Immune-boosting foods

To be honest, the single foods that are promoted on the Internet today as being able to "quickly boost immunity" are all gimmicks. There is no single food that can immediately prevent you from catching a cold or getting sick after eating it. The dietary logic that can really help you stabilize your immunity in the long term is to eat enough of the three core ingredients and avoid two common dietary misunderstandings, which is much more reliable than the supplements you spend thousands on.

Half the people in the office are coughing during the recent season change. Some colleagues drink Vitamin C effervescent tablets as water, while others bring cordyceps flower soup every day, but they end up with a cold. Last week, I was talking about this with a friend from the nutrition department. She laughed and said that it was too simple to think of "improving immunity".

Let’s first talk about the vitamin C-related ingredients that everyone is most familiar with. Evidence-based medicine research has indeed confirmed that long-term intake of adequate vitamin C (100mg per day for adults, about the amount of a medium orange) can help shorten the course of colds and reduce the probability of upper respiratory tract infections. However, many people now go to extremes and either take three or four effervescent tablets at a time (one tablet contains 1000mg of vitamin C. Taking too much will be metabolized through urine, which is purely wasteful and may increase the burden on the kidneys), or drink strong lemonade every day due to excessive stomach acid, which will burn the esophagus due to acid reflux. In fact, Chinese medicine does not recommend that people with cold constitutions eat too many cold kiwi fruits and raw lemons every day. Instead, they can consider steaming oranges or eating some colored peppers - a little bit of trivia, the vitamin C content of 100g of colored peppers is 3 times that of lemons. Throw two of them into the scrambled eggs. It is delicious and filling.

Many people always focus on various vitamins to supplement immunity, but forget that the "raw material" of immunity is high-quality protein. Fitness friends may first recommend chicken breasts and egg whites, which are low in fat and high in protein content. However, for people who have poor digestion or are afraid of cold in winter, traditional Chinese medicine recommends eating soft stewed beef, mutton, or warm fresh milk. Even plant proteins such as tofu and soy milk are completely sufficient. My grandma was prone to colds in the winter for the past two years. Her teeth were not good and she could not eat large pieces of meat. Later, I asked her to steam a bowl of egg custard every afternoon with two chopped fresh shrimps in it. There is also a controversial point to be mentioned here: many people now think that protein powder can replenish protein faster, but in fact, people with normal liver and kidney function can get enough protein from food. On the contrary, for people with liver and kidney function problems, indiscriminate supplementation of protein powder will increase the burden on the organs, and the gain will not be worth the loss.

There are also fermented foods that have been very popular in the past two years. Can they improve immunity? In fact, there is no unified conclusion in the academic community yet. One group of studies believes that the intestines are responsible for more than 70% of the body's immune function. Frequent consumption of fermented foods such as natto, sugar-free yogurt, and homemade unsalty kimchi can supplement beneficial bacteria and regulate intestinal flora, which can indeed indirectly help stabilize immunity. However, another group of studies also points out that for people with sensitive intestines, prone to diarrhea, or people with irritable bowel syndrome, eating too much fermented foods will irritate the intestines and aggravate discomfort. Not to mention that what many people buy is actually flavored yogurt with a lot of sugar added, and bagged kimchi with a lot of preservatives. Eating too much sugar and excessive salt intake will actually reduce the activity of immune cells, which is completely putting the cart before the horse.

Let me talk about the two dietary misunderstandings that I have seen the most. Many people think that they are supplementing their immunity, but in fact they are holding them back. One is to over-supplement, such as eating sea cucumbers, abalone, and ginseng every day. The nutritional value of these foods is not low. However, if you do not metabolize purine well or are prone to getting angry, eating them every day will cause high uric acid and oral ulcers, which will put a burden on the body. The other is to have no dietary restrictions at all and eat vitamin C effervescent tablets while eating milk tea and fried chicken. Foods with high sugar and oil will increase inflammatory factors and suppress the activity of immune cells. No matter how much you eat, it will be useless. I have a friend who eats a sea cucumber every day to prevent the flu. As a result, his physical examination last week showed that the uric acid level soared to more than 500. The doctor said that his metabolism is not good, and eating high-purine sea cucumbers every day is causing trouble for his body.

In fact, in the final analysis, immunity is a very comprehensive matter, and it can never be fully achieved by eating a certain "magic thing". If you eat well every day, eat a pound of vegetables, eat protein in different ways, drink two less cups of full-sugar milk tea, and eat less late-night fried skewers, that would be better than anything else. After all, our body is also very real. If you give it enough and appropriate nutrition for a long time, it will naturally take care of you, which is more reliable than any IQ supplement.