There is no question that what you eat affects immunity. A health-supporting diet is your first line of defense against disease; even if you are infected, a healthy body built on good nutrition is a golden asset in reducing risk of complications.
The interactions between nutrition and the immune system are highly integrated and extremely complex. And because so many other factors (health status, lifestyle, weight, usual diet pattern, age, medication use, genetics, smoking, exposure) affect outcomes, it’s challenging to study specific diet therapies on immune health. Experts disagree on some finer points such as supplements, herbs, functional foods, etc. but there are a few general points just about all agree on. One of these is the power of fruits and vegetables to strengthen the immune system.
Fruits and vegetables are potent sources of thousands of compounds known to protect health. They are among the most nutrient dense foods in the diet. Nutrient density refers to the amount of nutrients per calorie of food, and its meaning is simple: if you maximize your intake of fruits and vegetables, you automatically get a healthy dose of nutrients even before your calorie needs are met. Not only that, but if you’re replacing some of the not-so-healthy foods in your diet with fruits and veggies, you’re doubling the effect by removing the foods that increase risk of harm (like refined sugars, white flour based cereals and breads, sweets, processed foods, fast foods, etc.).
Fruits and vegetables build a healthy body overall, but their added bonus are the thousands of phytonutrients (vitamins, minerals, and other protective compounds with fancy names like carotenoids, flavonoids, polyphenols, and lignans) that play specific roles in immune function. For example, some of these nutrients may directly inhibit replication of viruses in the body, while others enhance the cell membrane, allowing it to more effectively keep out pathogens. Still others enhance the body’s immune cells in eliminating pathogens before they cause illness, and some have more indirect roles like assisting in biochemical processes that maintain healthy immune cells, build antibodies, and optimize immune cell function.
Think of fruits and vegetables as cuisine—delectable enhancements to your favorite meals, rather than a dreaded pile alongside other foods. You won’t catch me eating a plate of steamed cauliflower or a carrot stick; I continue to find delicious ways to truly enjoy produce. It’s important to teach yourself to always look for opportunities to incorporate fruits and veggies. Swap ideas with friends and family; get others in on the challenge! Here are just a few to increase fruits and vegetables every day:
Veggies / non-sweet fruits:
Pre-slice your favorite veggies like cucumbers, summer squash, carrots, bell peppers, celery, radishes, jicama etc. and keep them in clear containers at eye-level in the fridge. When hunger strikes, crunch away with or without a dip like hummus or salsa. They also give you no-excuses way to boost the nutrition of everyday foods like tuna/egg/potato/macaroni salad, or to whip up a quick stir fry dinner.
Once a week, roast your favorite veggies (I like onions, peppers, mushrooms, eggplant, brussels sprouts, squash, asparagus, and cauliflower). Make them in separate pans (unless you’ve mastered cooking times for your veggies). Toss them in a bit of olive oil with or without salt, pepper, and other seasonings and roast at 350 to 400 (depending on the veggie and how you like it done). Store in containers in the fridge. Throughout the week, add them to salads and sandwiches or use as a side dish. I love stuffing pre-roasted vegetables in a whole grain wrap smeared with hummus or avocado.
Try sauces and dips based on vegetables, like baba ghanoush, red pepper dip, and spinach pesto.
Get creative with veggie hacks: try zoodles for noodles, cauliflower for rice, and portobello mushroom caps for a burger bun.
For the picky eaters in your life, be sneaky and add pureed cauliflower to mashed potatoes, pureed red peppers to pasta sauce, pureed green veggies to guacamole, etc.
For a simple and delicious cold side dish, slice up some cucumbers and tomatoes and toss in a mixture of rice vinegar and water. Top with fresh chopped parsley if you have it.
Add baby spinach, which cooks down super fast, to your scrambled eggs.
Include a salad as your lunch side rather than chips or bread.
When you make pasta or rice, toss with freshly steamed broccoli, carrots, greens, or other favorite vegetables.
Keep your freezer stocked with vegetables for times you run low on fresh. They’re clean, cut up, and ready to go.
Make a huge pot of bean and vegetable soup for the ultimate easy leftover for several days.
Leafy greens top the charts for nutrient content. Toss them raw in frozen fruit smoothies, puree with nuts and seeds as a pesto-inspired base for dips and spreads, and add some extra girth to wraps and sandwiches. Cooked, they’re so versatile in casseroles, stir fries, pastas, rice dishes, potatoes, bean dishes, and soups. If you’re short on time, buy pre-washed bagged chopped kale, collards, spinach, and leafy green mixes.
Fruits:
Keep a bowl of fresh fruit (bananas, oranges, apples, mangos, kiwis, pears, etc.) on your kitchen table or counter. A multi-tiered basket is a fun and attractive way to display colorful fruit.
In the morning, include at least one fruit with breakfast, or even start your day with a fruit salad or fruit and greens smoothie (no added sugar).
Fruits aren’t only for dessert. Add pineapple chunks to stir fries and curries, sliced mangos to Asian noodle dishes, pears and apples and oranges to salads, berries to hot cereal, dried fruits to grain pilafs, etc.
If you like to bake, replace brownies and cookies with whole-grain based goodies loaded with fruit and veggies, like banana bread, carrot cake, zucchini bread, dried fruit bars, and fruit pies made with a whole grain, low sugar crust.
Frozen fruits are perfect for fruit popsicles, additions to puddings and smoothies, and cooked up with a little thickener as a topping for pancakes or waffles.
Serve fresh fruit for dessert. Use a cookie cutter to make fun shapes for the kids (especially melons, pineapples, and apples), and for the grown ups, serve on a fancy plate with a fork to enhance the dining experience.
