Superhero pills fighting bacteria, viruses, flat vector isolated illustration. Tablet, capsule, funny cartoon characters with sword, shield, wearing superhero cape winning microbes. Supplements, boost the immune system.
The immune system has complicated networks that work as an army. To fight invaders like bacteria, viruses and other enemies, each unit must work together. Apart from practising a healthy lifestyle, using the following supplements to fill in the gaps of diet can help us to strengthen our immune system and fight off illness.
If you find out these signs happened quite often, your immune system is getting weakened.
5 signs of a weak immune system:
In this case, taking various supplements is one of the ways to boost your immunity. Besides, it’s the season of flu and allergy while the COVID-19 pandemic is still ongoing. Therefore, the combination of fresh food and supplements is the key to maintaining health.
Natural Immune System Booster
Vitamin C
Vitamin C is one of the most effective nutrients that protect against immune system deficiencies. It helps encourage the production of white blood cells which can help fight harmful infection. Almost all citrus fruits are high in vitamin C, such as grapefruit, oranges, lemons and limes. It can also help wounds heal faster and strengthen your skin’s defense system.
Foods rich in Vitamin C: Citrus fruits, peppers, strawberries, blackcurrants, broccoli, potatoes
Zinc
Zinc is an important aspect of nutrition. It has a powerful ability to boost immune function and fight inflammation. Zinc deficiency can increase the risk of infection and severely impair immune system function. It has a great impact on many aspects of health that you could use Zinc to boost the immune system during global health issues.
Foods rich in Zinc: Oysters, red meat, beans, nuts, lobster, breakfast cereals, whole grains & dairy products, tofu
Protein
Protein is found in every cell of the body that plays an important role in protecting the body from viruses and bacteria. We should have enough protein in our diet everyday, otherwise, the deficiency in protein may lead to symptoms of weakness, fatigue, apathy, and poor immunity. Get enough protein everyday to stay healthy!
Foods rich in protein: beef, lamb, pork, chicken, duck, goose, fish, prawns, lobster, scallops, calms, nuts, eggs & dairy products
Quercetin
Quercetin, a plant nutrient commonly found in fruits and vegetables, including apples, onions, teas, berries and as well as red wine, is particularly good at helping you fight off the flu. Numerous experiments have shown that quercetin exerts antiproliferative, antioxidative, antibacterial, anticancer and antiviral effects.
Quercetin helps prevent flu infection by making it difficult for the flu virus to enter cells. There is also evidence that vitamin C and quercetin co-administration exerts a synergistic antiviral action due to overlapping antiviral and immunomodulatory properties and the capacity of ascorbate to recycle quercetin, increasing its efficacy.
Foods rich in Quercetin: Orange, apple, onion, olive oil, grapes, blueberries, blackberries
Vitamin D
Apart from its effects on calcium and bone homeostasis, laboratory studies have shown that vitamin D can help control infections and reduce inflammation. Deficiency in vitamin D is associated with increased autoimmunity as well as an increased susceptibility to infection.
Your body produce vitamin D as the skin is the primary natural source of vitamin D, but many people living in the city have insufficient levels because they have limited sun exposure due to being inside much of time. Few foods naturally contain vitamin D, so the best way to get enough of vitamin D is taking a supplement because it is hard to eat enough through food.
Probiotics
Probiotics are “good bacteria” that help boost the immune system. It regulates any unbalance in your gut caused by unhealthy levels of certain bacteria by secreting protective substances, that may turn on the immune system and prevent pathogens from taking hold and causing major disease.
Foods rich in probiotics: yogurt, kefir, fermented vegetables such as pickles
Prebiotics
One of the beneficial effects of prebiotics is stimulation of immune system, which can be direct or indirect through increasing the proliferation of probiotics (good bacteria) in the gut. It thus attributes to the strengthening of the immune system.
Foods rich in prebiotics: Garlic, onions, asparagus, bananas, oats, apples, cocoa, flaxseeds, seaweed
