Foods That Boost Your Immune System

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Immunity is your body’s ability to fight off infections, diseases or other unwanted biological invasions while at the same time avoiding allergies or other autoimmune diseases. To maintain a healthy immune system or boost your immune system most doctors recommend exercising, eating healthy as well as avoiding smoking and saturated fats. Some signs and symptoms of a weak immune system include fatigue, rashes, mild fevers, joint pains, hair loss, headaches and reoccurring infections. However to determine whether you have an immune disorder or weak immune system your doctor will perform a blood test. The test will check if you have a healthy amount of infection fighting proteins (immunoglobulin) in your blood as well as your levels of blood cells and immune system cells.

There are simple ways to maintain a healthy immune system and boost your immune system for both adults and children by

·         Regular exercise

·         Washing your hands regularly

·         Avoid smoking and second hand smoke

·         Get enough sleep

·         Avoid over use of antibiotic (only use antibiotics when prescribed by a doctor)

·         Eating a healthy and balanced diet

There certain foods in particular that help boost, maintain and regulate the healthy functions of your body’s immune systems. Foods that boost your immune system or help protect a weak immune system include:

1.      Iron rich foods

Meat, poultry, fish, shellfish, legumes, nuts, seeds, dried fruits and cruciferous vegetables

Probiotics And You

Probiotics are microorganisms such as yeast or bacteria that the body requires to boost immunity and maintain good health. An individual already contains over 400 different types of microorganisms in the digestive system. These probiotics can be taken in as food or supplements. Some foods which are rich in probiotics include yogurt, honey, soya milk, dark chocolate and even olives. Probiotic supplements are commonly used to treat or prevent side effects caused by antibiotics.

photo courtesy of Wikipedia

The Benefits of Probiotics In Your Digestive System

      ·         They assist the body detoxify heavy metals and chemicals.
      ·         They fight and prevent the overgrowth of candida yeast and toxic bacteria.
·         They help in the repair of the intestinal lining by inducing reactive oxygen species.
·         They help the body produce B-Complex vitamins and vitamin K.

      ·         They improve the absorption of nutrients in the digestive system.
·         They provide comfort to individuals suffering from irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) by reducing          some of the symptoms which include abdominal pain.
·         They reinforce the intestine mucous membrane immunity and increase the body’s resistance to            infection.

Health Benefits Provided by Probiotics

Probiotics mainly differ according to their genus, species and strain. There are different strains of