• Home
  • Nutrition advice
  • Fitness advice
  • Beauty advice
  • Recipes
  • About the Experts
English | Español

Discover Good
  • Nutrition
  • Fitness
  • Beauty

Tune Up Your Immune System With Healthy Nutrition


 Posted by Susan Bowerman, M.S., RD, CSSD, CSOWM, FAND – Senior Director, Worldwide Nutrition Education and Training  0 Comment

1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars
Loading ... Loading ...

Fruits and veggies promote a strong immune system.

When my kids were little, I always braced myself for the ‘back-to-school cold’ that swept through the house during their first week back in the classroom. With the new school year upon us, kids are going to be bringing home more than just homework and new friends—they’re sure to bring home plenty of germs, too. Even if you don’t have kids at home, you’re still more likely to get sick as the weather turns colder. So, now is a good time to look at all you can do nutritionally to help keep your immune system running in tip-top shape.

Despite what your parents or grandparents might have told you, you don’t catch cold from being out in the cold air (or, as my mother always insisted, from going outdoors with wet hair). But when the weather turns chilly, we spend more time indoors. That means we’re in closer contact with more people and there’s less air circulating, so we’ve got more exposure to the germs that can make us sick. 

Your body has a built-in defense, of course—your immune system. It’s your own personal army of ‘soldiers’ that protects your body by identifying anything foreign—from a virus to a bacteria to a parasite—and then seeking it out and destroying it. Your body does rely on good nutrition and a healthy lifestyle to keep your defenses up. For one thing, if you eat a healthy diet and take care of yourself, you’re more likely to maintain your good health.

Fruits and vegetables are key players because they provide an abundance of phytonutrients—natural compounds found in all plant foods that help to promote health by serving as antioxidants. You need antioxidants to balance out the processes in your body that cause oxidation. Oxidative processes are a normal part of metabolism, but oxidation can run rampant in cells if it’s not kept in check. And that can weaken the body’s ability to fight illness. So, your body relies on a steady source of antioxidants from fruits and veggies to reduce this oxidant stress and, in turn, help to support immune function.

Your immune system also has some ‘special forces’ in the form of white blood cells. These cells produce specialized proteins called antibodies that seek out and destroy invading viruses and bacteria. Since antibodies are proteins, you need adequate protein in the diet to ensure you’ll be able to manufacture the antibodies your body needs. Healthy protein foods—like fish, poultry, lean meats, soy foods and low-fat dairy products—provide the building blocks that your body needs to make these specialized proteins.

Keeping your digestive system healthy is also important in supporting immune function. Your digestive tract is home to trillions of bacteria that have numerous functions in promoting health. Some strains of bacteria help you digest the fiber in your foods, others consume intestinal gas, while others produce vitamins, like vitamin K and vitamin B12. When your system is populated with these ‘good’ bacteria, they also serve to ‘crowd out’ the potentially harmful bacteria that might enter your digestive tract. Some of the best sources of these friendly bacteria are cultured dairy products, like yogurt and kefir.

Eating well really does pave the road to good health. To help your body in the fight against foreign invaders, your internal ‘army’ needs the best nutrition possible. So, call in the troops—and dry your hair.

« Top 5 Myths About Body Fat
Survey Says: Most Summer Bodies Stayed Under Wraps This Year »

    Share This


Susan Bowerman, M.S., RD, CSSD, CSOWM, FAND – Senior Director, Worldwide Nutrition Education and Training
Susan is the Senior Director of Worldwide Nutrition Education and Training at Herbalife, where she is responsible for the development of nutrition education and training materials, and is one of the primary authors of the Herbalife-sponsored blog, www.discovergoodnutrition.com. She is a Registered Dietitian and holds two Board Certifications from the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics as a Certified Specialist in Sports Dietetics, and a Certified Specialist in Obesity and Weight Management. Susan is also a Fellow of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Susan graduated with distinction in biology from the University of Colorado, and received her master’s degree in Food Science and Nutrition from Colorado State University. She then completed her dietetic internship at the University of Kansas. Susan has taught extensively and developed educational programs targeted to individuals, groups and industry in her areas of expertise, including health promotion, weight management and sports nutrition. Prior to her role at Herbalife, she was the assistant director of the UCLA Center for Human Nutrition, and has held appointments as adjunct professor in nutrition at Pepperdine University and as lecturer in nutrition in the Department of Food Science and Nutrition at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. Susan was a consultant to the (then) Los Angeles Raiders for six seasons, and was a contributing columnist for the Los Angeles Times Health Section for two years. She is a co-author of 23 research papers, 14 book chapters, and was a co-author of two books for the public: “What Color is Your Diet?” and “The L.A. Shape Diet” by Dr. David Heber, published by Harper Collins in 2001 and 2004, respectively.


Related Posts


Tune Up Your Immune System With Healthy Nutrition


  • Search

  • Sign Up for Updates

  • Meal Plans

    • 1200 calorie diet
      Try This 3-Day 1200 Calorie Diet Plan
    • Streamline Your Diet With This Healthy 1500 Calorie Plan
    • 2200 calorie diet
      Sample Menus for a 2200 Calorie Diet Plan
    • personalized diet
      How to Create a Personalized Diet Plan
    • 1800 calorie diet
      Healthy 1800 Calorie Diet Plan
  • Fitness advice

    • Summer Countdown: How to Look Great in Just 6 Weeks
    • Getting Ripped: Nutrition and Exercise Tips
    • Do-It-Yourself Strength Training Workout
    • fitness planHow to Build an Achievable Fitness Plan
    • Effective workout5 Effective Workout Techniques to Get Focused
  • Beauty advice

    • partyHow to Prepare a Party Emergency Beauty Kit
    • heat styling5 Tips to Avoid Hair Damage From Heat Styling
    • 6 Tips for Flawless Winter Skin
    • Holiday Survival Tips: Beauty on a Budget
    • hormonal skinWhat to Do About Hormonal Skin Conditions
  • Nutrition advice

    • supertasterAre You a Supertaster?
    • Chefs' diet secrets
    • healthy behaviorHealthy Behavior: Making Healthy Diet Changes that Last
    • diet techniquePopular Dieting Tools and Techniques
    • Heart healthHeart health: How to fine tune your diet in 5 easy steps



Privacy Policy | CCPA Suplemmental Notice

Copyright © 2019 Herbalife International of America, Inc.