Immune Boosting Tips To Keep Sickness Away

It’s getting colder and dark outside, which means cold and flu season is upon us. If you want to skip the germs, now is the time to start supporting your immune system.

Add some good bacteria

Did you know that much of your immune system is in your digestive tract? That is why adding good bacteria with fermented foods is a vital step for supporting your gut and immune health.

Fermented foods help to rebalance the microbes that live in your digestive tract. When in balance, good microbes help to prevent the overgrowth of bad microbes. This maintains the lining of your gut, as well as directly affecting some of your immune cells.

Fermented foods include:

·         Yoghurt

·         Kefir

·         Sauerkraut

·         Kimchi

·         Miso

·         Tempeh

·         Kombucha

Probiotics can be a useful tool for supporting gut health and the immune system, but there are a lot of poor-quality supplements out there, and they need to be strain specific to achieve a certain goal. This is where working with a nutritionist is best.

Munch on prebiotics

Adding good bacteria to your gut is a good start, but you also need to feed those good bacteria so that they can thrive. That is where prebiotics come in.

Prebiotics are a type of fibre that act as fuel for good bacteria. They can be found in a variety of foods, as well as some supplements. Again, supplements should be high quality and specific to your goals. I would not recommend taking a greens powder that claims to be high in prebiotics.

If you’re sensitive to FODMAPs, you need to be careful with these as a lot of the foods high in prebiotics are high FODMAPs.  

Good sources of prebiotics include:

·         Apple

·         Pear

·         Kiwifruit

·         Papaya

·         Banana (slightly green is best for prebiotic fibre)

·         Garlic

·         Onion

·         Leek

·         Asparagus

·         Chia seeds

·         Flaxseeds

·         Oats

·         Lentils and beans

Up the antioxidants

When you think of boosting immunity and avoiding infection, you probably think of vitamin C, but vitamin C is only one type of antioxidant that supports your immune system. Instead of focusing on just vitamin C, your best bet is to include a variety of antioxidants.

The easiest way to get plenty of antioxidants in? Eat your fruit, vegetables, nuts, seeds, herbs and spices. Some of my favourite antioxidant-rich foods are berries, Brazil nuts, kiwi fruit, and pomegranate.  

Don’t forget your zinc

Zinc is a key player in immune function. But many of us are either not consuming enough zinc, or have a higher demand for it. Most animal proteins contain zinc, but there are plenty of plant-based sources too.

Some good plant-based sources of zinc include:

·         Beans and legumes

·         Pumpkin seeds

·         Hemp seeds

·         Cashews

·         Sundried tomatoes

·         Cacao

As zinc is a mineral, things like tannins and phytates in some plant foods can inhibit its absorption. Proper preparation of beans and legumes reduces the impact these can have on the absorption of minerals like zinc and iron. Beans and legumes should be soaked overnight (if using dried), and thoroughly rinsed before using.

Know your vitamin D

As the days grow shorter and colder, many of us become deficient in vitamin D. Vitamin D is one of the key nutrients the immune system needs to function. Having sufficient stores of vitamin D is important for keeping your immune system functioning to fight off infection, but also plays a role in preventing/managing autoimmunity.

It’s a good idea to get your vitamin D tested at the start of the season. That way, you can correct any deficiency before you end up sick. It can be much harder to maintain our vitamin D levels during winter with the UV index being lower, and the cold weather making it tempting to spend more time inside, which is even more reason to make sure you have high levels of vitamin D going into winter.

Some doctors don’t like to test vitamin D levels that often as Medicare rarely provides a rebate for vitamin D testing anymore. When you book in for a nutrition consultation, we always have the option to order blood tests privately, which can save a bit of time and hassle.

If you really can’t afford to get sick, you’ll want to get a personalised prevention plan.

Book here.

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