Supporting Your Immune System Using Food

‘Control the controllables’, the daily reminder I repeat to myself several times throughout the day. With so much we can’t control right now, the one thing we can control is how we support our immune system!

Supporting our immune systems doesn’t have to be complicated or expensive. Matter of fact you can start with some simple kitchen staples. Remember: whole food nutrition is key because immune support starts with how we fuel our bodies with the right nutrients.

Here are my top 5 kitchen staples for immune support:

Citrus fruits – this is the most obvious choice as citrus fruits are a great source of vitamin C. Vitamin C helps to fight bacteria, viruses and inflammatory problems. It’s so easy to incorporate citrus into our diets – juice it or eat it straight (cinnamon on grapefruit tastes amazing). Besides the citrus family, kiwis, pineapple and mangos are some other fruits rich in vitamin C.

Garlic – if it were up to me I would say that garlic is a superfood. Garlic is anti-viral and anti-microbial and rich in sulfur which helps the body’s detoxification process. It’s great raw – chop it up and allow it to sit a few minutes so that the allicin (active compound in garlic) can be released therefore increasing the potency. I like to pair it with some raw honey on an apple slice (don’t knock it until you’re sick!).I also like to boil a bunch in water to make a tea.

Raw honey –Raw honey is antioxidant rich, antibacterial and antifungal which are key factors in fighting infections. I enjoy it a few ways: in my DIY ginger firebomb (recipe here), in teas or drizzled on top of toast with nut butter. And of course, straight from the jar – just don’t double dip!

Ginger – another superfood in my opinion. Ginger is most commonly known to help with nausea, but it is also an anti-inflammatory and great for those nagging coughs. How do you incorporate ginger into your kitchen?  Add even the smallest piece any herbal tea or you can always mince it up and add it into soups, juices, smoothies and stir frys. You can have it fresh, from a jar or ground. Fresh and jarred are my personal faves.

Herbs and spices – now is the time to be adventurous and kick it up in the spice department. Herbs and spices like oregano, basil, cumin, coriander, turmeric, black pepper, rosemary are all staples to have on hand. Theses spices date back way beyond our times and from countries where once upon a time these were the only ingredients needed to heal.  Curries, marinades, soups and stews are just some of the ways that you can easily incorporate them into your meals.

Those are my top 5 foods to incorporate into your kitchen seamlessly. Remember: it doesn’t have to be super fancy or expensive to be effective.