Winter Wellness: How Food Can Support Your Immune System
As a nutritionist, I see first-hand how much what we eat is vital for looking after your immune system — especially during the winter months. While our immune system is incredibly clever and designed to protect us we need to look after it with the fuel and care it needs to help us through the Winter in health.
A Quick Look at How the Immune System Works
We have two main parts to our immune system. The first is the innate immune system, which acts as our body’s first line of defence. It responds quickly when it spots unwanted visitors such as viruses or bacteria.
The second is the adaptive immune system, which is more specialised. It learns from past infections and produces specific cells and antibodies to deal with them. These two systems work closely together, constantly communicating to protect us.
Although this sounds complex, what matters most is that both parts rely heavily on good nutrition and healthy habits to function properly and keep us feeling ‘good to go’.
Two Key Nutrition Priorities for Immunity
When it comes to supporting the immune system, two things are especially important:
- A good number and diversity of beneficial bacteria in the Gut
- Enough key nutrients — particularly vitamins A, C and D, plus zinc
Feeding the “Good” Bacteria in Your Gut
Around 75% of our immune tissue is found in and around the gut, which means gut health plays a huge role in immunity. The gut is home to trillions of beneficial bacteria, and these microbes need feeding — just like birds in a garden!
They thrive on plant foods that contain fibre and polyphenols. Polyphenols are natural compounds found in plants that support both our gut bacteria and our own health.
Foods that help nourish gut bacteria include:
- Vegetables and fruits (especially deeply coloured ones)
- Beans, lentils and whole grains
- Nuts and seeds
Try to eat a mix of raw and cooked vegetables each day. When you cook vegetables, steam them to preserve the nutrients/polyphenols that dissolve in the water and try to eat more raw veg. Try eating the skins where possible (such as apples or carrots) to provide extra polyphenols as these nutrients are concentrated just beneath the skin. These compounds help plants protect themselves — and when we eat them, they help support our own resilience too.
By feeding our gut bacteria well, we help them communicate with our immune system and guide it to respond appropriately when needed.
Valuable Vitamins for Winter
Vitamin C
Well known for immune support, vitamin C is found in berries, apples, citrus fruits, kiwi, peppers, leafy greens and the wonderful brassica. Vitamin C is easily lost during storage and cooking; fresh and lightly cooked foods are best.
Vitamin A
Vitamin A is vital for maintaining healthy mucous membranes — the protective linings of the nose, lungs and digestive tract – the ‘pipes and tubes’. It comes from animal foods and from colourful plant foods that contain beta-carotene, which the body then converts into vitamin A. Squash, pumpkins, carrots, red, orange and yellow peppers, sweet potato and leafy greens are all great sources of carotenoids.
Vitamin A is fat-soluble, so it’s best absorbed when eaten with a little healthy fat, such as olive oil.
Vitamin D3
Vitamin D plays an important role in regulating both the innate and adaptive immune system. In the UK, we can’t make vitamin D from sunlight during winter, and many people become deficient. This is why winter illnesses often take hold more easily, especially after Christmas.
A good-quality vitamin D3 supplement, ideally in an oil-based form, is essential for winter support.
Zinc: A Key Mineral for Immune Defence
Zinc is essential for the signals between cells of both the innate and adaptive immune systems. The easiest way to get sufficient zinc in the diet is from animal proteins and so for Vegans especially, there is a need to work on this – or in situations where digestions are compromised and diets are short of quality proteins. Zinc usage by the human immune system helps to combat invading pathogens. Wonderful pumpkin seeds, hemp seeds, lentil and pulses, wild rice, oats and mushrooms are good plant sources, and it is worth adding mushrooms regularly for all immune support reasons.
A Simple Winter Meal Idea
A warming mushroom soup topped with toasted pumpkin seeds, alongside a winter salad of lightly steamed broccoli, apple, grated carrot and red pepper, dressed with olive oil, garlic and lemon juice, is a wonderful seasonal meal. Adding lentils and pomegranate seeds boosts both flavour and nutrition — straight from nature’s basket.
When Extra Support Is Needed
If someone is experiencing significant challenges this may be helped by the support of a Functional Medicine practitioner to enable a deeper investigation and support the process of change. Often testing can identify areas needing specific attention.
For more help or a chat on how I can help please contact me
Jane Rose-Land BSc Nutritional Medicine, BANT, CNHC. (Functional Medicine Nutritionist).
