10 Foods to Boost Immunity This Fall

on October 17, 2009 at 8:00 AM

onion garlic A healthy diet is an important part of protecting yourself during the cold and flu season (especially now with so much concern surrounding the H1N1 flu). Experts believe the following 10 foods (as part of a well-balanced diet) can help boost your immune system so it can fight off the cold and flu "bugs."

Garlic
Onions
Turmeric (a spice commonly used in Middle Eastern foods)
Yogurt (containing live, active cultures) and kefir
Tea
Leafy green vegetables (Spinach, cabbage, Swiss chard)
Coconut oil
Citrus fruits (oranges, grapefruit, mangoes
Lean protein (low-fat dairy, lean turkey or chicken)
Oats

Am I missing any immunity boosting foods? How do you protect yourself from the flu?

Related Posts:

Eating Yogurt as Flu Prevention?

Boost Your Immunity with These Stretches

This Herbal Tea Can Help Prevent Flu

About the author Kim Conte

has shoes that make people stop her on the street and ask "Where did you get those?" but it doesn't work for taxi cabs as she was hit by one ... and lived to tell the tale. She has more freckles than Lohan but way less attitude. And she's a fierce cook with tons of recipes to share -- and wishes she could share some with Bourdain.

Filed Under: cold & flu, general health, illness, nutrition, swine flu

Comments (6)

aurorabunny

on Oct 17, 2009 at 10:24 AM

From Dr.Becky's Allison's website...

Eat Less Meat

Here is some bad news for the meat lovers. You are what you eat. By eating too much of meat, you will cause more damage to your body as meat contains large amount of waste materials and as it enters our blood stream, it crease a lot of extra work for our white blood cell and as a result it creates problem for organs like kidneys, liver, colon and other organs in our body. So, if you want to build up your immune system, consider becoming a vegetarian. The reason why there are so many illness in America is due to poor lifestyle habits which results in poor body condition in our system and we become easily to circumvent to illness and disease.

So meat, even lean turkey and chicken, will actually lower your immune system. Sorry, I had to add that in there. The rest of the list is great! Well minus the yogurt but I think their point there was probiotics. ;)

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Oh and HEMP SEEDS. Talk about serious superfood. We are adding them into almost everything we eat right now.

Pishyah

on Oct 17, 2009 at 11:07 AM

Thank you, Aurora!

camelotrealm

on Oct 17, 2009 at 11:13 AM

See my Journal post about Tastea Tea Remedies ! your friend Michele

TeacherMeg

on Nov 22, 2009 at 12:20 PM

I am hosting a workshop in San Francisco on this topic and more...please come join on December 3rd from 6:00 pm to 7:30

• Learn natural remedies to promote health and wellness for you & your entire family.

• Explore herbs, teas, and foods that are beneficial during the cold and flu season.

• Discuss healthy practices to prevent cold & flu.

• Learn about how to naturally treat the symptoms related to cold & flu.

* Discover natural remedies for common ailments.

R.S.V.P. meganlipsett@gmail.com for more details

Megan is a certified Yoga Teacher with a background in Ayurvedic Medicine, Nutrition, Permaculture, Naturopathic Medicine, and Indigenous Medicine. She is working towards a Master's Degree in Integral Health Studies and certification as a Wellness Coach at the CIIS, She was exposed to natural medicine and herbal medicine while living on a sustainable education center in Costa Rica. Megan is committed to promoting natural health and lifestyle education.