You can boost immunity by consuming certain foods and avoiding others.

Before we talk about how to boost immunity, let's first look at the immune system and how it works.

Our immune system protects our body from infection. It does this in three different ways:

1. prevents bacteria and viruses from entering the body by creating a barrier

2. detects and gets rid of bacteria and viruses that do get in before they reproduce

3. when reproduction of bacteria and viruses does occur, the immune system is in charge of eliminating them

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A good reason to boost immunity is that the immune system can detect cancer at early stages and eliminate it in most cases.

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Now that you understand a little about what the immune system does I'm sure you see the importance of keeping it strong. A strong immune system is important for everyone to prevent infection but especially for those undergoing chemotherapy who are susceptible to infection. So let's look at what you can do to help boost immunity.

Let's first look at the foods that we should avoid.

Bad foods

sugar
caffeine
raw foods (such as uncooked eggs, rare meat, oysters, clams)
alcohol

Now here is a list of foods that are good for boosting the fighting power of your immune system.

whole grains
veggies
fresh fruits
protein
flax seed
onion
garlic
ginger
tumeric
water




Vitamin C is a very important immune booster. It increases infection fighting white blood cell and antibody production. Vitamin C also prevents viruses from entering the body by increasing the production of interferon, which is an antibody that coats cell surfaces. Vitamin C can be found in a number of fruits and vegetables such as broccoli, brussel sprouts, strawberries, oranges, cantaloupe, kiwi,lemons tomatoes and raspberries to name a few.

Vitamin E is an antioxidant and immune booster that is important to a healthy immune system. Vitamin E stimulates the production of natural killer cells, which destroy germs and cancer cells. It also increases the production of B-cells, which are the immune cells that produce antibodies that destroy bacteria. You can get vitamin E from a diet rich in grains, vegetable oils and seeds but a supplement may be needed to get enough to boost immunity.

Zinc increases the production of infection fighting white blood cells and also increases the number of killer cells that fight against cancer. Please take note that it is best to get zinc from your diet rather than a supplement as too much zinc can inhibit immune function.

Zinc is associated with protein foods. Some of the foods that you can include in your diet are beef, pork, turkey, chicken, dairy products, peanuts, beans, whole grain cereal, whole wheat bread and yogurt.

Carotenoids (most popular Beta Carotene) is a powerful antioxidant that increases infection fighting cells and natural killer cells. You can get carotenoids in your diet by consuming foods like carrots, squash, sweet potatoes, spinach, kale, tomatoes, grape fruit and milk.

So as you can see, a diet with a variety of fruits, veggies, whole grains and protein is a good way to boost immunity and increase your bodies ability to fight infection.