, cayenne pepper and garlic in your daily dishes. These contain "mucolytics," which actually thin mucus, making it easier to clear from your sinuses and chest. This is a natural expectorant without the side effects of medications.