Glyconutrients

Food To Improve Your Immune System

So you want to know what is the best food you can eat to naturally improve your immune system? Hey buddy, let me tell you, there are a lot of ways to improve the function of your body's immune system, such as having a positive outlook on life, exercising, and reducing your stress. But one of the simplest ways to improve immunity is by eating the right foods to boost your immune system.

Benefits of having a Strong Immune System...
- Enjoy More Energy. . .
- Friends and co-workers ask why you never seem to get sick. . .
- Stay Younger for longer. . .
- Run circles around your friends. . .
- Spend time outside even when pollen is in the air. . .

Cultures have been doing this for centuries: remember your grandmother's advice about an apple a day keeping the doctor away? I found health by investigating good foods that will help you to boost your immune system for improved overall health.

Immune boosting foods contain good quantities of vitamins, minerals, trace elements and omega-3 fatty acids. By eating such foods, you may find increased energy levels, and a decreased number of colds and flus caught over the course of the year.

Just like eating glyconutrients, is simply a way of getting nutrient dense "food" into your body for super enhanced cell function and immune boost. The problem with trying to find certain foods that contain glyconutrients, is that the glyconutrients are only active for a few hours from the time that the fruit or vegetable is picked. Fruits and vegetables alone are not enough. For best results... the experts are now recommending Mannatech "glyconutrients supplements" to be eaten along with fresh, organic foods to strengthen your immune system.

Yogurt contains the famous lactobacillus acidophilus, and while that doesn't sound so tasty, these good critters help digestion by producing lactic acid which breaks down food in the intestines, helping us to absorb food. Further, these good bacteria compete with less good ones like salmonella, and by doing so helps to ward off diseases that they cause.

Kiwi is absolutely jam packed with Vitamin C. Just two medium kiwi should give you over 240% of your daily value for Vitamin C!! And two medium kiwi will give you the same amount of potassium as you would get from an entire banana, not to mention four grams of fiber. Kiwi is delicious eaten alone, in a fruit salad, in your cereal, or added to your yogurt.

Oranges and Grapefruit are commonly associated with immune boosting Vitamin C. You can get your daily Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) from one medium-sized orange or just half of a grapefruit, provided that the fruit was allowed to ripen on the tree. Two oranges also provide the same amount of potassium as a banana. To improve your immune system function, oranges and grapefruit are tasteful eaten plain or in a juice drink form.

Strawberries are loaded with Vitamin C. Vitamin C content is dependent on temperature, light, and variety, but a cup of strawberries usually has more vitamin C than a ripe orange! Strawberries are not "berries" or even a fruit at all, but part of the Rose family. Strawberries are great to eat alone or easily mashed into a sauce to serve as a dessert with biscuits. Strawberries can be enjoyed millions of different ways...strawberries in yogurt, strawberry jam, strawberry smoothie, strawberries on cereal...

Cantaloupe provides a high level of both Vitamin C and Vitamin A. Vitamin A supports healthy skin - your first line of defense against illness and infection. A quarter of a cantaloupe melon provides 80% of the daily RDA of Vitamin C and 120% of the daily RDA of Vitamin A.

Blueberries are valuable for their antioxidant levels and Vitamin B content, another natural immune system booster due to the function in the human body. As you know, blueberries can be enjoyed in every way possible, fresh, in salad, in jam, on cereal or on yogurt.

Immune System Boost...Other than fruits...

Spinach is considered a "super food" and is important in immune function because it is naturally high in antioxidants. For best nutrition results, Spinach should not be steamed or cooked. It can be eaten in a meat sandwhich or raw as a salad green.

Oysters are great immune system friends. They contain plenty of zinc, which assists white blood cells and other antibodies reproduce more quickly and act more vigorously in fighting infections. Zinc is vital for cell growth and it stimulates enzymes to facilitate the body's chemical reactions.

Astragalus root is popular in Chinese medicine as a key component of immune boosting soups and teas. It may be fun for you to visit your local oriental store and try Astragalus.

Garlic was been widely used throughout human history for its health benefits. Garlic has three ingredients used in immune system functioning: allicin, ajoene and thiosulfinates, which have documented as having anti-infection and anti-fungal properties. Further evidence suggests that those taking good quantities of garlic when they first catch a cold are likely to experience reduced duration and severity of symptoms.

Freshly-crushed garlic is the best to eat, as allicin is released during the crushing process. The allicin, anjoene and thiosulfinates in garlic will degrade in potency over time, so you are best off using fresh garlic, rather than stuff you get in jars.

Carrots are loaded with beta carotene, a phytonutrient that assists the body in building Natural Killer T cells (NKT cells). These cells are responsible for killing off microbes in the body. Carrots have another beneficial component called falcarinol, that, in studies carried out by the University of Newcastle, has shown promise as an anti-cancer agent.

Carrots are best eaten raw and fresh to ensure you get the benefit of all the good stuff they contain. Half a cup a day is recommended for the best effects in boosting your immune system. And who eats half a cup every day of carrots? Lets be real. We all need to improve our diet.

In looking at foods that boost the immune system, Prevention Magazine recommends mushrooms, beef, sweet potatoes, yogurt and herbal tea. It is kind of difficult though to specify certain foods that will specifically boost your immune system. The nutrient or vitamin or mineral that your body needs most, is the one that it is lacking in your diet. That is why www.ifoundhealth.com sells supplements that are food based and designed to help give your body a great deal of essential nutrients. We recommend our supplements along with a healthy diet.

Nutrition is very important to immune system function. The human body is designed to take sustenance and health-maintaining qualities from food. Remember that, the next time you are heading towards the Golden Arches.

To Your Health,

Spencer Hunt
Wellness Consultant