[Video version] To fight colds, you must first take good care of your intestines! It is better to eat fruits and vegetables than to eat them randomly

The temperature dropped suddenly and many people caught a cold. It turned out that it was due to insufficient immunity and the body's lack of complete defense capabilities to resist bacteria and viruses. Nutrition experts remind us that if you want to improve your immunity, you should start by "taking good care of your intestines". In addition to the well-known probiotic supplementation, what is easily overlooked is the supplementation of dietary fiber from fruits and vegetables, which can also help the intestines grow probiotics and eliminate pathogens and viruses.

Some people rarely catch a cold, and even if they do, they recover quickly. The reason lies in whether the immune system can function well to fight against the bacteria and viruses that are ready to attack. Professor Chen Junrong, vice dean of the College of Nutrition at Taipei Medical University, said that the intestines are exposed to foreign substances every day, including antigenic components of food, bacteria and viruses. Therefore, the intestines are not only a digestive organ, but also the largest immune organ in the body. The intestines need to be well maintained to stay away from the threat of disease.

To enhance immunity, you should not eat randomly. Vegetables and fruits can take care of the intestines.

In order to keep the intestines healthy, it is important to maintain normal probiotics in the intestines. Chen Junrong said that enhancing immunity is not achieved by eating random supplements. In fact, the dietary fiber contained in natural fruits and vegetables can not only increase satiety, promote intestinal peristalsis, and prevent constipation, but also help the intestines grow probiotics, increase immunity, and reduce the chance of invasion by bacteria and viruses.

In addition, even if you have a cold, it means you are already in an inflammatory state. At this time, eating moderate amounts of fruit to supplement vitamin C, minerals and phytochemicals can help reduce cell damage caused by oxidative stress and reduce the lethality of the cold. It can also help alleviate discomfort such as sore throat caused by upper respiratory tract infections.

Supplementing dietary fiber from fruits and vegetables can help promote gastrointestinal motility and improve constipation.

Supplement dietary fiber to promote gastrointestinal motility and improve constipation

In fact, dietary fiber can be divided into two types: water-soluble and water-insoluble. If you want to increase the good bacteria in your intestines, you need to consume both in a balanced manner. Water-soluble dietary fiber is soluble in water and easily fermented, and is the preferred food for intestinal bacteria. In addition, water-soluble dietary fiber is usually viscous, which will wrap sugar and fat in the gastrointestinal tract, promote bile acid secretion and reduce human absorption.

Insoluble dietary fiber cannot be dissolved in water and cannot be digested and absorbed by the human body, but it can increase the volume of stool, promote gastrointestinal motility, improve constipation, and expel bad bacteria in the intestines.

Taking the dietary fiber content in fruits and vegetables as an example, 1/3 of guava contains 5 g of dietary fiber; every 100 g of okra, broccoli and shiitake mushrooms contain 4 g of fiber; as for oranges (190 g), pears (165 g) and kiwi fruit (135 g), they contain 4 g of fiber.

Professor Chen Junrong suggested that busy office workers and students may use fruit as a snack, eat more vegetables for dinner, drink the fruit and vegetable juice with the residue, and take good care of the intestines in autumn and winter. In fact, fruits and vegetables are the most nutritious.