Eating for Immune Health

Studies have shown that when our body has turned on immune responses, our body has increased need for some nutrients.

So, what should we eat to help support our immune system?

 I want to acknowledge right off the top that unfortunately, some people are using the state of our world currently as an opportunity to peddle false hope and make a quick buck selling “miracle cures”, immune booster pills, and other so-called solutions that don’t have scientific backing. This is not one of those posts.

I write blog posts to share my knowledge of nutrition and health with other intelligent people. Does nutrition have an impact on our immune function? Yes. Nutrition has an impact on all of our body’s functions and our overall health. Can you take a supplement and guarantee that you won’t catch this virus? No.   

Before we talk about specific nutrients, a balanced diet with adequate protein, carbohydrates and fat is important for providing us with the energy we need to carry out our day to day activities and help keep our immune system at optimal functioning. With that said, here are some specific nutrients which the scientific evidence indicates have a role in supporting the immune system.

Omega 3 Fatty Acids:

Not only do omega 3 fatty acids improve antibody responses, but they also help with the regulation of inflammation responses and have an anti-inflammatory affect.

Food Sources: Flaxseed oil, soybean oil, canola oil, chia seeds, walnuts, salmon, mackerel, tuna, sardines.

Zinc:

Zinc is in integral component for our immune system. However, this isn’t an instance of “more is better”.  While a mild zinc deficiency can lower immune response, too much zinc is also associated with a weakened immune system. For this reason, for most people, the best bet is to get zinc from eating zinc-rich foods, rather than long-term zinc supplementation.  

Foods Sources: Oysters, red meat, poultry, beans, pumpkin seeds, whole grains, fortified breakfast cereals, dairy products.

Selenium:

Selenium helps with the activation and functioning of our immune response. Like zinc, it’s best acquired from the diet. In the case of selenium, when we have too much from food sources our bodies can excrete it. On the other hand, selenium from synthetic sources (i.e. supplements) can exceed safe levels and function as a toxin resulting in neurological defects.

Foods sources: Cereals, meat, dairy, fish (ocean vs. fresh water), seafood, milk, and nuts. Most vegetables are low in selenium. But still there are a few that have higher content: mushrooms, garlic, asparagus, kohlrabi.

Vitamin A:

Vitamin A balances inflammatory responses by suppressing immune responses to prevent chronic inflammation from occurring.

Food sources: Liver, fish, green leafy veggies, yellow vegetables, broccoli, carrots, squash, cantaloupe, mangoes, apricots. Take caution with taking supplements containing high levels of vitamin A (kids and adults) and providing large amounts of liver to very small children & babies as too much vitamin A can be toxic.

Vitamin D:

Vitamin D. You may know if for its role in strong bones, but it also has an important role for our immune system.

Food (and Sun) sources: Most people in Canada will need a vitamin D supplement unless you spend a lot of time outside from March – September without wearing sunscreen. Or, eat a lot of fatty fish. There are small amounts of vitamin D in meat, eggs, mushrooms, and vitamin D fortified foods (e.g. milk, plant-based milk alternatives).

Vitamin E:

Vitamin E helps to optimize our immune response and has shown benefits in protecting against respiratory infections.  

Food Sources: Vegetable oils, grains, nuts, seeds.

Probiotics:

Our gut is where our diet interacts with our immune cells. Also, the healthy bacteria in our gut (microbiota) interacts with both our diet and the immune system. Research has found that the lactic acid bacteria found in probiotics improve immune response and reduces inflammation.

Probiotic Sources: Probiotic supplements, fermented foods such as yogurt, kimchi, kombucha, sauerkraut, miso, apple cider vinegar.

Polyphenols:

Inflammation and the immune system are closely tied. Dietary polyphenols have been linked to regulating inflammation.

Food Sources: Vegetables, fruit.

Alexandra’s Final Thoughts:

Our Immune system is a complex system that protects us daily from harmful foreign particles. As we age, this system starts to weaken, making it even more important to strengthen it. The best way to keep your immune system strong is to eat a diverse diet high in fruits and vegetables with a variety of other macronutrients and avoid or limit food that is high is saturated fat, salt, processed and refined.

Kristen’s Final Thoughts:

As we state from the top, the specific nutrients listed in this article don’t work in isolation. In other words, you can’t eat poorly and expect these individual nutrients to work wonders. A healthy immune system is just like the other systems in our body: strong function is a result of our day-in-and-day-out healthy habits. Also, when using supplements, do take caution. For most of them, more isn’t better. Our bodies like things to be in balance. Do resist the urge to take supplements that are much higher than the recommended upper daily limit unless a blood test showed that your levels are deficient. So, enjoy your carrots, mango, kohlrabi, chia seeds, Brazil nuts, oysters, kombucha, etc knowing that you’re supporting your health. 

A big THANK YOU to student volunteer Alexandra for co-writing this post.

Here’s a delicious recipe to get your chia seeds: Buckwheat-Chia Cereal

Photo credit: Tina Vanhove on Unsplash⁠

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