As if the new COVID-19 strain wasn’t enough of a stressor, it’s also high time for flu and colds, which means it’s all the more important to keep your immune system tip-top. Fortunately, there are different ways you can do this naturally – and daily.
Nicole Avena, Ph.D., nutritionist and author of Why diets fail, specializes in functional nutrition and holistic health. Here she shares five tricks you can use to best prepare your immune system for disease this winter through diet and supplements alone. Then read the 7 healthiest foods to eat at the moment.
This is a non-brainer, right? We all know that vitamin C is very important in fighting colds, in addition to many other viruses, but do you know why? Vitamin C is an antioxidant which protects against oxidative damage in white blood cells—Even in other important immune cells – so that they can function optimally, says Avena. In essence, the antioxidant builds a strong barrier around these cells so that environmental pathogens and pollutants do not weaken or destroy it.
If you already have a cold, Avena suggests that you should consume 1 to 2 grams (1,000-2,000 milligrams) of vitamin C per day – which you can achieve with a strong supplement. If you do not have a cold, the recommended nutritional value of vitamin for women 19 years and older is 75 milligrams and for men it is 90 milligrams.
Read 5 foods with lots of vitamins that can protect you from COVID-19 for tips on which foods are the richest sources of the antioxidant.
“A brisk walk during the day can do wonders to the body, especially when the sun is shining,” says Avena. “Make sure you apply SPF for 10 to 30 minutes a day and go outside to take advantage of the sun’s natural form of vitamin D, as this vitamin can protect against colds and inflammation.”
Of course, you can always reap the health benefits of vitamin D3 from a supplement, but if you want to go outside, you also get exercise – which is ideal to do every day. There are also some foods from which you can get the vitamin, but these are not many options.
“Vitamin D can be difficult to get food, as less food naturally contains it,” explains Avena. “Salmon is one source that can be good. Many dairy and grain products are also fortified with vitamin D, so look at the label and choose it.”
RELATED: 5 Signs of Vitamin D Deficiency That You Should Never Ignore
“Vitamin C and zinc are co-factors that make your cellular immune system work better,” said Brittany Busse, MD, co-director at WorkCare. Eat it, not it! in another article. The vitamin and the mineral work together to support the immune system, which can shorten the duration of colds.
“Macrophages and other white blood cells that attack pathogens need zinc to function at full capacity,” says Avena. You can obtain zinc naturally from oysters, pumpkin seeds, crabmeat and beef, or you can get your daily dose as a supplement. Avena suggests trying vitafusion’s zinc vitamin.
You’ve probably heard mixed reviews about Elderberry in 2020. At the start of the pandemic, Elderberry would presumably play a role in provoking a cytokine storm, but more recently, experts have come out to say that it is not necessarily so. where.
William Schaffner, a doctor of infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University in Tennessee, tells North Carolina Health News that COVID-19 is also unlikely to be harmful if you take Elderberry syrup. But using the supplement as a way to prevent colds is a different story.
“The berries and flowers of Elderberry are packed with antioxidants and vitamins that can boost your immune system and reduce the recovery time after colds or flu by activating the body’s immune response, increasing antibodies and expanding immune cell production,” says Avena. If you are not a syrup lover, then choose Nature Made’s Elderberry gummies.
In fact, you should take at least 300 milligrams of mineral every day.
“There is evidence that magnesium plays an important role in brain function, sleep regulation and emotional stability,” says Avena. “The mineral contains soothing properties while activating your parasympathetic nervous system and can be found naturally in leafy vegetables, nuts, seeds, whole grains and milk.”
Many foods contain magnesium, which can make achieving the recommended nutritional value through a diet alone easier. One gram of dry, roasted almonds, for example, provides 80 milligrams of magnesium, and one cup of soy milk provides just over 60 milligrams of minerals.
Now read the following: These vitamins can help prevent COVID, study findings.