December is upon us. The Christmas decorations are up, the cards are ready to be mailed, and I am joyful for what this month will bring. Look who else is excited.
There is always a downfall to this time of year, though. With the cold temperatures and people trapped indoors, germs are spread around like an Arizona wildfire and sickness seems to be inevitable.
Tim’s been dealing with chest congestion for the last ten days, Meghan has a little cough, and I battled some nose congestion a few weeks ago. To top it off, a child at Meghan’s school threw up in class this week, meaning there could be a bug being spread among the littles all working with the same materials and using questionable hand washing skills.
So what do we do?
I truly believe in Hippocrates’s philosophy that we should let food be our medicine. If nothing else, it should be our first line of defense. So I’ve been busy the last few weeks researching which foods will help keep my family the strongest this winter.
Don’t accept getting sick as your wintertime fate. Fight back. There are foods loaded with nutrients meant to strengthen our immune system. With a strong immune system, our bodies can fight off those sick germs we will come into contact with.
We can use the natural immune-building properties God so expertly built into our foods to help keep us well. You just have to know what they are and make sure to eat an abundance of the foods with these special nutrients that help make our immune system stronger.
Here’s a look at the top immunity-boosting nutrients and foods loaded with them to help get you through this winter having everyone wondering how you stay so healthy:
Top Immune-Boosting Foods List
ZINC: Increases the production of white blood cells. White blood cells fight infection and help us fight more aggressively. Top Zinc Foods: beef, pumpkin seeds (pepitas), sesame seeds, toasted wheat germ, dark chocolate & cocoa powder, lamb, and peanuts
VITAMIN E: Enhances the production of B-cells. These are the immune cells that produce antibodies that destroy bacteria. Top Vitamin E Foods: raw sunflower seeds, dry roasted almonds, olives, papaya, spinach, swiss chard, mustard greens, turnip greens, collard greens, blueberries
VITAMIN C: Increases the production of those infection-fighting white cells AND increases levels of an antibody (interferon) that coats cell’s surfaces and prevents the entry of viruses. Top Vitamin C Foods: papaya, red bell peppers, broccoli, brussels sprouts, strawberries, oranges, cantaloupe, kiwifruit, cauliflower, kale
CAROTENOIDS: Increase the number of infection-fighting cells, natural killer cells, and helper T cells, all which strengthen the immune system’s fighting power. They also convert to immune-boosting Vitamin A in our body. Top Foods with Carotenoids: carrots, pumpkin, sweet potatoes, winter squash, cabbage, spinach, kale, collard greens, turnip greens, beet greens, tomatoes
SELENIUM: This is a mineral that increases natural killer cells, which kill virus-infected cells. Top Foods with Selenium: sunflower seeds, egg yolks, nuts, fish, liver, oat/rice/wheat bran
OMEGA 3 FATTY ACIDS: These increase the activity of the white blood cells (phagocytes) that eat up bacteria. Top Omega-3 Foods: flax seeds, chia seeds, walnuts, sardines, salmon, soybeans, halibut, scallops, tuna
PROBIOTICS: Having a healthy amount of beneficial bacteria present in our bodies stimulates the production of infection-fighting white blood cells. Top Probiotic Foods: yogurt (with live, active cultures), kefir, sauerkraut, dark chocolate, microalgae (such as spirulina), miso, pickles, tempeh, kimchi (spicy and sour fermented cabbage), kombucha tea
BETA-GLUCAN: A type of fiber with antimicrobal and antioxidant capabilities, which boosts immunity. Top Foods with Beta-glucan: oats, barely, shiitake mushrooms
I think the best thing we can do is to eat an abundance of these foods every single day. I’ve been studying this list and planning my meals and snacks around foods that will help boost my family’s immune system.
One of Meghan’s new favorite snacks is almonds. I am really working on helping her understand the importance of eating foods to help keep her well. Sometimes it works, and sometimes she just wants a cookie. We’ll get there. I’m keeping focused on getting foods into her body everyday that will help build up her immune system.
Keep this list handy when you go to the grocery store and good luck keeping your family healthy during the cold and flu season!
Question: What are your favorite ways to naturally strengthen your immune system?
So it’s good to eat dark chocolate? I’m in!
YES!!
Angela this looks great!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Can’t say enough how proud I am of you and the cnaeghs you are making!!! I know the diet cnaeghs are new for you and not always the easiest to make but I love the focus! I also like the way we got a whole lot more Angela this week!! It’s great to get the chance to learn more about you! You look positive and focused and ready for the good results you earned this week. Keep it up!
Wait. Dark chocolate = immunity boost? I’m gonna be all over it!
Taking Vitamin C & D daily. 🙂 Gotta keep the immune system strong! Very helpful list. My mom pretty much makes me take all of those when I come down with something. My sickness’ never seem to last as long as anyone else, so I listen to her advice. 🙂
p.s. I love that quote. They repeat it a lot in the documentary Food Matters.
We all take vitamin D 3 over here, too. I miss being able to get more of it from natural sunlight! (When I lived in Arizona)
this post made me feel even better about my diet 🙂
I love eating good food, especially during winter, and I often spice it up with cinnamon, ginger…
Also I try to be outside as often, as possible and continue working out.
(That pic of Meghan is so cute :))
Being outside in the fresh air and sunlight (if the sun is cooperating) is great for your health, too! We try to open the windows, even when it’s cold, for a little while everyday just to make sure we have fresh air in the house.
WooHoo! I’ve been eating a ton of pumpkin seeds and Brussels sprouts. I find that good sleep really helps my immune system the most, though an extra punch of Vitamin C never hurt.
I agree that sleep (among other lifestyle factors) is super important as well!
Love this post! And I completely agree with food being medicine. I think way too many people don’t realize how much food affects us! I love how you listed things out too, I always forget about zinc and selenium, so those were good reminders to keep an eye on. Thank you very much for doing this, it’s really helpful. I think I’ll bookmark it to check back on another time because it’s really good to be reminded of certain foods that we should focus on.
You’re welcome. It was really helpful to me to write it all down in list form, too.
So, what you’re saying is that we should eat an abundance of dark chocolate every single day. Um, okay!
Seriously, this is great information. I was just thinking of getting some zinc lozenges until I read the ingredient list. No thanks. I will get it from my food instead. Now I know what foods those are!
Yep, that’s what I’m telling myself about the dark chocolate. 😉
I truly agree that we should let food be our medicine. I always try to base my meals and snacks on whole foods and nothing too processed. I don’t get sick really anymore and just think that but eating lots of fruits and veggies you’ll feel better no matter what!
My daughter and I JUST came down with a cold! Every year, during this time a year it happens. These are great tips! I’ll def look for foods with those in them! 🙂
After reading this, I need to go make a green smoothie topped with nuts and seeds! 🙂 ……So much coming up in December! Your princess is so cute! Take care and enjoy the last few weeks of having baby bean inside of you! Rest and read Christams books!
Thank you, Julie! I couldn’t resist sneaking a Meghan picture in this post. 🙂
what a great list of info! i try to eat healthy every day to prevent any type of sickness.. i hateeee being sick. knock on wood, i actually haven’t been in a long time (flu and cold wise). a huge abundance of veggies, probiotics and omegas seems to be helping 🙂
Oh, this is so helpful. I’m trying to drill into my kids that the more whole foods we eat, the healthier we are and the less we get sick. I know that Brazil nuts are really high in selenium, too. I bought a couple of bags at Trader Joe’s and I’ve been trying to stick a couple each day in each of their lunches. Knock on wood, but, so far my family has managed to stay healthy. I’m just waiting for someone to get something, though. I know it’s coming! My neighbor needs to look at this list. Her kids are always sick! I used it as a teaching moment the other day when my youngest was asking why our next door neighbor is always sick and I said, “It’s probably because she eats too many artificial foods and not enough foods that God intended for us to eat”. Hopefully, he got that message loud and clear. Thanks, Maryea!
You’re welcome. How are the Brazil nuts? I read that they were the highest of all the nuts in selenium, but I’ve never tried them.
Turmeric and ginger help me SO much in the winter to stay healthy. A nice trick is when I feel a cold coming on, I mix equal parts turmeric and honey (it’s amazing how much my turmeric tolerance has increased, though, now I don’t need as much honey!) and take that a few times throughout the day…it helps make any cold go away! I add the spices into my cooking or teas, too.
Thanks for such an informative post, Maryea!
I love cooking with turmeric. I know it has a lot of anti-cancer properties so I try to use it often. I will have to try your turmeric+honey trick next time I feel a cold coming on. Raw honey is good for soothing a sore throat or cough, too, so that’s a bonus. 🙂