Boost Your Immune Health This Season!

Cold and flu season has arrived, serving as a reminder that eating to enhance the immune system is extremely important and beneficial to prevent getting sick this year. The fact is, we live in an increasingly polluted world with hard-to-kill microbes and pandemics lurking in the distance. Individuals are experiencing more stress due to work and family responsibilities, and many have become more reliant on processed foods that can potentially compromise a person's immune system and increase his or her risk of illness.

With the variety of food products that boast immune health benefits, it's hard to know as a consumer which ones actually work. The food industry insiders have become very good at marketing their products to convince us that they'll keep us healthy and will support our immune system. So what should we eat in order to keep us healthy and disease-free? Let's start by understanding how our immune system functions:

Where Does Immune Health Start?
The immune system is the body's protective network that fends off the invasion of harmful substances such as bacteria, viruses, and chemicals and guards against the development of cancer. Multiple barriers protect against foreign invaders, including skin, inflammatory responses, and specific immune responses, such as certain types of immune cells that destroy pathogens.

The key player in immune health is the gut, which is constantly exposed to toxins and foreign antigens, such as those from food and microbes. The gut is the largest immune organ in the body, accounting for 25% of the immune cells in the body that provide 50% of the body's immune response. There are more than 400 species of bacteria residing in the gut, and they have symbiotic relationships with your body. The assembly of this bacteria is called your gut flora, which can be separated into good (beneficial), opportunistic, and bad categories. Beneficial bacteria, such as Bifidobacteria or lactobacilli, help maintain health by resisting bad bacteria and harmful substances and aiding digestion and nutrient absorption. Opportunistic bacteria such as Enterobacteria take advantage of certain conditions that cause disease. And bad bacteria such as Staphylococcus and Clostridium cause disease because they produce toxins or are carcinogens.

What can you do to avoid the cold and flu this season?

Eating a healthy diet is a great place to start. Be sure to include plenty of fruits and vegetables on a daily basis - especially the dark green, leafy ones! Fruits and vegetables include the antioxidants, vitamins and minerals to help our immune system stay strong. Include a variety of colors on your plate to ensure a balanced mix of nutrients. Drinking plenty of water is also beneficial in keeping your digestive system on track and your body functioning as it should. If water is a challenge during the winter months, try decaffeinated and/or herbal teas, seltzer waters or add frozen fruit to your water for a refreshing treat.

Other suggestions to boost your immune system this season is to get an adequate amount of sleep. This means going to bed at a time that will allow you to get at least 7 hours of sleep. Be sure to go to bed at a decent hour and strive for around the same time each evening. Getting your body into a regular sleeping pattern can make all the difference in the quality of your sleep.

It is also highly recommended to take time to relax or do something that helps to alleviate stress. Stress is a huge contributor to the weakening of our immune system. Begin practicing stress-relieving activities such as taking a break at work; closing your eyes and taking a deep breath; going for a walk or doing some other form of exercise; journaling your thoughts; reading; or some form of relaxation exercise.

Avoiding excessive alcohol consumption - especially too close to bedtime - can also boost your immune system. Alcohol has been shown to weaken the immune system and when consumed too close to bedtime, this can actually inhibit your quality of sleep. Avoid drinking more than 1 serving of alcohol per day if you are a woman and 2 servings per day if you are a man.

Probiotics and Immune Health

Looking to probiotics to support immune health is nothing new, in fact the idea has existed for over 100 years. Probiotics are live microorganisms that beneficially affect the host by improving the intestinal flora. A growing number of studies show that probiotics can help healthy subjects stay healthy and decrease the number of days with fever, clinic visits, child care absences, and antibiotic prescriptions. Just because science suggests that probiotics may support immune health doesn't mean every product on the market offers the same advantages. There are numerous probiotic products available, and they've moved beyond fermented dairy products such as yogurt and kefir. Today, dietary supplements and products such as frozen yogurt, cereal, juice, and cookies claim to contain probiotics. Keep in mind, however, that not all probiotics are created equal. The important factor when choosing a probiotic is that a product contains adequate amounts of the helpful probiotic strain(s).

How do you know if you've chosen a quality probiotic product?
The best recommendation is to use probiotics with good-quality evidence behind them. The product chosen should use the term "clinically proven" on their label and ensure that the products contain the specific strain(s) of bacteria at the same levels as those used in published research. The studies should be performed in humans and published in reputable peer-reviewed journals. Just because a product says "probiotic" doesn't mean it is a probiotic. Some products do not have clinically validated strains or levels. Consumers should look for the right quantity of probiotics, which are measured in colony-forming units (CFUs), the measure of live microbes in a probiotic. The CFU count should be the same as that shown to be effective in clinical studies. Different probiotics have been shown to be effective at different levels; thus, it's impossible to provide one count for all probiotics. Look for a product label that reveals the following: strain, CFUs, expiration date, suggested serving size, health benefits, proper storage conditions, and corporate contact information.  It is also recommended to discuss the use of probiotics with a physician and/or registered dietitian, and warnings of side effects or symptoms should be reviewed. A physician or registered dietitian may be able to give you recommendations for evidence-based probiotic products as well.