Fruit & vegetables are known to boost your immune system, but what exactly is it and why is a healthy diet important? Your immune system is a network in your body that works together to fight off infection and disease. Not providing your body with the right nutrition it needs, can hinder the effectiveness of your immune system and leave you more prone to illness and infections. Let’s explore the best fruit and veg for your immune system!
Why Is Fruit & Veg Important For The Immune System?
Fruit and vegetables contain important vitamins and minerals that help your body function the way it should. These include the following:
Vitamin A: This vitamin can be found in a variety of foods but most notably, yellow fruits & yellow, red or green leafy vegetables. An adult aged 19 to 64 needs 700µg (men) and 600µg (women). A well-balanced diet will give you enough vitamin A your body needs.
Vitamin C: A vital vitamin to help keep your cells and body healthy, most commonly found in citrus type fruits. Adults aged 19 to 64 need 40mg (both men and women) of vitamin C a day and your body doesn’t store this vitamin, so it needs to be consumed daily. This vitamin is also great to get over any lingering symptoms.
Vitamin E: It is a vitamin that helps your overall system and is mostly found in produce like corn, nuts and seeds. Adults need 4mg (men) & 3mg (women) a day and is stored in your body when it is not needed straight away.
Vitamin D: Whilst fruit and vegetables are not the main source of vitamin D, there are still some rich produce such as mushrooms that are a great source.
Fruits To Boost Your Immune System
Fruits rich in vitamin C are great for boosting your immune system. Examples of the best fruits to do this include the following:
- Oranges
- Grapefruits
- Tangerines
- Lemons
- Limes
- Clementines
- Tangerines
- Blueberries
- Kiwi
- Papaya
- Watermelon
Best Vegetables For Your Immune System
- Spinach
- Garlic
- Broccoli
- Red Bell Peppers
- Button Mushrooms
- Carrots
- Kale
Does Eating More Of These Foods Help Your Immune System?
The short answer is no. Eating excessive amounts of fruit and veg or other immune-boosting foods will not help because you will be over the recommended amount of vitamins for your body. Living a healthy lifestyle and balanced diet, ensuring you’re getting all your nutritional needs, is the best for your immune system. However, factors outside of lifestyle can cause a person to have a suppressed immune system.
With that being said, viruses, infections and illnesses can still affect you even when you are doing all the right things. It is harder during peak seasons, for example, colds & flu during Winter, as it is more widespread during this time of year.
Other Ways To Help Your Immune System
There are multiple factors that help your immune system other than your diet. These include:
Exercise Regularly: Exercise is a great way to boost your overall health but when it comes to the immune system, it can result in quicker circulation of immune cells (antibodies and white blood cells) in your system. This can lead to faster detection of illness.
Get Enough Sleep: Having sufficient sleep and good quality sleep can increase the efficiency of the immune system and anti-inflammatory cells.
Hydrate: Getting enough water in your day benefits your overall hydration levels, which has shown to help support blood volume, the lymphatic system and biochemical pathways.
Minimise Stress: Consistent or chronic stress will disrupt your immune system responses, diverting your metabolic and endocrine responses to the source rather than important bodily functions (such as fighting infections).
Reduce alcohol intake & smoking: Alcohol intake can have both short and long-term effects on the immune system and results in a decrease in efficiency, meaning it takes longer to fight off illness. You can experience symptoms for longer or have a more intense illness. Smoking can also have this effect on the immune system and also favour inflammation in the body.
Fruit & Veg Boxes At Marvellous Greens & Beans
Looking to incorporate more immune-boosting fruit & veg in your diet? Here at Marvellous Greens & Beans, we offer fully customisable fruit and veg boxes with UK-wide delivery. You can also choose a standalone product box, such as a fruit box or veg box as a standalone purchase or on a flexible subscription. We have curated different sized boxes to suit your household dynamic, reduce wastage and be as flexible as possible so you only purchase what you need. Our friendly team is on hand for any questions you may have, contact us online or call us on 0203 633 9822.
Fruit and veg are one component of a balanced diet that helps improve your overall health. If you have any concerns about your immune system or illness, please contact your GP or healthcare professional.
