How Vaccines Work and How You can Support the Work they are Doing by Boosting your Immune System: Part 2

Walk through a grocery store or down a city street, and you will likely find lots of food—often very “tempting” food. But how much of that is really good for you? How much of that fast food, fried food, preservative-filled food, junk food, or processed food will give you the vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients your body needs to support your immune system? Some—but not all that much compared to home-cooked whole foods fresh from the farm or garden!

But….not everyone has the time to make home-cooked meals, to get to the farms and farmer’s markets—and not everyone has the cooking know-how or even desire to cook! What can you do?

One useful idea may be to invest in a crock pot or instant pot. They are easy to use and do the cooking for you! Just put some meat, vegetables, and herbs into the crock pot or instant pot, turn it on, walk away for a bit (or GO to work), stir occasionally, and presto! Your meal is hot and ready! Or cook when you have the time, freeze your meals, and thaw them when you need to. Or—use quicker cooking techniques: stir-fry or sauté your meals! Lately, there have been lots of new businesses that deliver fresh foods to your door –and you just heat them up and eat! The point is, there are alternatives to cooking full meals from scratch if you don’t have the time or inclination. Lots of healthy take-out options are available too. Find what works best for you!

Now, as to what to eat, the healthiest diets are high in vegetables, fruit, whole grains, beans, legumes, fish, and lean meats. Avoid processed (boxed), fast, and fried foods. (By the way, another excellent cooking appliance is the air fryer—fried chicken never tasted so good, and you will need FAR fewer napkins! You can air fry vegetables, meats, and fish too—it is fast and easy!) Often, you will read the recommendation to avoid red meat because of the increased amounts of saturated fats in red meats. One way to still enjoy red meats (once or twice a week) is to buy grass-fed beef but choose the cheaper cuts (with less fat). Then, use the pressure-cooking function of your Instant Pot to prepare tender, quick meals. Grass-fed beef has a better ratio of omega-3 to omega-6 fats (corn-fed or industrial beef is high in omega-6 fats and low in omega-3 fats by comparison) but can be less than tender—pressure-cooking tenderizes the meat, and you get a healthier amount of omega-3 fats!

Eat a variety of vegetables and fruit—vary the colors, vary the types (leafy greens versus root vegetables) and buy seasonally as often as you can. The same goes for fruit and berries. Add nuts and seeds into soups, stews, salads, and vegetable dishes—you might be surprised how good it can be to bite onto a nice almond or pecan while munching on your broccoli! Sesame seeds make a lovely garnish for lots of different foods like quinoa, brown rice, or lentils! It can’t hurt to try it!

Also—here’s a bonus. It is easier to maintain a healthy weight using this healthy eating approach—it contains MUCH less sugar, and no preservatives or additives (which have been linked to a greater risk of obesity and weight problems(1)(2)(3))

There are some supplements that can help boost your immune system—those that seem to be most important for the immune system include Vitamins A, D, C, B6, and folic acid (folate). Important minerals include zinc, selenium, iron, and copper.