Immune Boosting Foods for Virus Recovery

It’s imperative to eat healthy with fresh foods that are good for your immune system. Regardless of time of year, season or occasion, your meals should have a healthy serving of immune boosting foods.

Nutrient Rich Foods t0 Boost Your Immune System

Although there is no scientific evidence that immune boosting foods can keep you from contracting viruses,  boosting your immune system and strengthening your body to fight illnesses is one part of your recovery process. Recovery is essential and being healthy is crucial in battling sickness, disease, flu and other viruses. Yufang Lin, M.D., of the Center for Integrative Medicine at the Cleveland Clinic explains, “Eighty percent of your immune system is in the gut, so when it’s healthy, we tend to be able to fight off infections faster and better. When it’s not, our immune system is weaker and more susceptible to fighting off infection.”

Reduce inflammation and fight infection by eating healthy

• Green leafy vegetables like spinach, kale and broccoli. Foods with color nearly always mean higher in nutrients. Eat foods with color!
• Fresh fruits. Consume a variety of fresh fruits rich in color and vitamins. Change your daily routine of the same apple or banana. Reach for avocados, plums, mangoes, blueberries, blackberries and other delicious fruits! Mix up your routine!
• Fatty fish with healthy fats like salmon and tuna.
• Fresh juices such as pomegranate juice is a boost to your system.
• Fresh herbs, roots and spices like ginger and green tea are high in vitamins and antioxidants.
• High quality olive oil is a great healthy oil. It has large amounts of antioxidants and strong anti-inflammatory properties.
• Plain yogurt is a perfect source of probiotics for a healthy gut.
• Cook more wholesome foods at home instead of going out to eat. Here’s more of our healthy recipes collection.

How to Stay Healthy and Strengthen Your Body to Recover from Illness

• Eat nutrient rich foods, fruits and vegetables. A balanced diet rich in antioxidants as mentioned above.
• Reduce Stress. Balance out your day with activities that are relaxing and make you happy. Take breaks often when you feel anxiety coming on.
• Get a good nights sleep. Don’t deprive yourself of sleep and focus on good sleeping habits.
• Stay Active. Exercise in moderation is helpful at killing germs.
• Vitamin D. Foods rich in Vitamin D are plentiful and delicious. Here’s a great list of vitamin D foods to eat from. Also, a little sunshine and spending some time in the sun is a great source of Vitamin D. But don’t overdue the sun exposure as it can lead to other problems.
• Avoid Toxins like food additives, chlorinated drinking water and other environmental toxins.

What else are you doing to incorporating more immune boosting foods or techniques into your lifestyle? Share in the comments!

Cook more of our healthy recipes