Your immune system is working every nanosecond of every day to fight invaders and keep you healthy. In some circumstances and at certain times of year, immune system boosters are warranted when we’re vulnerable to increased attacks by bacteria and viruses that can cause illness.
Your immune system is critical in more ways than fighting off a cold. It’s key to preventing long-term and potentially life-threatening diseases like cancer. Consider that eighty percent of the immune system lives in the gut in lymphatic tissue. In addition to nutrients, invaders and abnormal cells pass through the lymphatic highway; in this way, they can spread throughout the body. We are born with natural immunity to infection from micro-organisms and human-made chemicals. Immunity can be either bolstered or hampered by diet and lifestyle.
T-cells are a kind of white blood cell and an integral part of the immune system: they identify pathogens and they (and other types of white blood cells) kill them. As you read this and all through every day of your life, potentially cancerous cells are found and destroyed by your remarkably sophisticated and complex immune system.
When immune system function is compromised, we become very vulnerable to attack. It’s therefore extremely important to know how to boost your immune system and how to avoid hazards. We have provided a list of immune-boosting foods hat are easy to add/increase to your diet, especially in the fall and winter months or if you have a prevailing health condition that is already taxing your natural immunity. Keep on reading to find out about the top 13 immune system boosters.
Echinacea
This herb native to North America gained popularity a few decades ago as an antidote to the common cold. Echinacea does more than that. In a 2003 study, it was found that Echinacea stimulates the immune system and has “powerful anti-inflammatory action, mediated by the activation of the peripheral cannabinoid receptor.” (1) These actions are the result of increases in the number of T-cells and other immunological cells. Echinacea is also a mild antibacterial. (2)
Echinacea is effective against influenza, cold, respiratory infections, and is a general immune booster. Additionally, research has found that in mice, echinacea lengthens life span, prevents sickness, and “significantly abates leukemia”. (3) Like all cannabinoid compounds, those found in echinacea have an anti-cancer effect.
This bulbous herb not only makes food taste great but also helps fight cancer – read on to find out how.