Immunonutrition: which foods help your defenses
The term immunonutrition was coined about a decade ago, however, it is a topic that has become a trend in recent years, for its innumerable benefits that have been demonstrated in different recent studies. What foods increase your defenses?
What is immunonutrition?
Immunonutrition could be defined as a science in charge of studying nutrition and immunity to the fullest extent.
This consists of food supplementation with a certain group of nutrients that help strengthen the immune system either of a healthy person or also of a sick one. Thus, in this way it acts on the body, reducing the number of infections.
Through immunonutrients, a person is treated with the administration of substances such as: glutamic, zinc, arginine, magnesium, polyunsaturated acids, among others. This method greatly benefits the recovery of a patient when he has undergone an operation, it also helps in the healing process.
Immunonutrition is an emerging topic that is well used to study some aspects of the human organism.
- This serves for the evaluation of the nutritional status of the population.
- It evaluates the development of patients who have developed diseases related to nutrition and their immune system, including obesity, food allergies, different types of cancer, fibromyalgia, metabolic syndrome and Alzheimer’s.
- Study the effect of food and nutrients on the immune system.
The immune system
Our immune system is complex, it works together with other systems of the body, its main function is to protect our body from possible aggressions, therefore, it could be said that the immune system works as another barrier that limits damage to the body.
What happens when diseases manage to break through barriers? When pathogens or harmful substances manage to break through the retaining walls of our body, the immune system activates innate or nonspecific responses. In these cases, leukocytes or antibodies come into play.
Your immune system, then, is a complex network that includes organs, tissues, cells, and proteins that together work to protect your body from infectious organisms.
Let’s talk about nutrients
These elements are used to treat scarring and stress disorders. They are recommended for the best functioning of the body.
- Fatty acids represent a source of energy for the body, they also have a great anti-inflammatory power. They are of great help to achieve a better immune response.
- Glutamine is an amino acid present in our body, which plays a role as a protector of the digestive tract. Studies have shown that the intake of glutamine through food, in patients has improved hospital duration, also prevents bacteremia in burn patients.
- Arginine limits the activity of nitric oxide that increases when people are under constant stress, also stimulates the production of hormones such as insulin and prolactin.
- Vitamins and minerals the administration of these, greatly benefits the immune system. Vitamins A, C, E, iron and zinc, in appropriate doses help patients with trauma and sepsis.
Improve your defenses
Having a strong immune system will help you avoid many infectious and bacterial diseases.
What you may not know is that you can increase your defenses naturally, through some foods, exercise, rest and lead a healthy life. It benefits you not only physically, it also benefits your immune system. This is why immunonutrition thoroughly treats the relationship of what we eat with our immune system, how a bad or good diet directly affects your defenses.
Foods that damage our immune system
Excessive consumption of unhealthy foods can be harmful to the body, which can generate a weak immune system.
When you consume a lot of sugars and saturated fats, your system reacts as it would react to an infection, you may think this is an exaggeration, but it is true.
If you constantly expose your body to a harmful diet, your defenses will be weaker.
What foods increase your defenses?
Yogurt (probiotics): Yogurt can be consumed at any time of the day, it is a very easy snack to get and very beneficial to increase defenses, thanks to its content of lactic bacteria. In addition, it helps you improve the intestinal flora naturally and provides a large amount of calcium.
Add vitamin B in each food: Vitamin B is of great help to strengthen the immune system, This vitamin can be found in cereals, nuts, legumes, fruits and vegetables.
Eat oily fish: Due to its high content of Omega 3, oily fish improves your immune system, it is also an anti-inflammatory ally. What are the right ones? Sardines, mackerel, salmon, horse mackerel and anchovies.
Ginger
Ginger increases the production of leukocytes, so it is a very beneficial food to increase defenses, it also helps you fight respiratory diseases.
More onion and garlic: The onion helps strengthen the immune system, relieves throat inflammation and respiratory problems, this does not lose its properties when cooked, so it is very beneficial. For its part, garlic is extraordinary as a natural remedy to fight infections by viruses or bacteria.
Add citrus fruits to your diet: As Granny said, there is no better remedy than food for the body, this applies to citrus fruits, as they contain many vitamins and minerals that are key to raising defenses.
Eat foods full of vitamins A, D, and E: How important are these vitamins? They play a fundamental role in the proper functioning of the body, raise our defenses and protect against diseases that are generated by a weak immune system.
If you want to consume foods rich in vitamin A, consume carrots, tomatoes, pumpkin, chard, spinach and broccoli.
Add vitamin D to your diet with egg yolk, fish oil and some dairy. And vitamin E can be found in many other foods such as soy, corn, olive oil and sunflower oil.
