What can you do to support your immune system with nutrients

Eat a balanced diet to support the health of the immune system and the gut and to help lower inflammation.

Add more nutrient-rich fruits and vegetables. Variety is the key as well as healthy proteins that provide amino acids, the building blocks of the immune system. Complex carbs like grains and legumes provide substantial energy that the body needs to function properly. Vitamins and minerals are catalysts for all body functions, especially the immune system.

Nutrients the immune system loves (and these are just a few suggestions):

Ideally you should choose to buy organic. Lowering your exposure to toxic chemicals is just one way to lower inflammation and take some pressure off the body and the immune system. Do the best you can.

✓ Essential Fatty Acids: Found in chia, flax, hemp, cold-water fish such as salmon and tuna, butter, eggs, raw nuts and seeds

✓ Vitamin A-Rich Foods: Eggs, butter, cod liver oil, sweet potatoes, carrots, tuna, squash, spinach and other green leafy vegetables

✓ Vitamin C–Rich Foods: Citrus fruits, carrots, kiwi, bell peppers, tomatoes, strawberries and other berries, broccoli, cabbage

✓ Vitamin E-Rich Foods: Olive oil, avocados, sunflower seeds, walnuts, salmon, turnip greens, mangos

✓ Vitamin D-Rich Foods: Cod liver oil, salmon, mushrooms, milk or fortified milk substitutes, eggs

✓ Zinc-Rich Foods: Meats, lentils and legumes, dairy products, vegetables, oysters, sesame seeds, cashews and other nuts, chocolate and cocoa, baker’s and brewer’s yeast

Shahrzad Shahriar (Holistic Nutritionist)

sh-holisticnutrition@gmail.com