Is being easily sick due to a decrease in immunity? Follow the experts to eat the right 10 foods to improve your immunity

In spring, when the seasons change, the weather fluctuates between hot and cold, and the body's resistance is particularly easily affected. At this time, if the immunity is low, the germs have an opportunity to take advantage and it is easy to catch a cold and get sick. Nutrition experts say that it is not difficult to maintain the normal functioning of the immune system. As long as you moderately reduce the intake of fat and sugar in your daily diet and eat the right 10 foods that are good for the body, you can meet the body's nutritional needs and effectively enhance resistance!

To prevent immunity from decline, eating less oil and less sugar is the first priority

Professor Wang Jinkun from the Department of Nutrition at Sun Yat-sen University of Medical Sciences said that if you want the body to effectively activate its protective mechanisms and successfully resist the threat of pathogens, it is very important to eat the right foods, supplement the right nutrition, maintain normal immune function, and avoid a decline in immunity. But what should we do to avoid a decrease in immunity? Professor Wang Jinkun emphasized that eating less oil and sugar is the first priority!

Studies have shown that if adults eat 100 grams less sugar per day, they can increase the activity of their body antibodies by 40%. However, seeing this, I believe you will be thinking, "How is it possible for me to eat so much sugar in a day!" In this regard, Professor Wang Jinkun emphasized that the public must not underestimate the sugar content of commercially available sugary drinks. Take the bottled soda that many people love as an example; one bottle of soda contains as much sugar as 13 sugar cubes. If one sugar cube is 5 grams, drinking one bottle of soda is equivalent to eating 65 grams of sugar.

In addition, it is worth noting that excessive intake of fat in the daily diet may also inhibit the normal functioning of the immune system! Past studies have found that if people can reduce their daily fat intake by 20%, white blood cell activity will increase by 50%. For a normal adult who consumes 2,000 calories a day and engages in light activity, the recommended daily fat intake should be less than 30% of total calories; this is equivalent to 600 calories, which translates to 66 grams of fat, meaning that eating one bag of potato chips would exceed the limit. Therefore, it calls on the public to try to reduce the intake of fat and sugar as much as possible during the extraordinary period of fighting against the Wuhan pneumonia virus.

Follow nutrition experts to eat the right 10 foods to improve your immunity!

In addition to reducing sugar and oil, Professor Wang Jinkun also shared with everyone that people want to supplement the nutrients needed by the human body, maintain the normal functioning of the immune system, and effectively enhance the body's protection against pathogens. Eating the following 10 foods in your daily diet is a good way to easily reach the target:

Food 1/Replenish water at any time:

Correct and sufficient water intake can not only maintain the body's basic metabolic function, keep the cardiovascular system stable and functioning normally, but also promote detoxification in the body. Developing the habit of replenishing water at any time and not waiting until you are thirsty to drink water can also help keep the oral and nasal mucosa moist and increase its ability to block germs. As for how much water is enough? Professor Wang Jinkun explained that for people with normal kidney function, the recommended daily water intake is "per kilogram of body weight x 30cc." Simply put, the recommended daily water intake for a 60 kg adult is 1800 c.c. It is recommended that you carry a thermos or kettle with you to maintain the habit of replenishing water at any time.

Food 2/Cooking with some spices:

Adding garlic, onion, turmeric and other spices to dishes in moderation is also one of the dietary tips to help increase immunity. Professor Wang Jinkun mentioned that although current scientific research cannot directly equate the above-mentioned spices with antiviral effects, consuming spices in moderation does have the effect of assisting in anti-inflammatory and relieving symptoms. Clinical Chinese medicine has also found that patients suffering from Wuhan pneumonia often have problems with dampness, weakness, and coldness in their constitution. It is also a good choice to consume moderate amounts of hot spices in their diet to warm the spleen and stomach and remove excess moisture from the body.

Food 3/Choose high-quality protein:

Protein not only provides the body with essential amino acids, but is also an essential nutrient that makes up many body tissues. Its characteristic of being the main element of human immunoglobulin makes it known as the "essence of human resistance"! However, Professor Wang Jinkun also mentioned that although protein is very important to the human body and it is recommended that people should consume 3 to 5 servings of protein per day (each serving is about the size of the palm of your hand), there is a lot of knowledge about how to consume it correctly.

It is recommended that when supplementing protein, you should give priority to high-quality protein. At the same time, it also breaks the general public's myth that animal protein is better than plant protein! Professor Wang Jinkun emphasized that, in fact, for modern people who generally have excessive blood lipids and cholesterol, it would be a relatively good choice to replace animal proteins with high fat content such as red meat with tofu, soy milk, or black beans, soybeans, edamame and other ingredients in their daily diet, and maintain a 1:1 ratio between animal and plant sources.

For modern people who generally have excessive blood lipids and cholesterol, their daily diet should mostly replace animal proteins with high fat content such as red meat with tofu, soy milk, or black beans, soybeans, edamame and other ingredients.

Food 4/Reduce fat intake:

It is generally recommended that the daily fat intake for adults should be less than 30% of total calories. One of the best ways to do this is to avoid fried foods as much as possible in your daily diet. It not only prevents food from absorbing the extra oil it contains, helps reduce daily fat intake and assists in increasing white blood cell activity; it can also effectively prevent the human body from taking in too many free radicals and inducing an inflammatory response in the body.

Food 5/ Whole grains instead of refined starches:

In terms of staple foods, people can try to replace refined starches such as rice and noodles with pumpkin, sweet potato, potato, corn, yam, as well as root vegetables and whole grains such as brown rice, soybeans, and quinoa. This is also one of the ways to help supplement B vitamins in daily diet, which is very beneficial for maintaining the production of antibodies, white blood cells and immune cells in the human body.

Food 6/Supplement with live bacteria fermented milk in appropriate amounts:

70% of the human immune system is in the gut! Therefore, maintaining the balance of intestinal flora is also helpful in ensuring the normal functioning of the immune system. Drinking yogurt, lactic acid drinks and other fermented milk with live bacteria in moderation in your daily diet is a good choice to help replenish good bacteria in the intestines.

However, Professor Wang Jinkun also reminded that drinking too much fermented milk with live bacteria is not helpful. It is enough to drink about 100-200c.c. a day, and it is recommended to drink it every day (at least 14 days continuously to be effective); and at the same time, you should also pay attention to the sugar content in the drink. It is recommended to choose products without added sugar. If you are not used to drinking fermented milk with live bacteria, supplementing your daily diet with appropriate amounts of yogurt and probiotics is also a feasible option.

Moderate consumption of yogurt, lactic acid drinks and other fermented milks with live bacteria in daily diet is also a good way to replenish good bacteria in the intestines. It is recommended to drink about 100-200c.c. a day, and continue to drink it for at least 14 days to have an effect.

Food 7/Supplement various fruits and vegetables:

It is recommended that people develop a daily diet of at least 3 vegetables and 2 fruits to help the body replenish vitamins A, B, C, E, lycopene, anthocyanins and other phytochemicals, dietary fiber and other nutrients that are beneficial to the immune system. It is especially recommended that you add more mushrooms to your dishes when it comes to your vegetable and fruit intake. Moderate intake of polysaccharide fibers in mushrooms can help regulate the body's immune function and activate the body's protective mechanism. In addition, developing a habit of eating a pear or an apple every day is also a dietary maintenance method to help replenish apple polyphenols and maximize the benefits of assisting in clearing the lungs in traditional Chinese medicine theory.

Food 8/Dietary Moderation and Sugar Free:

When the human body consumes too much sugar, it is easy to increase inflammatory factors in the body and cause damage to the immune system. Therefore, in order to prevent the immune system from not functioning properly, it is very important to moderately eliminate sugar from your daily diet! In addition, studies have found that if the human body eats 100 grams less sugar per day, it can effectively increase the activity of antibodies. Therefore, Professor Wang Jinkun recommends that people should avoid drinking sugary drinks or snacks with extra sugar in their daily diet (moderate sugar abstinence).

If the human body consumes too much sugar, it will easily increase the inflammatory factors in the body and cause damage to the immune system. Therefore, Professor Wang Jinkun recommends that people should avoid drinking sugary drinks or snacks with extra sugar in their daily diet.

Food 9/ Daily supplement of multivitamins:

In addition, choose a multivitamin with clear dosage labels and that has passed safety inspections, and supplement it moderately according to the recommended dosage every day. This is also a good way to help the human body replenish the nutrients that are lacking or insufficient in the daily diet and maintain the normal functioning of the immune system during extraordinary times.

Food 10/Supplement appropriate amount of vitamin D:

Vitamin D also plays an important role in the human immune system, maintaining mucous membrane stability and helping immune cells prevent viral attacks. If you want to effectively supplement vitamin D, moderate intake of egg yolks, milk and mushrooms in your daily diet is a good choice. But in fact, the human body can actually produce vitamin D, which is known as the "sunshine vitamin"!

It is recommended that people expose their body and back skin to the sun for 10 to 20 minutes in the early morning or evening when the sun is not too strong. This is a good way to help the body synthesize vitamin D and maintain a healthy immune system.

【Expert Tips】:

In addition to working hard on daily diet and paying attention to nutritional supplements, Professor Wang Jinkun also reminded the public not to forget to strengthen personal cleanliness and hygiene, and develop the habit of wearing masks when going out, washing hands frequently, and not touching the eyes, nose and mouth. In addition, while reducing going out for epidemic prevention, people should not ignore the importance of moderate exercise. It is recommended that even if you stay at home, you can do some simple stretching exercises such as yoga, Tai Chi, or simple aerobics, which are all good ways to take care of yourself at home.