The Immunity Diet: Eat To Beat The Winter Bugs
Across the UK, COVID-19 is on the rise again at the same time as other seasonal illnesses such as colds and the flu virus.
Winter often sees a rise in communicable diseases on account of poorer immunity over the colder months, often made worse by lower levels of vitamin D, increased social mixing indoors, and for many of us, a little overindulgence over the Christmas and New Year holidays!
While we all love to eat for pleasure, the food we eat is often overlooked as our first defence against disease. We’ve all heard about the consequences of eating the wrong balance of foods – heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure – but how much do you know about how the food we eat can also help us overcome illness?
Our food can kill us, or cure us. Now isn’t just the time to cut back on the heavy, fat and sugar-laden foods; it is also the time to start introducing more nutritious alternatives and sustain a healthier diet regime over time. And given the ongoing pandemic, what better time than now to overhaul our eating habits and build a healthier diet for years to come?
How Wholefoods Improve Your Immune Response
The relationship between diet and immunity is complex, but can be summarised in 8 main points:
- Proteins: Your body requires proteins to repair itself and recover from damage. Proteins fuel your T-cells, which are the cells that are sent out to fight pathogens that are circulating throughout your body via your blood.
- Amino acids: Your immune system requires a range of amino acids to function at its best level. There are nine amino acids that your body does not naturally create, and which have to be obtained from the diet – lysine, isoleucine, methionine, histidine, phenylalanine, leucine, tryptophan, threonine, and valine. You can find these essential amino acids in meat, soy products, eggs, dairy, and certain grains like quinoa and buckwheat.
- Vitamins and minerals: Eating a range of vitamins is essential to maintaining your immune system at its optimum level, but particularly Vitamins B, C, A and E, and the minerals magnesium, selenium, and zinc.
- Essential fatty acids: Omegas 3 and 6 help to make eicosanoids, which help to fight the effects of inflammation, making the immune system stronger to fight back. Foods with high levels of trans fatty acids have been shown to raise biomarkers of infection; conversely, a diet rich in fruit and vegetables has been shown to lower these same markers.
- Probiotics: Probiotics help to keep your gut in top condition, which helps your overall health and immune system.
- Phytochemicals: Antioxidants found in flavonoids in foods such as fruits, vegetables, tea, chocolate, berries, and herbs are associated with low levels of immune response inflammation.
- Phytoestrogens: Found in many foods made from beans and seeds, including soy-based products, phytoestrogens are also known to be associated with low levels of inflammatory biomarkers.
- Losing excess weight: if (like many of us) you’ve gained a few pounds over lockdown, now is the time to try and tackle it. Not only does being overweight put you at more risk of health complications like heart disease, high blood pressure, and diabetes, but the inflammation that causes these issues is also associated with damage to tissue, which suppresses your body’s immune response.
Should I Use Vitamin Or Herbal Supplements?
According to guidance from the NHS, the majority of people do not need to take a multivitamin; they should be able to get all the required nutrients from their diet. However, groups who may be vulnerable to malnutrition, such as young children with selective eating habits, or people living in a care home setting, may find that a vitamin replaces nutrients missing from their diet.
Certain herbal supplements – such as echinacea and garlic – may help improve immunity, but the evidence is lacking – largely due to limited funding for studies. You may feel that using herbal supplements is helpful for you, or you may not; this is a matter of personal choice.
What To Avoid
Several lifestyle choices can negatively impact your immune system.
Firstly, smoking affects your immune system by increasing your likelihood of contracting an infection – including pneumonia and the flu. It also makes you ill for longer, and reduces your body’s ability to absorb protective antioxidants such as Vitamin C.
Drinking excessive amounts of alcohol also impacts your immune system by damaging the cells that are intended to defend our bodies against invading pathogens. Alcohol can also affect the digestive process, killing the ‘good bacteria’ in your gut that keep your immune system healthy. Alcohol can even destroy cells in the lungs, meaning that excessive alcohol consumption could be a serious risk factor for COVID-19.
Sources:
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20151016-the-real-reason-germs-spread-in-the-winter
https://thebeet.com/eat-protein-to-boost-your-immunity-heres-exactly-how-much-you-need/
https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/articles/diet_and_immunity
https://www.nhs.uk/common-health-questions/food-and-diet/do-i-need-vitamin-supplements/
https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/smoking-effects-on-your-body
