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4 min read Whole-body health

5 surprisingly strong foods for immunity I eat all winter (not oranges)

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5 surprisingly strong foods for immunity I eat all winter (not oranges)

Winter is when immune-boosting foods, vitamin C foods and anything promising to boost immunity suddenly feels urgent.

Right now London weather is back to its gloomy default, and everyone around me seems to be coughing or blowing their noses.

Every year I try to think about my immunity much sooner before this happens.

The immune defence runs behind the scenes regadless of the time of year. So when I look at foods for the immune system, I care more about what I can eat consistently every day to support this defence long term, rather than a quick fix when I already have cold symptoms.

Human trials support this reasoning:

In this study, 83 adults aged 65–85 who usually ate 2 or fewer portions of fruit and vegetables a day, one group increased their intake to 5 portions daily for 16 weeks. This group produced a stronger antibody response over time.

This vitamin C focussed test study confirmed high bioavailability of measured vitamins from raw fruit and vegetables, and raw vegetable juice. Vitamin C from both forms increased plasma vitamin C.

(Compared to this, some types of supplements can have reduced absorption rate and you end up with little bioavailable benefits and expensive pee.)

So that’s how I try to approach winter food now. I keep the following foods in regular rotation because they all cover different jobs:

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Published by:

Martina Gabriela

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