How to Build Immunity With Food

With our incredibly busy lifestyles, most of us simply don't pay much attention to what we eat. Convenience is more important than healthy eating, and we often end up feeling sluggish and sick. With diet changes and a bit of planning, you can build immunity with food.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

1. Eliminate or sharply reduce sugar intake to build immunity with food. Sugar depletes immune function. If you do want to bake a sweet dessert, use maple sugar instead of white sugar.
2. Increase fiber intake. Most of us don't eat enough fiber. Fruits, vegetables and oats are good fiber sources. Fiber helps the body to eliminate waste and other toxins by binding with harmful substances and helping transport them out of the body.
3. Substitute a piece of fruit for cake or cookies after your evening meal.
4. Eat root vegetables such as carrots and daikon to build immunity with food. Chinese medicine believes that root vegetables strengthen the body because when a root vegetable is growing it can break a rock in its path.
5. Limit your consumption of processed foods. Longer ingredient lists on food items usually mean more preservatives.
6. Don't eat too many foods that contain white flour. Opt for whole grain bread and pasta.
7. Eat fast food only once a month if you absolutely can't live without it.
8. Choose a colorful selection of vegetables including tomatoes, spinach, onions, and broccoli. Eating a lot of raw foods will help keep you healthy and is a simple way to build immunity with food.
9. Make sure you drink enough water. Urine should be colorless or barely yellow. Pay attention to urine color to determine if you need to drink more water.
10. Drink green tea and white tea. Both contain antioxidants which boost immune function.
11. Aim to eat food in as close to its natural state as possible. Applesauce is a better choice than an apple-flavored cereal bar, but a whole apple is the best choice.
12. Eat organic whenever possible. Eating organic meat and dairy will limit your exposure to animals that were given steroids and antibiotics, both of which can interfere with immune function. Eating organic fruits and vegetables will limit your exposure to pesticides and other cancer-causing chemicals.