To enhance immunity and fight viruses, the "three anti-epidemic treasures" are indispensable! Vitamin D and phytochemicals are essential

The immune system is like the body's security system. Improving immunity helps fight foreign bacteria and viruses, including the COVID-19 virus. If you want to enhance internal protection, Cathay Healthcare Management Nutritionist Lin Yizhen said that the nutrients you eat are absolutely key, especially supplementing the "three anti-epidemic treasures" - "CDP", which can help improve resistance and avoid virus attacks.

What is "CDP", one of the "three treasures for fighting the epidemic"? In "CDP", "C" stands for vitamin C, "D" refers to vitamin D, and "P" stands for phytochemicals. All three nutrients can be obtained from food or nutritional supplements to enhance immunity!

Vitamin C is afraid of high temperatures, so salad fruits retain their nutrients

Vitamin C plays an important role in tissue repair and the functioning of the immune system. It mainly fights free radicals, enhances antioxidant capacity, helps synthesize important neurotransmitters, and regulates stress hormones in the body. Vitamin C is easily obtained from fruits and vegetables. Nutritionist Lin Yiren said that the vitamin C in food will be lost in large quantities when encountering high temperatures during the cooking process, especially during frying or stir-frying. It is recommended to choose salads or fruits that do not need to be heated to retain more vitamin C.

The list of high "C" fruits includes red guava, white guava, sugar apple, longan, golden kiwi, shank and kiwi. If you seldom eat fruit and eat out for most of your three meals, your intake of fruits and vegetables is insufficient. Nutritionist Lin Yiren recommends that you must check whether your diet is deficient in vitamin C and ask a professional whether you need additional nutritional supplements.

The high "C" fruit ranking list includes red guava, white guava, sugar apple, longan, golden kiwi, shank and kiwi.

Vitamin D helps calcium absorption and also helps prevent "epidemics"

Vitamin D plays an important role in regulating the immune system and reducing inflammation! Generally speaking, the main function of vitamin D is to help calcium absorption and strengthen bones; but this nutrient also has the effects of resisting infection, enhancing antibacterial and autophagy, protecting the respiratory system and increasing immune defense. Ways to get vitamin D are through sun exposure and diet. Nutritionist Lin Yiren said that the ideal exposure time is between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m., exposing the face, arms and palms to the sun for 10 to 15 minutes each time.

Nutritionist Lin Yi-jun said that vitamin D can also be supplemented from the diet. Plant sources (vitamin D2) include dried shiitake mushrooms, black fungus and button mushrooms, while animal sources (vitamin D3) include salmon, flat cod, mackerel, oysters, and egg yolks. The conversion and utilization efficiency of vitamin D3 in the human body is better than that of vitamin D2. Nutritionist Lin Yi-jun reminded vegans that they need to pay special attention to whether they have enough vitamin D.

Vitamin D can also be obtained from the diet; animal sources (vitamin D3) include oysters.

Rainbow diet contains phytochemicals, which inhibit bacteria and fight inflammation

There are thousands of different natural compounds in fruits and vegetables, also known as phytochemicals, which bring benefits to the human body such as inhibiting bacteria and anti-inflammatory effects. The following are the different functions of different phytochemicals on the human body:

Resveratrol

Polyphenol antioxidants, common foods include grape seeds, red grape skins, purple grape juice, mulberries, and red wine.

Curcumin

Excellent antioxidant, helps immunity. Common foods include turmeric powder and curry powder.

Quercetin

Flavonoid antioxidants can scavenge free radicals and fight allergies. Common foods include toon, cranberry, apples with skin, sweet potato leaves, and garlic.

Licorice Root

Antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, improves cell damage, and accelerates cell repair. Common foods include licorice.

β-Glucan

Activate the immune system and protect the respiratory mucosa. Common foods include mushrooms, barley, oats, kelp, and seaweed.

Catechins

Contains antioxidant flavonoids and antibacterial properties. Common foods include green tea and 90% dark chocolate.

Elderberry

Improve upper respiratory tract symptoms. Common foods include elderberry.

Elderberry can improve upper respiratory tract symptoms. Common foods include elderberry.

Nutritionist Lin Yi-ren recommends that everyone prepare a variety of ingredients and pair them with nutritionally balanced meals to increase the body's defenses. For those who find it difficult to obtain food when eating out, supplementing with nutritional health foods is also one of the ways. It is worth noting that no matter what kind of nutrients, they need to be "taken in moderation", and too much or too little may have adverse effects on health. Before using nutritional supplements, you can consult a professional doctor or nutritionist to get appropriate intake recommendations based on your personal situation.