The immune system helps individuals fight foreign substances when they infiltrate the body. Many diseases that affect us today are due to a reduced or weakened immune system. People with compromised immunity often repeatedly suffer many illnesses, especially bacterial infections.

Reduced immunity may be due to congenital anomalies or poor lifestyle and habits. Those with congenital conditions get treated with medical procedures like gene therapy and bone marrow surgeries.

On the other hand, if your immunity is due to your poor habits, it would help if you desisted from these habits. Changing them could begin with adding food materials that boost immunity to your diet.

You will find that most of them contain vitamin C or E. This is because they are essential to maintaining a healthy immune system. Vitamin C boosts the immune system’s activity. Vitamin E is an antioxidant that helps clear toxins resulting from metabolism. These toxins injure cells and provide a suitable environment for pathogens to survive.

The body cannot synthesize these vitamins. Hence, they should be taken frequently to keep your immune system at an optimal level.

Some of the foods that help improve and maintain your immunity are listed below.

1. Red Bell pepper

The red bell pepper is an excellent source of vitamins. It contains about three times the amount of vitamin C as the average orange. Hence, people who don’t take fruits because of sugar can use red bell peppers as a substitute.

While cooking, it is best to stir-fry or roast it instead of boiling or steaming it. Stir-frying or roasting will help preserve its nutrients better than other cooking methods.

2. Garlic

Early civilizations like Egypt and Greece appreciated the benefits of garlic in fighting diseases. They applied garlic in preparing most of their dishes. This technique is mainstream in modern society, as several kitchens use garlic as a spice.

Apart from being a spice, garlic is also effective in boosting your body’s immunity due to its sulfur-containing compounds, like allicin.

3. Citrus fruits

It is common to use vitamin C to treat common conditions like a cold. All citrus fruits are rich sources of vitamin C; as such, it’s easy to have any one of them handy as they are ubiquitous.

Some of the citrus fruits that are easily accessible include:

• Grapefruits
• Oranges
• Limes
• Lemons
• Tangerines

4. Broccoli

Like many cruciferous vegetables, broccoli contains a high amount of vitamin C, which enables it to boost your immune system. It also contains antioxidants, like sulforaphane, which prevent toxin build-up in the body.

5. Ginger

Ginger has anti-inflammatory properties. Thus, many people use it when they fall ill, especially with sore throats and other inflammations.

It also has antioxidant activity, which helps it break down toxins. It has been suggested that ginger helps with lowering cholesterol levels, although it is not conclusive yet.

You can use ginger in cooking several dishes and as part of some sweet desserts.

6. Almonds

Generally, nuts are notable vitamin E reserves. Because it is fat-soluble, vitamin E is often found in most nuts like almonds and peanuts.

About 46 shelled almonds contain as much vitamin E as you would need daily. Apart from vitamin E, almonds contain essential oils that help maintain cell membrane integrity in the body.

In conclusion, boosting and maintaining your immune system is not only about eating healthy. You need to change your habits and increase your physical activity to have a robust immune system. However, the foods listed above are excellent choices you can incorporate into your meals to support your immunity as for diet change.