There’s no single food source that can offer all the nutrition necessary for human sustenance, but there are a few that have been recognised and classified as “superfoods”. These foods can enhance your healthy eating patterns and power-up your meals to keep you up and running all day. Superfoods are notably high in micro-nutrients like minerals, antioxidants, healthy fats, and vitamins that are essential for your body to work efficiently[1]. They are responsible for keeping you healthy and adding to your longevity. Most of these superfoods are plant-based, but some dairy products and fishes also make the cut.[2]
How Do Superfoods Affect Immunity?
Our immune system is responsible for defending our body against bacteria, viruses and germs that attack our bodies. To support our immunity, it is imperative that we consume nutritious food that keeps our defence mechanism stimulated. We’ve always heard that Vitamin C is taken as part of the treatment for colds and flu. This is mainly because it helps us activate the T cells in our body which fight the foreign elements causing the infection. The same goes for other vitamins like Vitamin A, D, and E. And the foods which contain them automatically earn nutrition value.[3]
Role of Superfoods In Boosting Immunity
These nutrient-rich superfoods are on the front line in boosting our immunity against foreign substances and germs. Honey, for example, has antiviral and antibacterial properties. Blueberries, say, contain flavonoids which are a type of antioxidants and help in reducing the damage taken by the cells while boosting the immune system. People heavily depend upon these superfoods for boosting their immunity.[4][5]
8 Superfoods That Boost Immunity
Having said that not one food in itself is the medical cure for all diseases and infections or contains the nutritional power to keep us healthy forever, let’s now take a look at 8 “superfoods” that have gained recognition because of their irreplaceable properties.
Bananas
mong the most widely cultivated fruits, bananas are perhaps the most accessible superfoods around. They are a great source of Potassium, which is needed to maintain cardiovascular health. The fibre content of bananas aids in the digestive process. Their prebiotic nature supports gut health. Moreover, with their Vitamin B6 content, which helps in increasing the production of antibodies and communication between chemokines and cytokines, it has a major role to play in boosting immunity.[6][7]
Cacao
Not to be confused with cocoa, cacao contains hundreds of different chemical compounds and has quadruple the amount of antioxidants as are found in dark chocolates. With polychemicals and Vitamins C, which contributes to the immune system’s functioning by stimulating T cells; Vitamin K, which cofactors for plasma proteins (and thus affecting the immune responses which are mediated by T cells), and Vitamin E, which regulates the production of reactive nitrogen species and reactive oxygen species (thus protecting from polyunsaturated fatty acids) respectively, Cacao is indeed a superfood.[8][9]
Chia Seeds
These became a household name a few decades ago, even though they were considered staple foods in Aztecs’ diets almost 5-6 thousand years ago. These superfoods are rich in their Omega-3 content which enhance the functioning of immune cells, and antioxidants which destroy free radicals which harm our cells and tissues and are thus widely consumed for boosting immunity.[10]
Coconut
Coconut trees grow in hot and humid climates in tropical regions. It is considered a sustainable crop as once the tree reaches maturity, it can produce as much as 70 coconuts every year. Coconuts are rich in fibre, saturated fats and contain vitamins and minerals such as Zinc, Iron, Magnesium, each of which has a role to play in boosting immunity. Zinc is found in cells throughout the body and is required in the synthesis of protein and DNA. Iron, apart from being a key component of Red Blood Cells, helps in enhancing the activation of immune cells. Magnesium cofactors immunoglobulin synthesis, an antibody-dependent cytosis, and Manganese is needed for intercellular communication between immune cells.[11][12][13]
Shellfish
Not the first thing that pops into our heads when we think of getting an immunity-boosting food, Shellfish, like Crab and Oysters, has a high Zinc content. This nutrient present throughout our body plays a key role in protein and DNA synthesis apart from fending off bacteria and viruses. Regular fishes such as Salmon and Tuna contain Omega-3 fatty acids that have their own role to play in determining immunity.[14]
Garlic
Used for adding that extra spice into our foods, garlic possesses high nutritional value. It is known for fighting infections because of its allicin content. It contains hundreds of sulphuric compounds and uncooked garlic is considered to be the version which is the most beneficial for our health. Every clove contains 12 mg Potassium and almost 5 mg Calcium and amounting to almost 4 calories per clove, garlic may as well be called a low-cal immunity-boosting superfood.[15][16]
Almonds
Almonds are the most nutritionally dense nuts and many studies show that they also benefit the heart to a great extent. This is because they contribute to lowering LDL or bad cholesterol levels, which, in turn, helps in maintaining blood pressure. With its Vitamin E content, which is known to regulate the width of blood vessels to keep the blood from clotting and helps in fighting off invading viruses and bacteria from its antioxidant properties.[17]
Poultry
Poultry items such as turkey, chicken and eggs contain high amounts of Vitamin B. Vitamin B-6 and B-12 respectively help in the production of red blood cells and white blood cells in our bodies. WBCs or leukocytes constitute the main elements that attack foreign elements like bacteria and viruses in our bodies. This helps in supporting healthy immunity and maintaining a high metabolism. Moreover, with rich protein content, poultry items are regularly used by fitness enthusiasts to build muscles.[18][19]
In Summary
All in all, superfoods are named so because of their extremely high nutritional value. With vitamins, healthy fats, minerals, and antioxidants, these foods play a major role in boosting our immune system apart from providing the benefits they are usually known for. It should be again noted that consuming just one of these foods can’t fulfil all our nutritional requirements, but they certainly can keep us safe against infections and keep us charged all day long.
Sources :
[1] “What Are Superfoods? | Live Science.” 18 Mar. 2019, https://www.livescience.com/34693-superfoods.html. Accessed 7 Jul. 2020.
[2] “Superfoods: Health benefits, uses, and risks.” https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/303079. Accessed 7 Jul. 2020.
[3] “Superfoods: Health benefits, uses, and risks.” https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/303079. Accessed 7 Jul. 2020.
[4] “Immunity | Journal | ScienceDirect.com.” https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/immunity. Accessed 7 Jul. 2020.
[5] “15 foods to boost the immune system – Medical News Today.” 10 Jul. 2018, https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/322412. Accessed 7 Jul. 2020.
[6] “Foods To Boost the Immune System – Physicians Committee.” 13 Mar. 2020, https://www.pcrm.org/news/blog/foods-boost-immune-system. Accessed 7 Jul. 2020.
[7] “Bananas: Health benefits, tips, and risks – Medical News Today.” 13 Jan. 2020, https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/271157. Accessed 7 Jul. 2020.
[8] “The effects of cocoa on the immune system – NCBI.” 4 Jun. 2013, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3671179/. Accessed 7 Jul. 2020.
[9] “Immunity Booster – COCOA – The Vitamin Shoppe.” https://www.vitaminshoppe.com/p/immunity-booster-cocoa-84-g-powder/byf1013. Accessed 7 Jul. 2020.
[10] “Nutritional and therapeutic perspectives of Chia (Salvia … – NCBI.” 1 Oct. 2015, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4926888/. Accessed 7 Jul. 2020.
[11] “Virgin Coconut Oil Supplementation in Diet … – PubMed.” 18 Sep. 2019, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31536034. Accessed 7 Jul. 2020.
[12] “Coconut Palm Trees for Sale – FastGrowingTrees.com.” https://www.fast-growing-trees.com/products/coconut-palm-tree. Accessed 7 Jul. 2020.
[13] “Manganese in coconut per 100g – Diet and Fitness Today.” http://www.dietandfitnesstoday.com/manganese-in-coconut.php. Accessed 7 Jul. 2020.
[14] “Support Your Immune Health by Eating a Variety of Seafood.” 14 Apr. 2020, https://www.seafoodnutrition.org/seafood-101/support-your-immune-health-with-seafood/. Accessed 7 Jul. 2020.
[15] “Garlic: An Immunity-Boosting Superstar – WebMD.” 30 Jul. 2007, https://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/features/garlic-immunity-boosting-superstar. Accessed 7 Jul. 2020.
[16] “Immunomodulation and Anti-Inflammatory Effects of Garlic ….” https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4417560/. Accessed 7 Jul. 2020.
[17] “Immunomodulatory and Antiviral Activity of Almond … – PubMed.” 16 Aug. 2010, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20438761/. Accessed 7 Jul. 2020.
[18] “Development of Innate Immunity in Chicken … – PubMed.” https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31063007. Accessed 7 Jul. 2020.
[19] “Effects of Egg White Consumption on Allergy, Immune … – NCBI.” 31 Oct. 2014, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4662225/. Accessed 7 Jul. 2020.
