Focus on Food - how your diet supports your immunity.

There is a lot of talk right now about boosting your immune system. Eating certain foods and taking herbal supplements are touted as helping you to maintain your health and prevent sickness, but is this possible?

The goal of our immune system is to protect us from infection. There are several ways our body does this and a properly functioning system allows these processes to work well.

Boosting your immune system implies that you’re doing something to make it function at a level that is greater than normal in order to better fight off a potential infection. This is a concept that, scientifically speaking, has not proven to be effective or even necessarily possible through supplementation.

And actually, an immune system in overdrive is the root cause of autoimmune diseases and allergic reactions. We can probably all agree, especially those who are experiencing these conditions, that we do not want to venture into this territory. Therefore, although we can’t kick our immune systems into overdrive with supplementation or certain foods, it is crucial to differentiate between the idea that we can “boost” our immune system versus support our immune system through what we eat.

You may not be able to “boost” your immunity by eating certain foods, but our overall diet certainly plays a key role in our immune system’s ability to function at its best.

Again, a properly functioning immune system? Excellent, that’s what we are looking for. An immune system in overdrive? Not good (i.e. think autoimmune diseases and allergic reactions).

With that said, what we eat can certainly help support our immune system and allow it to function at its best.

Vitamin C is usually the number one vitamin that we think of in terms of our immunity, but there are a host of other vitamins and minerals that enable our immune system to function properly. In addition to Vitamin C, our bodies also rely on these vitamins and minerals to keep us healthy:

Vitamin A
Vitamin D
B vitamins (e.g. B2, B6, B12, folic acid)
Iron
Selenium
Zinc

That seems like a lot - does this mean you need a bunch of supplement bottles in your cabinet?

As a dietitian, I would encourage you to get these vitamins and minerals from the food you eat rather than relying on supplements. With that said, supplements do have their time and place (and if your doctor or other healthcare professional has told you to take them, keep doing so according to their care and instruction), but if you focus on a balanced diet and variety of foods, you can likely get all that you need from the foods you eat.

Our bodies need a certain amount of these vitamins and minerals in order for our systems to function at their best. Less than that and we may not be functioning optimally while consuming more than the necessary amount is generally just disposed of by the body. More of these vitamins and minerals does not mean your body will be doing a better job to fight infection and because of this, we can usually get all that we need from the food we eat.

Alright, so what foods are we talking about here?

Eating a balanced diet with plenty of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins, and healthy fats ensures you get enough of these vitamins and minerals to support your immune system.

Fruits and vegetables
- Aim for at least 5 servings of fruits/veggies per day.
- Focus on a wide variety and incorporate a lot of colors into what you’re eating. Different vitamins and minerals are present in different colored fruits and vegetables.
- Look for different options when you go to the store (i.e. dark leafy greens; blue-purple; red-orange; white)
Whole grains
- Examples: brown rice, oats, farro, bulgur, whole wheat, quinoa
- When buying products like bread, crackers, or cereals, look for those made with whole grains.
Lean proteins
- Depending on your eating patterns you can get your protein from meat, poultry, fish, eggs, legumes, nuts, seeds, soy products/meat alternatives, and low-fat dairy or certain non-dairy products.
Healthy fats
- Many foods such as avocados, seeds, nuts, beans/legumes and fish contain healthy fats.
- When cooking with oil, use unsaturated options such as olive, canola, peanut, or avocado oil; unsaturated oils generally come from plant sources.

But if I can get what I need from a supplement, why should I even worry about eating a balanced diet?

Time and time again, studies show the importance of eating a balanced diet for your overall health. An individual food has so many beneficial components when broken down. For example, when you eat fruits and vegetables, you aren’t just getting the vitamins and minerals, you are also getting fiber for better digestion, water for hydration, and carbohydrates for energy.

If you’re still going to take a supplement, though, as a dietitian I have a few suggestions. Look for those that are certified by a third party. Most will have a little seal or mark that shows who has certified them and you can look them up to see their requirements/guidelines. Basically this ensures that a third party, aside from the supplement manufacturer themselves, has verified that what the manufacturer says is in the supplement is actually in there. NSF and USP are two common ones that you may see. So always look for the seal.

How else can you support your immune system?

In addition to getting your fruits and veggies, some non-food/diet measures are key to helping your immune system function at its best. This includes ensuring adequate sleep and regular exercise as well as minimizing stress and exposure to infection (i.e. by washing your hands, thoroughly cooking meat/poultry/eggs).