8 Tips to Support Your Immune System with Food
The immune system is an incredibly complex network of cells, organs, and tissues that work together. A healthy immune system has the amazing ability to protect the body from foreign substances, like viruses. What you eat directly impacts your immune system’s response. Everything you put on your fork is another nudge toward a thriving immune system, or toward a weakened and suppressed response.
Protecting your immune health starts with good information and what you eat is crucial in providing this information to your cells. Eating whole, unprocessed foods is one of the most significant ways to support a healthy immune system, and the more variety you have in your diet, the better.
We’re going through unprecedented times and so much of what’s going on feels out of our control. One thing we can control is what we put into our bodies. Now more than ever, we need to focus on prevention by eating foods that support our immune systems and fight viruses!
I used to get sick like clockwork every year, twice a year. In the spring and fall, I’d wind up with allergies, a bad sinus infection, or the flu. Uncoincidentally, I was eating artificial and processed foods — mostly simple carbs and sugar, as is the Standard American Diet. When I began learning all I could about nutrition and changing my diet to whole unprocessed foods, I stopped getting sick. I’m happy to say I haven’t gotten sick now in over five years, and the last time I wasn’t feeling well, I bounced back very quickly! I’m able to take charge of any symptoms right away with immune-boosting nutrition, which is effective to drastically decrease the time it takes to fight off any bugs, and my symptoms were milder than when I was not eating as well.
Read through my top evidence-based tips to help strengthen your immune system through good food!
1. Sip on stock and bone broth
Chicken soup when you get sick isn’t just an old wives’ tale! It’s great for prevention, not just for after you don’t feel well. Real bone broth (not bouillon cubes) helps to heal and seal the lining of our intestines. This is key because 70-80% of the immune system lies in the gut. It also may reduce the overgrowth of harmful microbes while providing tons of bioavailable nutrition that is readily and easily absorbed by the body, like protein, collagen, and gut-building glutamine.
2. Increase whole-food vitamin C
Try to incorporate rosehip tea, papaya, strawberries, broccoli, brussels sprouts, and sweet bell peppers (especially yellow, they have double the amount found in green). Whole food sources of vitamin C are much more easily absorbed by the body than the synthetic ascorbic acid that you find in store-bought vitamin C drink packets.
3. More fresh, whole foods
Prioritize fresh whole foods and less processed, sugary foods. Vitamin and mineral-rich whole foods provide your body with an array of nutrition needed to build a robust immune system, whereas processed and sugary foods weaken your immune system and lead to health problems. These may include increased inflammation, reduced control of infection, increased rates of cancer, and increased risk for allergic and auto-inflammatory disease.
4. Prioritize protein
It’s important to consume enough high-quality protein because it breaks down into amino acids, which are crucial for tissue repair, building muscle, and antiviral activity. Lysine and cysteine are two notable antiviral amino acids. The antioxidant N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC) has been shown to help respiratory conditions and inhibit virus replication and virus-induced pro-inflammatory responses. NAC has also been shown to limit lung inflammation and damage associated with viral growth, at least in vitro. Lysine has also been shown to demonstrate potent antiviral activity. Foods that readily contain these important amino acids include chicken, turkey, eggs, sunflower seeds, red meat, fish, and spirulina.
5. Try nuts and seeds
Nuts and seeds are rich in powerful immune-supporting antioxidants. They contain healthy fats that are needed to absorb fat-soluble vitamins like vitamin D, which is incredibly important for immune health. It's easy to add nuts like almonds, pecans, and walnuts to your favorite salads, or alone as a healthy snack.
6. Grab some fermented foods
Eat fermented foods for probiotic support. Fermented foods boost immune function — the good bacteria stand strong like soldiers and will crowd out and fight off pathogens such as viruses. Fermented foods include sauerkraut, kefir, kimchi, low-sugar kombucha, and beet kvass. However, if you have an overgrowth of bacteria like SIBO or other gut issues, fermented foods may exacerbate symptoms. This does not mean they are harmful, just often not the right probiotic strains for those specific conditions.
7. Increase antiviral and antimicrobial foods and herbs
Try to include more fresh ginger, oregano, sage, basil, and fennel. Raw crushed garlic is also known for it’s potent antiviral and antimicrobial activity. If you can’t eat two garlic cloves straight up (I know I don’t prefer the taste and it affects my gut comfort!), I suggest making a chimichurri, where it’s balanced with EVOO and fresh green herbs like parsley, cilantro, and sage. I pair this with veggies or minimally processed gluten-free crackers. I also like to finely chop garlic and mix it into my simple salad dressing (shallots, garlic, EVOO, fresh lemon juice, S&P). Coconut oil contains lauric acid and monolaurin, both known for their antiviral activity.
8. Drink more water!
Hydration plays a vital role in general health, but it’s especially important for immune support! Drinking water helps your blood carry oxygen to all of your systems. It also allows your kidneys to do their job of removing toxins that would otherwise build up and weaken your immune system. Water also helps to digest and assimilate foods. Another huge perk of hydration is keeping your eyes and mouth moisturized — this helps repel dust, phthalates, nanoparticles, and other harmful things that can cause infection.
I know that’s a lot of information! As a Functional Medicine Certified Health Coach, I’m here to help educate and to work with you to create sustainable change in your day-to-day life. I suggest taking two or three of these and building them up until they slowly become second nature. I used to set alarms to drink more water, but now my body lets me know. So go put a pot of bone broth on, curl up with a cup of rosehip tea, and eat well to stay well!
