Regularly eating a variety of nutritious foods rich in vitamins and minerals, such as citrus fruits, spinach, red peppers, and ginger may help boost your immune system.
Citrus fruits
Most people turn straight to vitamin C after they’ve caught a cold. That’s because it helps build up your immune system.
Vitamin C is thought to increase the production of white blood cells, which are key to fighting infections.
Most citrus fruits are high in vitamin C. With such a variety to choose from, it’s easy to add a squeeze of this vitamin to any meal.
Popular citrus fruits include:
- grapefruit
- oranges
- clementines
- tangerines
- lemons
- limes
Ounce for ounce, red bell peppers contain almost 3 times as much vitamin C (127 mgTrusted Source) as a Florida orange (45 mgTrusted Source). They’re also a rich source of beta-carotene.
Besides boosting your immune system, vitamin C may help you maintain healthy skin. Beta-carotene, which your body converts into vitamin A, helps keep your eyes and skin healthy.
Broccoli
Broccoli is supercharged with vitamins and minerals. Packed with vitamins A, C, and E, as well as fiber and many other antioxidants, broccoli is one of the healthiest vegetables you can put on your plate.
The key to keeping its power intact is to cook it as little as possible — or better yet, not at all. Research Trusted Source has shown that steaming or microwaving are the best ways to keep more nutrients in the food.
Garlic
Garlic adds flavor to food and has long been used for medicinal purposes.
Early civilizations recognized its value in fighting infections. Garlic may also slow down hardening of the arteries, and people use itTrusted Source to treat high blood pressure.
Garlic’s immune-boosting properties seem to come from a heavy concentration of sulfur-containing compounds, such as allicin.
Ginger
Ginger is another ingredient many turn to after getting sick. Ginger may help decrease inflammation, which can help reduce a sore throat and inflammatory illnesses. It may also help with nausea.
While it’s used in many sweet desserts, ginger packs some heat in the form of gingerol.
Spinach
Spinach made our list not just because it’s rich in vitamin C — it’s also packed with numerous antioxidants and beta-carotene, which may both increase the infection-fighting ability of our immune systems.
Similar to broccoli, spinach is healthiest when cooked as little as possible so that it retains its nutrients. However, light cooking makes it easier to absorb the vitamin A and allows other nutrients to be released from oxalic acid, an antinutrient.
Green tea
Both green and black teas are packed with flavonoids, a type of antioxidant. Where green tea really excels is in its levels of epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), another powerful antioxidant.
Research Trusted Source has suggested that EGCG may have antiviral properties that support the immune system. The fermentation process black tea goes through destroys a lot of the EGCG. Green tea, on the other hand, is steamed and not fermented, so the EGCG is preserved.
