4 food supplements to support your immunity
Alexandre G.
6 min
You know: we are not all equal when it comes to germs and viruses! Those who take care of their natural defenses have an organism ready to fight. We often realize it too late and wait for the illness to react. Like an athlete who only counts on the days of events to train and maintain his body!
" Who wants peace prepares for war. » said Julius Caesar.
The Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted the enormous benefit of maintaining your immune system. But this is not about focusing on this virus alone. In any case, it is important to support your immunity throughout the year .
This way, you help reduce the risk of infection. And you generally feel in much better shape, more efficient both physically and psychologically.
Your well-being is worth making the right choices, right? So what are these choices? Let's see this immediately!
How to support the immune system?
Your immune system is your body's protective element against pathogens and foreign elements that attack your body.
This defense system is made up of a very complex network of organs and tissues. If you do not take care of this protective zone, every virus and bacteria can threaten your body. Think of it as an armed barrier against the entry of intruders.
The first point for these guards to be reactive and resistant is to adopt a healthy lifestyle :
- eat healthy,
- reduce your stress,
- sleep well,
- to drink a lot,
- and practice a sporting activity.
For more details on this part, also discover our 5 tips to support your immune system.
But beyond your lifestyle habits, your immune system needs sufficient vitamins and minerals. Some are difficult to consume in sufficient quantities. Fortunately, you can find them in dietary supplements.
The best food supplements for top immunity
By choosing your food supplements carefully, you provide your body with the resources necessary to improve its immune defenses . You can thus cope with all periods of your life such as winter, overwork or fatigue. Discover here 4 food supplements with an important role for better immunity:
Vitamin C
Vitamin C is the best known vitamin essential for the proper functioning of your immune system . Also known as ascorbic acid, vitamin C contributes to around a hundred mechanisms in your body.
Consumed daily, vitamin C contributes to the production of white blood cells, such as lymphocytes and phagocytes, which play a vital role in your body's immune defense!
This powerful antioxidant also improves your body's absorption of iron and helps reduce feelings of fatigue and exhaustion.
Finally, it would allow you to get back into shape more quickly after an episode of flu or a cold.
The recommended daily intake of vitamin C is 110 mg per day. But for optimal effects, most health professionals recommend instead counting on daily intakes of 1000 mg thanks to food supplements.
In any case, try to reach, at the very least, 500 mg per day: your immune system will thank you. 🙏🏼
Zinc
Zinc, which participates in numerous biochemical reactions, is one of the essential minerals for natural defenses.
Zinc contributes to the proper functioning of the thymus, the organ producing white blood cells and antibodies, protective agents of the body essential to fight against seasonal infections.
Note that zinc is present in low quantities in the body . Daily intakes of around 10 to 15 mg per day are therefore interesting to promote the body's good immune response.
Spirulina
Spirulina is one of the most popular food supplements. Originally consumed by the Aztecs and Mayans, it is a spiral-shaped, blue-green colored cyanobacteria naturally concentrated nutrients. It also contains more than a hundred: amino acids, minerals, trace elements and vitamins (A, B, D, E, K...). This is why it is today considered a superfood!
Its incredible composition makes it a real ally of the body to support the immune system, particularly when the latter faces certain problems such as pollution, stress, poor diet or lack of exercise.
The benefits of spirulina on immunity are in particular due to phycocyanin, a pigment with an antioxidant role which protects the body from free radicals and their damage.
Vitamin D
In winter, we often lack vitamin D. Because winter means less exposure to the sun! And the sun is the main source. Going for a walk during the day, around twenty minutes, is generally enough to fill this gap. But this is only true for half the year! During the other half, the quantity of UVB is insufficient for the synthesis of this absolutely essential vitamin.
The worst ? It is a rare vitamin in our diet. However, vitamin D acts in different ways on your immune system.
First of all, it helps keep your intestinal wall intact. This prevents pathogens from penetrating and damaging this wall. Furthermore, vitamin D stimulates macrophages and dendritic cells. They are the front-line soldiers of your immune system: the best trained of your personal guard.
Vitamin D also activates white blood cells , more precisely T lymphocytes. The latter are essential for producing antibodies and destroying microbes and viruses . Moreover, the Canadian Cancer Society recommends consuming 25 mcg of vitamin D supplements per day.
Conclusion
Popular wisdom has always emphasized: prevention is better than cure! However, it is often against the wall that we make efforts to take care of our body.
Rather than waiting, take the lead! Maintain your immune system. In order for it to be effective, a healthy lifestyle is of course important.
But to support your efforts, and counteract some weaknesses, food supplements will naturally support your immunity.
As we have seen here, several supplements help support your immune system. But above all, don't see any redundancy! Each of the food supplements cited here has a different action on a specific part of your defense system.
If we return to the parable of the guards: as a knight, would you go onto the battlefield with a good breastplate, but without a helmet? Here, it's the same: with a good selection of food supplements, you do not accumulate "layers" but match your means of defense.
They will help you protect yourself from external aggressions all year round. Act like a queen or a king, and make your body an impregnable castle! 👑
