What effect does your diet have on your body?

What effect does your diet have on your body?

Feeding your immune system with the right vitamins, minerals and nutrients boosts its fighting power and it does this in a number of ways: by increasing the number of white cells in the immune system army, improving the efficiency / activating important T cells and also by eliminating certain substances that can drag the body down such as toxins and free radicals.

8:00am:

Breakfast: Citrus smoothie (made oranges, strawberries and grapefruit juice and enhanced with vitamin C)

Why? 

Most citrus fruits are a great source of vitamin C which is brilliant for boosting the immune system since vitamin C increases the production of infection-fighting white blood cells and antibodies and increases levels of interferon, the antibody that coats cell surfaces, preventing the entry of viruses. Vitamin C reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease by raising levels of HDL (good) cholesterol while lowering blood pressure and interfering with the process by which fat is converted to plaque in the arteries. As an added perk, persons whose diets are higher in vitamin C have lower rates of colon, prostate, and breast cancer. (30 capsules of Vitamin C are available from Myvitamins.com for £2.49.) http://www.myvitamins.com/vitamins/essential-vitamin-c/10618880.html
 

Or

Breakfast: Plain natural yoghurt with blueberries 

Why? 

Yoghurt contains the strain of friendly bacteria known as lactobacillus casei which in various studies has been shown to improve our immune response helping us to fight off viruses and bacteria.
 

10:30am:

Snack: Green tea, fruit and nuts

Why? 

Green teas are rich in polyphenols, in the form of natural chemicals called catechins. The most powerful catechin in tea is epigallocatechin (EGCG), which was found in one study to be 25 to 100 times more potent than antioxidant vitamins C and E. Antioxidants are obviously important for fighting harmful free radicals that have been linked to diseases such as atherosclerosis, cancer, inflammatory joint disease, asthma, diabetes, senile dementia and degenerative eye disease. Alternatively you can get a more potent serving of EGCG by taking a pure green tea supplement such as Total Green Tea Extract from Myvitamins.com, £2.49 for 30 capsules http://www.myvitamins.com/vitamins/total-green-tea-extract/10618924.html
 

1:00pm:

Lunch: Roasted chicken in a garlic and mushroom sauce

Why? 

Garlic is one of nature's most powerful immune boosting secrets. Garlic contains over 100 biologically active components including alliin, allicin, alliinase and unique sulfur compounds. When garlic is crushed or chewed it forces the allin and allinase enzyme together and causes a chemical reaction to produce allicin. Allicin along with sulfur based compounds act as powerful antibiotic, anti-viral, and anti-fungal agents that have an incredible immune stimulating effect. Additionally, garlic is also used to lower blood pressure, cholesterol, and help prevent/reverse cancer. Whilst mushrooms have been shown to increase the production of white blood cells which are integral to fighting infection and viruses.
 

3:00pm:

Snack: Lentil and pumpkin soup

Why? 

Pumpkins are an excellent source of Vitamin A which helps the respiratory system and is integral in cell-to-cell communication that protects the immune system whilst lentils are full of zinc which has been shown to reduce cold and flu symptoms if ingested within 24 hours of the symptoms first occurring. Alternatively Complete Immune from Myvitamins.com contains 90 tabs for £10.99 and contains 150% of your Recommended Daily Allowance of Zinc (15mg) as well as other ingredients such as resveratrol and Grape Seed Extract http://www.myvitamins.com/vitamins/complete-immune/10618872.html
 

Or

Snack: Sun flower seeds 

Why? 

Sun flower seeds are a great source of selenium, a mineral that studies have shown increases natural killer cells and can mobilize cancer-fighting cells.
 

6:30pm:

Lunch: Omelette with bell peppers and broccoli

Why? 

Bell peppers are low in calories and dense in nutrients, and pack in even more Vitamin C than citrus fruits whilst broccoli is full of sulforaphanes, which are cancer-fighting agents. Also eggs are a good source of Vitamin D which is shown to be essential to our immune system health since it was discovered at the University of Copenhagen that Vitamin D activates T-cells (the cells in the body responsible for fighting viruses) and triggers them to detect and kill foreign pathogens such as clumps of bacteria. Without sufficient Vitamin D it’s believed the T-cells remain dormant and ‘naïve’ to possible threat. And for those who don’t like eggs or perhaps just want to ensure they have enough Vitamin D in their diet there’s Essential Vitamin D3 from Myvitamins.com (30 softgels for just £2.49) http://www.myvitamins.com/vitamins/essential-vitamin-d3/10618882.html 
 

Or

Lunch: Tuna steak with mixed mediterranean vegetables 

Why? 

Tuna is a brilliant source of Omega 3 which studies have found is capable acting as an immune booster by increasing the activity of phagocytes, the white blood cells that eat up bacteria. Alternatively 60 softgels of Omega 3 is available from Myvitamins.com for £3.49 http://www.myvitamins.com/vitamins/omega-3/10622384.html 

by for www.femalefirst.co.uk
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