Must-eat foods to improve immunity and reduce illness

If you want to rely on diet to improve your immunity and avoid getting sick, you don't need to pursue hundreds of "super foods". As long as you eat enough of the common ingredients in your daily life, it can help you build a strong immune defense line, which is much more useful than paying an IQ tax.

When I was rotating in the nutrition department of a tertiary hospital in the past two years, I met many people who came to consult with imported acerola powder and freeze-dried colostrum. They asked, "Will eating this prevent me from getting the flu?" When asked about daily diet, they either only ate boiled vegetables for weight loss, or they only ate one takeout a day when they were busy, and couldn't even think of eating eggs. This kind of putting the cart before the horse, no matter how many expensive supplements are taken, it is useless.

Many people know that protein supplementation is the basis for improving immunity, but many people also have questions: If I am a vegetarian and do not eat meat, am I destined to have poor immunity? In fact, it’s not true. No matter whether you are a vegetarian or a vegetarian, as long as you eat enough “complete protein”, you will be fine. For vegetarians, eat enough 1 egg and about 200g of lean pork/fish and shrimp/chicken breasts every day. For vegetarians, eat enough northern tofu, chickpeas, and quinoa to meet the basic needs of immune cell synthesis. I once met a blogger who has been a vegetarian for 6 years. He caught a cold when the seasons changed. Later, he adjusted his diet and added 100g of northern tofu and 30g of chickpeas as his staple food every day. He didn't have much fever for more than half a year.

Don’t think that just taking protein supplements is enough. Have you ever found that after a long night, you get herpes on the corners of your mouth and a sore throat, which cannot be relieved by eating many eggs? This is actually because the vitamin family, the "repairman" of the immune defense line, has not kept up. Many people have to buy effervescent tablets worth tens of yuan a bottle to supplement vitamin C. In fact, it is really unnecessary. Winter dates, kiwis, and even Chinese cabbage that costs two yuan a pound have more vitamin C than concentrated supplements. The nutritional community generally believes that dietary vitamins are taken together with dietary fiber, and the absorption and utilization rate is about 30% higher than that of a single supplement. There is no risk of kidney stones caused by excessive intake. Of course, if you are really busy and have no time to eat fruit, it’s okay to soak a piece occasionally. You don’t have to listen to any one school of thought. The most important thing is to find a rhythm that suits you.

There is another point that many people ignore: minerals. The children of friends around me often get recurrent respiratory infections. The wounds of the elderly heal slowly, and there is no big problem if they go to the hospital for examination. In fact, it is most likely that they eat too much refined rice flour, and the zinc and selenium in the grain husks are worn away. Pediatricians may directly prescribe zinc supplements to children. Our nutrition department generally recommends trying dietary supplements first, eating oysters 2-3 times a week, or grabbing a handful of oats and mixing them into white rice every time you cook. It is gentler than supplements, and there is no need to worry about overdose. Oh, by the way, it’s also good to grab a few handfuls of mushrooms when buying groceries. Whether it’s shiitake mushrooms or king oyster mushrooms, the polysaccharides in them have long been proven to increase the activity of immune cells. Traditional Chinese medicine also often says that mushrooms are a good thing for “strengthening and strengthening the body.” Stewed chicken and stir-fried meat add a little bit to it. It tastes fresh and nourishes the body. Both statements are true.

As for the "immune artifacts" such as lactoferrin and bovine colostrum that are very popular on the Internet, there is no need to beat them to death with a stick. If you are an infant or a critically ill patient who has just undergone surgery, it is indeed useful to follow the doctor's advice to supplement. However, if ordinary people eat normally, drinking 300ml of pure milk every day is enough to obtain the required immune globulin. A friend of mine spent more than 2,000 to buy canned colostrum powder. After three months of consumption, he still got infected during the flu season. Later, he switched to a cup of warm milk + an orange every day, but he did not catch a cold. The price/performance ratio is not bad at all. Some people also asked whether fermented kimchi, natto, and yogurt are must-eats? It’s not a “must eat”, but if you are prone to constipation or gastrointestinal discomfort, it is indeed useful to eat foods containing active probiotics. After all, 70% of immune cells are in the intestines. If the intestines are stable, the immunity will not be weak.

After all, there are really no specific foods that must be eaten. Immunity is a systematic project and can never be built by relying on a certain "magic thing". If you really can’t remember so many categories, when shopping for groceries, pick the ones with more colors, red, yellow, green, and white. Don’t miss out on meat, eggs, soy milk, it’s better than anything else. Oh, by the way, don’t just focus on eating. Sleep 7 hours a day and take half an hour to walk. It’s more effective than taking many supplements. It’s true.