In late autumn, our immune system is a reliable umbrella to protect us from all kinds of external influences. Do not neglect it. Take care of yourself, your life, your emotions and diet. And you’ll have no time to be ill!
What and how often you should eat to strengthen the immune system
Cold season is in full swing. There is a perception that you can survive it by regularly consuming vitamin C. And rightly so. But there are many other foods that can help to safely survive the cold and not get sick.
When, how and what to eat so that the body gets all the necessary vitamins? Here’s an effective plan, on the basis of which you can build an optimal autumn diet.
1 Day
Fruits and berries: apples, oranges, tangerines, grapes, blueberries, cranberries, lingonberries, sea buckthorn, blackberries.
Vegetables: tomatoes, sweet peppers, spinach, garlic, Beijing cabbage.
Other foodstuffs: wholemeal bread and olive oil.
2 – 3 Days
Fruits and berries: bananas, avocados, kiwi fruit and strawberries.
Vegetables: peas, beans, broccoli, carrots, cabbage, onions, parsley, potatoes.
Other foods: chicken meat (preferably without the skin), eggs, fish, linseed oil, flaxseed, oats, sultanas, rice and dairy products. And you should drink green or herbal tea.
1 Day a week
Fruits and berries: pulp of grapefruits, lemons and limes. The zest should be added to salads, baked goods and drinks. Do not forget freshly squeezed juice.
Vegetables: cauliflower, celery, chillies, leeks, peas, shiitake mushrooms, corn, yams (sweet potatoes).
Other foodstuffs: brazil nuts, hazelnuts, walnuts, almonds, bitter chocolate, lentils.
1 Day a month
Fruits: apricots, melon, papaya, pears, pineapple.
Vegetables: aubergine, beetroot, pumpkin.
Other foods: chicken liver, pulses.
Of course, you don’t have to restrict your diet to these foods. You can add any other ingredients. But everything that we have advised you, should always be on the menu. Then at the end of autumn and beginning of winter, you will survive without a serious loss of health.
How to support the immune system beyond food:
1. Meet and socialise with friends more often. Neuroscientists have proven that attention and support from others has a beneficial effect on your immune system. Sociable and optimistic people are much less likely to fall ill. According to experts, hugs, handshakes and even simple touches are essential to good health. So go out in public more often, instead of lying on the sofa in front of the TV.
2. Music yourself, listen to soothing melodies or recordings of ‘sounds of nature’. Psychologists advise relaxing to the cries of dolphins or killer whales, the sound of rain, or classical music.
3. learn to let go of stress and release tension. Lingering stress is a massive blow to the immune system. By increasing ‘unwanted’ hormones, it suppresses essential hormones that keep you healthy. By learning to cope with stress, you can cut off the unwanted hormones that make you irritable and forgetful, and most importantly, can lead to serious illness. Learn relaxation techniques, particularly breathing exercises, do yoga. Learn how to get out of a crisis with physical exercise or just take a bath. Experts say that warm water soothes the nervous system. In general, spend more time by the water: its current is said to “sweep away” anxieties and worries.
4. Get regular exercise. Physical exercise can mobilise the body’s defence mechanisms and increase the activity of white blood cells. Just don’t overdo it: too much exercise can lead to chronic fatigue syndrome.