Ideally we should eat a balanced diet high in fruit and vegetables, get adequate sleep, drink alcohol in moderation, don’t smoke and exercise regularly. But that can be quite hard while maintaining a demanding career, a social life and still have quality time for ourselves and for our families. So knowing what nutrients come from where and how to prepare your food to absorb those nutrients best, is information that can be helpful if we are focused on a specific goal, such as boosting our immune system.

Is important to remember that every micro-nutrient plays a key and different role in the immune system needs and we should not focus solely on one. Below we curated a rage of immune boosting foods, minerals and vitamins and a bit of information regarding each one because knowing what nutrients comes from where is vital to have a balanced and healthy diet. The major players for immune health are vitamin A, zinc, vitamin C, copper, selenium, and vitamin D. Plus there are a handful of whole-food ingredients that also make a difference, like garlic, apple cider vinegar, elderberry, manuka honey, ginger and turmeric.

Garlic contains many vitamins and minerals such as phosphorus, selenium, manganese, and vitamins C and B6 but research attributes many of its benefits to its antioxidant and sulfur-containing compounds, including alliin and allicin. Heat can prevent allicin from forming so recipes with raw garlic, like salad dressings or Toum, are the way to go.

Apple Cider Vinegar main benefits come from the two products of its fermentation: natural probiotics in unpasteurized vinegar, which appear in the bacterial culture called the mother, and acetic acid, which gives ACV its sharp flavor. You may have heard that many people drink a shot of pure ACV but that can be to harsh for your esophagus and digestive tract as well as your teeth so we recommend to ether mix it with water or a smoothie. ACV is also delicious to cook with and it’s a good pairing with flavors like mustard, pork, walnuts, rosemary, and ginger.

The flu season favourite, elderberry is known for its antioxidant composition due to phenolic acids, anthocyanins, and the flavonols quercetin, kaempferol, isorhamnetin and vitamin C, too. considering whole elderberries are not always easy to find, syrups from health stores are a good substitute.

Manuka honey comes from the nectar of flowering manuka trees indigenous to New Zealand. The honey is coveted because of its rarity: Bees produce it only during the two to six weeks a year that manuka trees flower. Compounds in manuka honey, in particular methylglyoxal (MGO), have been shown in cell studies to possess antimicrobial and antibacterial activity.

Ginger is not only a popular home remedy for an upset stomach but is also an Ayurvedic medicine for supporting a healthy inflammatory response in the body. It can be had to your recipes, to your smoothies or just has a tea.

Same can be applied to Turmeric, but while using turmeric to support well-being is that the curcumin (its active component) isn’t absorbed well by the body on its own. It’s better absorbed when dissolved in fats (like milk or coconut oil) or in the company of black pepper.

Pure Encapsulations
Vitamin A 10,000 IU 120 caps
£10,50

Together
Natural Food Source Vitamin C with Bioflavonoids 30 tabs
£7,99

Wild Nutrition
£15 Vegan Vitamin D 30 tabs

Viridian
£15,12
Balanced Zinc Complex Veg 90 Caps

About Vitamin A:
Vitamin A it’s critical for maintaining the body’s mucus membranes and regulating the function of macrophages and neutrophils, cells involved in the body’s first response to a pathogen. The easiest way to spot foods rich in vitamin A is by color: If a fruit or vegetable is yellow or red, chances are you’ve found a good source. (Sweet potatoes, carrots, bell peppers, pumpkin, mango, papaya, apricots, cantaloupe…) Green leafy vegetables are typically solid here, too. Vitamin A fat-soluble, and it’s unlikely to be damaged much by heat when you’re cooking.

About Pure Encapsulations Vitamin A: “Vitamin A from Norwegian cod liver oil and vitamin A palmitate. Vitamin A contributes to the maintenance of normal mucous membranes, skin, and vision. Vitamin A also contributes to the normal function of the immune system.”

About Vitamin C: Vitamin C is an antioxidant that supports a wide range of immune defenses, from promoting the health of your skin (which acts as a physical barrier to germs) to supporting the healthy production and function of white blood cells. Getting enough vitamin C also helps your body absorb iron. Vitamin C is readily available in many foods, especially raw fruit and veggies—citrus, strawberries, spinach, kale, bell peppers, Brussels sprouts, and papaya are all great options. What’s important to know is that vitamin C can be degraded by heat and light. You can help protect what’s already in your food by eating your produce fresh and cooking it lightly if at all.

About Together Vitamin C: “Together’s vegan Vitamin C has been made using the highest quality natural citrus fruits. Our bodies ‘better understand’ and more readily absorbs vitamins and minerals when they are in their whole food form. Natural bioflavonoids, powerful antioxidants that help Vitamin C absorption are also present in the food complex.”

About Vitamin D: Vitamin D is a hormone our bodies produce in response to sunlight, and it’s critical for healthy immune function. While it’s usually true that you can get the vitamins and minerals your body needs from a varied diet, it’s difficult to get enough vitamin D from food alone. That said, if you want to work more vitamin D into the food you eat, you can eat more fatty fish, like salmon, mackerel, tuna, or swordfish. Then, mushrooms, egg yolks and fortified foods like cow’s milk or orange juice can be other good sources.

About Wild Nutrition Vitamin D: “Vegan Vitamin D provides 1000iu/25mcg of plant sourced Vitamin D extracted from Algae and suitable for vegetarians and vegans.”

About Zinc: Zinc is a trace mineral that plays important roles in many parts of the body including the immune system. If you eat meat and seafood, which tend to be rich in zinc, you’re probably good to go here. Vegetarians and vegans might consider doubling down on whole grains, legumes (including soy, tofu, and tempeh), nuts, and seeds.

About Viridian Zinc Complex: “Highly absorbable, synergistic balance of zinc and other key nutrients involved in immune maintenance and beauty. Includes vitamin A and Copper for optimum absorption and utilisation. Zinc aids in the maintenance of bones, vision, skin, nails and hair. Copper contributes to normal hair and skin pigmentation.”

Pure Encapsulations
Copper (citrate) 60 caps
£11,60

Wild Nutrition
£15,50
Food-Grown Selenium 30 caps

About Copper: Copper is involved with the cleanup of harmful reactive oxygen species. Along with zinc, it’s part of the enzyme superoxide dismutase, which inactivates reactive oxygen species. Copper can be found in a wide variety of animal and plant foods, so the ideal here is a varied diet. Dark chocolate (our favourite), oysters, shiitake mushrooms, nuts, seeds, beans, potato skins, quinoa, buckwheat, spirulina, leafy greens, and organ meats, like liver, are particularly good sources.

About Pure Encapsulations Copper: “Copper (citrate) features a highly bioavailable form of the essential trace mineral copper. Copper has several important physiological roles including contribution to the protection of cells from oxidative stress and normal function of the immune system.”

About Selenium: Selenium is a trace mineral, meaning you only need to consume a small amount. And it’s necessary to dispose of waste products in the body. Proteins containing the trace mineral selenium help deal with reactive oxygen species during inflammation. Meat and seafood tend to be rich sources of selenium, but the most selenium-rich food we know of is the Brazil nut. Just one Brazil nut fulfills twice your daily selenium needs, meaning you could munch on one a day and get more than enough of this vital mineral.

About Wild Nutrition Selenium: “Wild Nutrition’s Food-Grown® Selenium Plus is expertly formulated. This important mineral works to optimise glutathione peroxidase levels to support the immune system. Selenium is also required for thyroid hormone conversion and for men, it is essential for normal spermatogenesis. Vitamin E has been included in our formulation to prevent the harmful production of free radicals, highly destructive molecules that may alter DNA and cause extensive damage to the body including premature ageing and how well our body responds to insulin. Wild Nutrition’s Food-Grown® Vitamin E provides the naturally occurring d-alpha tocopherol form, as well as a natural mix of all the tocopherols and tocotrienols found in food. Studies have shown it to be over nine times better retained in the body than synthetic forms. “

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Author: Maria Oliveira