Key Ingredients to Support a Healthy Immune System

Key Ingredients to Support a Healthy Immune System

Research shows that nutrition can help to up-regulate your innate and adaptive immune function, supporting your body’s ability to fight off pathogens. Nutrition also plays a large role in decreasing low grade, chronic inflammation. Because of bio-individuality, there is not one “ultimate” plan for everyone because every person’s needs are unique. That said, as we continue to navigate the flu season and colder weather, everyone can benefit from focusing on creating a foundation to support a healthy immune system and lower inflammation.

Nutrition
Your nutritional needs are dependent on your microbiome, genetics, age, life cycle, and more. However certain components of a nutritious diet, such as phytonutrients and micronutrients, have immune-regulatory properties and have the ability to decrease inflammation-mediated conditions for everyone.

1. 1. Eat the Rainbow: Choose foods with deep pigments and include at least three colors per meal.
   2. Balance your Plate: The Optimal Plate Method can help you regulate your blood sugar levels, insulin production and lower oxidative stress that is associated with blood sugar fluctuations. It also ensures that you have an optimal balance of proteins, healthy fats, fiber and phytonutrients that all play a key role in supporting the immune system. As a bonus, this will also leave you feeling more satisfied and less hungry after meals.
      • • • Half of your plate with colorful non-starchy vegetables
          • A few thumbnails of healthy fats (1-2 tbsp)
          • 3-6 oz high-quality protein
          • 1 serving complex carbohydrates (optional)
   3. Add herbs and spices to your meals: Incorporating spices and herbs into cooking is one of the easiest ways to add an abundance of antioxidants to the diet. Spices and herbs with particularly high levels of antioxidants that can support a healthy immune system and lower inflammation include dried cloves, mint leaves, oregano, rosemary, saffron, sage, thyme, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, basil, cilantro, dill, parsley, garlic powder, and turmeric.
   4. Eat Quality Whole Foods & Avoid Highly Processed Foods: Choose foods that come from the earth. Skip the fried foods, candy, soda, sugary cereals, donuts, biscuits, and other highly processed foods. Eating a diet that is high in processed foods and refined carbohydrates is associated with an altered immune response.Eating a diet rich in whole, nutrient-dense foods is a key way to lower inflammatory processes and support immune, mental, and metabolic health.
   5. Promote a Healthy Gut: Consume at least one probiotic rich food per day. One way to support your immune system and your gut microbiome involves eating fermented foods such as yogurt, kimchi and sauerkraut.
   6. Limit Added Sugar Intake: Do an inventory of your pantry to assess how much added sugar you are consuming in your diet daily. Hint: Added sugar is lurking everywhere! Read the ingredients and look at the ‘added sugars’ line on the Nutrition Facts Label. Limit your added sugar to 1 tbsp per day or less.
   7. Consume Omega 3 Rich Fish: Aim for eating omega 3 rich fish 2-3 times per week to increase your omega 3 fat intake. Add canned oysters or sardines on salads or saute oysters in a pan with lime, salt, peppers, garlic powder and cilantro.
   8. Adopt A Time Restricted Eating Practice of 12-14 Hours Overnight: This process allows your body to rest and recover. Immune, gut, and metabolic functions have been shown to improve when you practice small windows of fasting. This process induces a state called autophagy, a cellular reset that supports immunity.

Sleep
An often overlooked ingredient to immune health is sleep. Research shows that when you sleep, you repair your cells, promote the formation of your immune memory and decrease production of inflammatory cytokines. Insufficient sleep is directly associated with an increased risk of obesity, type 2 diabetes and cravings. Lack of sleep increases the hunger hormone, and decreases the satiety hormone, leptin, which may lead you to make more impulsive food choices that are likely to be high glycemic foods. Rest and recovery are critical. Prioritize high quality sleep and get 7-9 hours per night. Try to get in bed early, minimize blue light exposure at night, create an evening routine that helps you relax and unwind before bed and sleep in the pitch dark. It’s best to get in the routine of going to bed at the same time and waking up at the same time everyday to promote an optimal circadian rhythm.

Stress
Stress — which includes things like over filling your calendar, burying emotions, lacking boundaries, and worrying about things outside of your control — initiates a cascade of events as your body shifts into a “fight or flight” response, activating your sympathetic nervous system. Chronic, low grade stress can alter your stress hormones, leaving them elevated when they should ideally taper down. This stress can manifest in a wide array of health conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, inflammation and impaired immune response. Focus on becoming more resilient to the stress you are experiencing by layering in stress-reducing practices and activities that bring you joy.

Movement
The body was designed to move! Moderate exercise and movement at least five days per week has been shown to support the immune system, lower inflammation, improve blood sugar regulation, aid in weight loss and promote longevity. Movement throughout the day is one critical component, in addition to moderate exercise which can stimulate the interchange of cells of the innate immune system. Some research shows that consistent exercise helps to improve immune surveillance against pathogens and lower systemic inflammation. Commit to moving everyday, even if that includes walking, yoga and stretching some days. Prioritize 10,000 steps per day to ensure you are adding movement to your everyday routine. If you are also able to workout four to five days per week, that’s an additional bonus. Try to avoid overly taxing your body during stressful periods by over exercising.

Supplements
In addition to using food as the core of your nutrient consumption, some may benefit from getting higher doses of certain nutrients in high quality supplements. But the key is high quality! Below are the most well studied and effective nutrients that I use in my nutrition practice to help support my client’s immune systems. It’s very important to consult your doctor or healthcare provider prior to starting supplements. Always work with your doctor or registered dietitian to determine what is best for you.

• Vitamin D3:Vitamin D has antiviral, antimicrobial and pro-hormone properties that are critical for an optimal immune system. There is strong research to show adequate levels of vitamin D are important for immune function and the body’s ability to fight off infections.
• Vitamin C: Vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant that is also known as ascorbic acid. This water soluble vitamin and antioxidant plays a critical role in decreasing oxidative stress and supporting your innate and adaptive immune function.
• Zinc: Zinc is a mineral and a powerful antioxidant that is important for growth, development, gut health, wound healing and immune function.
• Omega 3 Fatty Acids: Omega-3 Fatty Acids are essential fatty acids, meaning that the body cannot produce them on it’s own–we have to get them exogenously from food and sometimes, supplements like fish oil or algae oil.
• Magnesium: Magnesium is one of the most important minerals and is involved in hundreds of enzymatic processes in the body.It’s best to supplement with Magnesium Glycinate as this form has the highest absorption. I often recommend taking magnesium at night, before bed because it can help improve relaxation and sleep quality.