Nutrition Tips To Support Your Immune System

Since the COVID-19 outbreak, lots of misinformation is circulating in the media about “immune boosting” foods and supplements, however there’s no science backed-evidence that certain foods or supplements will help prevent the spread of this virus.

The common cold, influenza flu and COVID-19 are all caused by different types of viruses and although symptoms might be different, your likelihood of catching any of these will depend on your exposure to the virus as well as your immune system health.

Practising good hygiene such as washing your hands before eating/ drinking or touching your face, as well as distancing yourself from others, especially sick individuals, is likely your best bet at reducing the spread of any virus. Other factors that positively impact your immune system include: having a healthy diet, getting a good night’s sleep and managing stress. This article will focus on nutrition tips that can help support your immune system health:

Have a consistent eating schedule

Staying long hours without eating stresses your body and weakens your immune system. Make sure you are eating regularly, every 2-4h either a meal or snack.

Keep your meals balanced

Every time you eat you’re nourishing your body with nutrients like carbohydrate, protein and fat which act as fuel for your immune system cells. Balanced meals can be: chicken and vegetable stir-fry, tuna wrap and a side salad or quinoa and bean bowl topped with cheese or nuts; balanced snacks can be: fruit and a handful of nuts, yogurt topped with berries, or cut up veggies and hummus.

Include antioxidant rich foods daily

Antioxidants may act like an “army” that help protect your body from inflammation as well as foreign viruses and infections. Bear in mind you should always be including food sources of antioxidants like whole grains, fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds in your diet, and not only during a pandemic.

Add probiotic-rich foods and prebiotics to your diet

Probiotic are the “friendly bacteria” in your gut and can be beneficial for your immune system health. Probiotics are found in fermented foods such as yogurt, kefir (fermented milk), tempeh, kombucha, miso and sauerkraut. Prebiotics are typically high fibre foods that feed your gut bacteria and can be found in onion, garlic, whole grains (e.g. quinoa/barley), bananas and artichokes. 

Check your Iron and Vitamin D blood levels

Low iron and low vitamin D levels can weaken your immune system and increase your chance of catching a virus. Most Canadians should be supplementing with a vitamin D supplement during the Fall and Winter months because of the lack of sunlight exposure and the challenge of getting enough vitamin D through the diet. For Iron, if you’re not deficient, you should be able to get lots through your diet by including iron rich foods such as red meat, eggs, tofu as well as legumes.

Don’t overdo the vitamin C supplement 

Daily vitamin C needs are 90-mg for adult men and 75-mg for adult women, which is well below the 2,000-3,000 mg per day that some sources are claiming to be beneficial. Although vitamin C helps sustain immune system health and has been shown to reduce the incidence of respiratory infections, it is mostly beneficial for immune compromised individuals (e.g. elderly) or during physical stress (e.g. athletes during high volume training). Doses that have been found beneficial are between 250mg-1,000mg per day (usually 1 effervescent tab will have 1,000mg), keeping in mind that 1 cup of orange juice will give you 125 mg Vitamin C (140% of your daily needs). I would recommend you try to get most of your vitamin C from food (e.g. citrus fruits, vegetables, kiwi and berries), unless recommended by your health care provider to supplement at a higher dose. 

Article as seen on Premier Spine & Sport, April 2020 Newsletter