My Go-to List for Keeping a Healthy Immune System – Naturally

I am a bit of a health geek and foodie, so writing an article like this goes right up my alley.  At the age of 12, my mother introduced me to healthy eating when she decided to become a vegetarian.  Over the years, I learned the importance of nurturing your body by cultivating healthy eating habits.  I later discovered that many of the natural health remedies we know today were passed down from the Native American, Asian and Ayurvedic cultures.  

I would like to share a few of my go-to items that I consume to boost my immune system. Don’t be surprised if you find a few of these things already stocked in your kitchen pantry.  But first, let me just add that I am not a certified nutritionist or a doctor, but I do encourage you to read food labels and do plenty of research.

Your Personal Army

When I think of my immune system, I think of it as my personal army that’s on the frontline fighting for my health every day.  On a daily basis, we are exposed to so many germs and viruses, but those little nasties will have no effect on our overall health if the immune system is equipped to do its job.  

Imagine your troops being tired, stressed and hungry from battling every day.  Without adequate sustenance, they will struggle to keep their defenses up.  The great military leader, Napoleon Bonaparte famously stated, “An army marches on its stomach” after he lost most of his foot soldiers to starvation and disease. This tragic lesson demonstrates how essential it is to have viable nutrition and rest.

“Let food be thy medicine, and medicine be thy food” Hippocrates

By incorporating many of the items (listed below) in my diet, I have been sick only once or twice over the past 10 years.  By seeking out items that are rich in antioxidants, Vitamin B and C, you will give your personal army the resources it needs to stay strong.  The hyperlinks in the list below, provides some suggested readings on each item.

Items	How I Use Them
Fresh Red Onions	Fresh salads, salsas, omelets, vegetable stir fry, tuna or chicken salad
Bell Peppers	Fresh salads, salsas, quiches, vegetable stir fry
Tomatoes	Fresh salads, salsas, sandwiches, baked chicken, pasta
Ginger	Hot herbal or lemon teas, smoothies, fruit salad
Citrus Fruits	Oranges/Tangerines as a snack; Lime juice over salads or in salsas, Lemon slices in hot herbal teas or drinking water; or my grandmother’s cold remedy: boil 2-3 whole lemons, quartered with the rind in a big pot of water for 25 mins, then drink a cup of the broth sweetened with honey
Dark Green Vegetables	Steamed, Stir fried with olive oil and onions, smoothies
Elderberry Syrup	1-2 tablespoons a day at the first sign of any cold symptoms
Echinacea-Goldenseal	Take at the first sign of any throat irritation or cold symptoms; if taken early enough, my symptoms disappear within an hour; take as needed, 1-2 times a day
Turmeric (Curcumin)	1 capsule daily; also found in Curry Powder blends that can be added to chicken salad

Things to Avoid – “but tastes so good…”

Just because it’s convenient to stop by the local drive-thru, doesn’t mean that fast food should be your entire diet.  And if you’re not much of a cook, relying on prepackaged foods and microwaved meals aren’t sustainable either.  Most commercially prepared foods are made with the cheapest quality ingredients to maximize profits.  Plus it has been designed to look and taste good (usually with high levels of sodium) to offset its nutritional deficiency.

I also recommend that you refrain from sodas, sweetened drinks made with refined sugars or high fructose corn syrup, and foods manufactured with artificial flavorings and chemicals to extend their shelf life. If poor quality foods are consumed every day, you can be left with a weakened immune system.

To get the best health benefits, look for whole foods, natural ingredients, no preservatives, non-GMO, and/or organic nutriments.  If you want to know what’s in your food, cook at home with the freshest ingredients that you can afford.  

Take supplements and vitamins if you need to, and get plenty of rest.  It may be hard to resist that occasional cheesesteak or bucket of wings (of course, all things in moderation), but just remember that you’re feeding an army.  If you’re intentional about making healthier food choices, you will succeed in cultivating a stronger immune system.