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New Image International:Can you boost your immune system to fight ills & chills?

Can you boost your immune system to fight ills & chills?

ImmunityMarch19

This is the question on everyone’s mind. Never has there been more focus on the value of health and our immune system. It is important to focus on what you can control to boost your immune system.

When a foreign bug gets into your body, your body puts up its defence. That defence is your immune system and the army of warriors you have inside your body. You may not be able to prevent all risks of exposure to bugs, however, a healthy lifestyle can help build up your immune system to make your defence as strong as possible.

When a foreign bug gets into your body, like the one that causes COVID19, your body puts up its defence. That defence is your immune system and the army of warriors you have inside your body. You may not be able to prevent all risks of exposure to bugs like COVID19; however, a healthy lifestyle can help build up your immune system to make your defence as strong as possible.

Nutrition and immune function

It may be more important now than ever to maintain a healthy lifestyle, including a long-term healthy eating pattern. That means an eating pattern that provides essential nourishment and also keeps your blood sugar and weight in check.

What foods boost my immune system?

Your immune system begins in your gut; all the different bacteria that live there are called the gut microbiome. When your gut is healthy, it’s full of good bacteria which helps to strengthen your immune system.

Fruit and vegetables in their whole form, are rich in fibre and help increase the good bacteria in the gut. Variety is also important, so aim to eat a range of different coloured fruit and vegetables daily to boost your immune system.

Other immune system boosting foods that help keep your gut microbiome healthy include:

Fruits and vegetables that are high in vitamin C include:

  • Citrus fruits such as oranges, mandarins, lemons, limes and grapefruit
  • Capsicum, especially the red capsicums
  • Broccoli and spinach contain good levels of vitamin C as well as vitamin A and E

All foods contain a variety of vitamins (i.e. vitamin C, E and A), minerals (i.e. iron, zinc, calcium and magnesium) and fibre that all play a role in keeping your immune system and body in good health.

Keep your focus on a variety of whole, unprocessed foods to ensure that you are eating the right foods for your immune health.

Do I need to take supplements to boost my immunity?

You may have heard of the following supplements:

Vitamin C

Vitamin C is one of the most important water-soluble antioxidants in the body. Vitamin C is essential for the normal development and maintenance of many vital functions. The human body cannot synthesise it, so we need to take it daily through diet or supplementation.

Probiotic supplements

Probiotic supplements are taken to help boost the good gut bacteria.

Alpha Lipid™ Lifeline™

Alpha Lipid™ Lifeline™ combines colostrum and probiotics for powerful immune and digestive system support to help you feel balanced, healthy and strong. Colostrum has antioxidant properties, is anti-inflammatory and is a source of many vitamins, minerals, enzymes and amino acids which all contribute to a healthy immunity. Colostrum’s main components contains immune factors which can regulate the immune response, growth factors to help to repair damaged cells and anti-inflammatory factors to reduce inflammation.

Fibre supplements

FibreMax™

Dietary fibre is important for our digestive health, regular bowel movements and prevention of weight gain. Fibre also helps keep you fuller for longer, can improve cholesterol and blood sugar levels. Ideally, we want to be aiming for at least 30 grams per day if you’re a male and 25 grams per day for female. However, most of us consume much less than that. On average we consume just 22.1g and 17.5g, respectively.

Introduce FibreMax™, just one serve gives you 40% of your daily fibre intake.

Summary

The more actions we take to keep ourselves generally healthy, the better.

Good hand hygiene and social distancing can help prevent catching ills and chills. Doing what you can to reduce specific risk factors may help your body recover quickly if you do become exposed.

If nothing else, we recommend taking colostrum because it is known to support the health of our digestive system by nourishing the gut wall. A healthy gut wall means our bodies have a natural defence system giving us the resistance we need to fight off bugs and viral infections helping our bodies perform at their best.