What to Eat to Support Your Immune System + What to Skip

By Darlene Kvist, MS, CNS, LN
March 19, 2020

healthy-eating.jpgThese days when you go grocery shopping, you never know what you will find on the shelves. We all have shopping stories of our own, and it’s even more challenging when you are trying to eat healthfully to boost your immune system during the COVID-19 pandemic.

But how exactly do we boost our immune system with food? As you know, we always say food first when it comes to health and well-being. Now more than ever, we recommend eating real food in balance to support your immune function. This means a diet of real meat, real vegetables and real natural fats to supply the nutrients to maximize your health – and cutting out sugar and processed carbs (that break down into sugar in your body). Researchers have found that sugar can reduce the ability of our white cells to kill germs by 40%.

Read on as we break down what that means and the benefits real food can offer your immune system. (If you find you are overloaded with information, know that you can make a phone or video nutrition counseling appointment with us to learn more of the ins and outs of immune support, tackling anxiety or whatever your health goals are.)

Animal Protein to Support Your Immune System

We recommend 2 to 4 ounces at least four times a day, whether it’s beef, pork, chicken, turkey or lamb.

Meat enhances the immune system in the following ways:

  • Vitamin B6, helps with formation of healthy white and red blood cells
  • Vitamin B12, strengthens the immune system
  • Iron, critical for good immune function
  • Zinc, key for good immune function

These are stressful times to say the least and how we manage our stress and anxiety is critical at this time. Stress lowers our immune system and meat helps us handle stress, here’s how. First, we needthe neurotransmitters dopamine and serotonin to handle stress. This can get a little science-y but meat supports that need by breaking down into two key amino acids, L-Tyrosine and L-Tryptophan. L-Tyrosine is the building block for dopamine, which helps us with our focus and energy. L-Tryptophan is the building block for serotonin, which we need in abundance to keep us calm and manage anxiety.

Fats and Oils to Support Your Immune System

coconut-oil.jpgFats help us regulate blood sugar by releasing glucose into the bloodstream more evenly so we avoid the blood sugar rollercoaster that stresses our body and sets people up for cravings. High blood sugars have been shown to compromise our immune systems.  

Certain fats are more protective at this time. Coconut milk and coconut oil can also help fight bacteria, fungus and viruses. With that in mind try incorporating coconut in the following ways.

  • Coconut milk for shakes, sauces and soups
  • Coconut oil for sautéing vegetables and meats for meals, such as chicken curry or beef stir fry.

Other fats and oils you can use to support your immune system would be butter, Ghee, olive oil, avocado oil, cream cheese or heavy cream. Stay away from soybean oil, corn oil, cottonseed oil and canola oil, because these are damaged factory fats that can create more inflammation in your body and lower you immune response

Vegetables to Support Your Immune System

Lastly, but just as important, eat your vegetables during this highly stressful time. Many studies have shown that fruits and vegetables provide nutrients like beta carotene, vitamin C and vitamin E, which are all high in antioxidants. Antioxidants (now and always) are important because they serve as a natural defense system for our cells. Their primary role is to protect the cell wall and DNA from damage. Some antioxidants also repair damaged DNA.

When it comes to keeping ourselves healthy, an important thing to understand is that if you have a lot of inflammation, or if you are diabetic or have an underlying health condition such as heart disease or even cancer, you have to eat more carefully to support your immune system. The real-food eating plan described above is anti-inflammatory, which is important since an inflamed body usually has a lower immune response. 

Remember, a diet of real meat, real vegetables and real natural fats supplies the nutrients to maximize your health – and cutting out sugar and processed carbs will let your immune system do its best work. Here are recipes that combine protein, fats and carbs into delicious meals.

Resources

https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/antioxidants/

About the author

Darlene founded Nutritional Weight & Wellness. In her 25 years as a counselor and nutritionist, Darlene has helped so many people change their lives using the power of real food. She is a licensed nutritionist who earned the title Certified Nutrition Specialist from the American College of Nutrition, a prestigious association of medical and research scientists to further nutrition research. She has served on the Board of Dietetics and Nutrition Practice for the State of Minnesota.

View all posts by Darlene Kvist, MS, CNS, LN

Comments

Steve Schmidt
Thanks for the info. I listened to the podcast about microbiome.
I farm and know some farm researchers who say glyphosate(Roundup) was patented as a antibiotic. I hear that is hard on the healthy gut bugs.
Any thoughts?
March 23, 2020 at 9:43 pm

admin

Glyphosate has three different patents, each for a different use. 

The first patent was in 1964 by Stauffer Chemical as a metal chelator that was used to clean or descale commercial boilers and pipes (United States Patent 3,160,632).

A second patent was filed in 1971 by Monsanto as an herbicide (United States Patent 3,799,758).

In 2003, Monsanto filed for a third patent on glyphosate as a parasitic control type antimicrobial, or antibiotic (United States Patent 7,771,736). This patent was granted in 2010.

Additional information;

Glyphosate herbicides may act as an antibiotic, harming beneficial gut bacteria.

Glyphosate has been shown to bind to and remove minerals that are vital to human health.  i.e. manganese, zinc. 

Tami smith
I do not eat red meat
Where does tofu and fish fit into boosting immunity? Good article in recent text.
Thank you
March 24, 2020 at 9:17 am

admin

Yes, fish is a sufficient form of protein and can boost immunity the same as animal proteins. Tofu, has the same ability. However, tofu is soy based, which does have an estrogenic effect on the body. Listen to our recent podcast to learn more about the affects of soy within the body. Estrogeneration: How Estrogenics are Making You Fat, Sick and Infertile

 

Kara
Does chicken stock or broth count for the daily meat consumption mentioned in the article? I do not eat much meat but cook with chicken stock and broth routinely.
January 1, 2021 at 12:13 pm

admin

Bone broth is an excellent product to add and does have protein. approximately 7 g per cup. However, I would still recommend many more sources of animal protein for sufficient nutrients and health. 

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