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Foods That Weaken the Immune System

immune systemDo you experience high amounts of stress, get irritated by little things, aren’t able to concentrate on work, suffer from digestive disturbances or have a cold more often than usual? In fact, do your wounds take more time to heal than normal? Frequent infections? Do you feel tired all the time? All this could be due to a weak immune system!

Immunity is a balanced state of multicellular organisms having adequate defence to fight infection, disease or other unwanted biological invasion while also avoiding allergies and other autoimmune disease. The immune system also keeps a record of every microbe it has defeated so it can recognise and destroy the microbe if it enters the body again.

Bone marrow and thymus form the primary immune system and spleen, tonsils, lymph vessels, lymph nodes, adenoids, skin and liver form the secondary immune system.

  • Bone marrow: helps produce white blood cells (T cells, B cells) which defend the body against infectious disease and foreign materials.
  • Thymus: Situated at the base of the neck is most active in the neonatal and preadolescent period of development.

One of the best ways to build immunity is through nutrition. There are many foods that help us improve the immune system but there are also foods which can weaken it. During this Coronavirus pandemic, it has become increasingly important to take care of ourselves and build our immune system! In order to do that, we must avoid consuming things which can lower or harm our immunity levels. 

Foods That You Must Avoid

1. Soda and Carbonated Beverages
This includes sweeteners like aspartame, saccharin, and sucralose, which are all harmful to the immune system. These ingredients reduce levels of beneficial bacteria in your gut and have an adverse effect on glucose metabolism which has an extended effect on how well our body responds to potential threats.

Solution: Choose water with few slices of fruits if you do not like having plain water or choose green tea with lemon which has good antioxidants. Drink green Tea in moderation.

2. Processed Foods and Refined Carbs
The large number of calories in processed food may lead to health problems such as increased inflammation, reduced control of infection, increased rates of cancer, and increased risk for allergic and auto-inflammatory disease by changing the balance of bacteria in our gut – all of which weaken the immune system

Solution: Include whole grain healthy snacks which are baked or roasted and not deep fried

3. Foods & Drinks High in Sugar
Drinks high in sugar spike insulin levels which spike cortisol and suppress the immune system. Unwanted bacteria thrive on sugar and the more sugar they have to feed on, the safer they grow, which will outnumber beneficial bacteria. This can have a negative effect on our mood, blood sugar levels and immune function. Increased sugar intake makes it difficult for the body to absorb Vitamin C, which eventually decreases immunity levels

Solution: Choose whole foods and natural sweeteners like honey which promote growth of healthy gut bacteria

4. Alcoholic Beverages
Drinking alcoholic beverages affects hormones by disrupting the circadian rhythm. As sleep is closely connected to the immune system, changes in circadian rhythm can make one feel unwell by having a negative effect on the immune system.

Solution: Alternate alcohol drinks with water or choose healthy snacks to have with alcohol to limit intake of alcohol.

5. Caffeine
Increased intake of caffeine (present in coffee and coffee products) boosts cortisol levels which reduces your immunity levels. Regular increased intake of caffeine reduces the number of T cells which are responsible for destroying the infected cells of the body.

Solution: Switch to low caffeine beverage and keep check on your intake of caffeine rich foods

 6. Refined Oil
Oil can be incredibly healthy, providing much-needed fatty acids like omega-3 and vitamin E but only when they’re produced the right way. Refined oils go through a lot of heat processing which destroys the nutrients that we derive from fats. Eating food cooked in refined oils leads to production of free radicals that damage the tissues and cause temporary inflammation.

Solution: Switch to cold pressed oils and filtered oils which go through less or no heat processing, keeping the nutrients intact.

 7. Junk Foods
Foods high in fat, sugar and low on fiber other than creating cravings, also destroys the immune system. The body responds to fast foods the same way it responds to an infection. The moment one consumes fast food our body identifies it as a threat and starts attacking faster than usual as it would react to a bacterial infection. These repeated reactions of the body leads to development of diabetes and heart diseases.

Solution: Choose healthy homemade snacks which have no added namkeen/crispies or are fried in healthy oils 

We hope that this article helps you remain healthy during this time. It is crucial to keep our immunity levels in check and avoid foods that can destroy it. 

For tips on how to build your immunity, read more articles on Healthy Reads. To get these tips directly from your GOQii Coach, subscribe to personalized coaching here: https://goqiiapp.page.link/bsr  

Do leave your thoughts in the comments below! 

#BeTheForce 

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Let’s understand Cravings

Three colorful green, pink and yellow tart cakes wrapped in measuring tape on white background, unhealthy lifestyle concept, studio

Food craving (defined as an intense desire to eat a specific food) is of interest because it is extremely common and because it influences obesity or nutritional status. It has also been suggested that food craving may be the evolutionary source for cravings of all kinds including cravings for drugs and alcohol.  “Surveys estimate that almost 100% of young women and nearly 70% of young men had food cravings during the past year,” says Mercia Levin Pelchat, of Monell Chemical Senses Center in her published article ‘Food Cravings in Young and Elderly Adults’ in the journal Appetite*

As humans, we’re biologically wired to crave for Food. The more bad food we eat, the more our body will learn to accept and want them. We become addicted to highly palatable, energy dense food. Well, yes many of the food we eat today (ready made) are extremely addictive, and we are hardwired to crave them. Anything that gives us pleasure and offers relief, our body will want more and crave.

What food am I referring to?

Processed food. They are prepared with a combination of fat, sugar, and salt and provide very fewer nutrients.

Studies have found, highly processed food have the same effect on the brain as some drugs. It helps release feel good hormone which in turn helps to relieve stress temporarily.

What about those people who have food craving even without indulging in processed foods often? The answer for this could be due to missing micro nutrients from your diet, which causes you to crave for certain foods.

amazed young woman eating popcorn

What’s the Solution to Carvings?

Let’s take a look at why we should be adding more veggies, fruits, and other unprocessed food to our diet.

I have covered here few very commonly reported cravings and deficiency associated with the same:

Food Craving Bread
Nutrient Deficiency Nitrogen
Nutritious food Green Leafy Vegetables, Nuts, Seeds, Legumes, Grains
Food Craving White Pastas, Cake, Pastries
Nutrient Deficiency Chromium
Nutritious food Onion, Lettuce, Tomatoes, Cinnamon, Grapes
Food Craving Crisps/Potato Chips, Salty foods
Nutrient Deficiency Chloride
Nutritious food Celery, Olives, Tomatoes, Kelp, Himalayan Sea Salt
Food Craving Chocolate
Nutrient Deficiency Magnesium
Nutritious food Raw Cacao, Whole Grains, Beans, Nuts, Seeds, Fruit, Green Veggies
Food Craving Fizzy/Aerated Drinks
Nutrient Deficiency Calcium
Nutritious food Broccoli, Kale, Sesame seed, legumes, mustard, turnip, greens
Food Craving Coffee / Black tea
Nutrient Deficiency Sulphur
Nutritious food Cruciferous Veggies, Cranberries, horseradish, garlic, onion
Food Craving Ice, Chilled water
Nutrient Deficiency Iron
Nutritious food Beans, Legumes, Dates, Black raisin, Jaggery, Spinach
Food Craving Sweets
Nutrient Deficiency Phosphorous
Nutritious food Citrus Fruits, Green Leafy Veggies, Banana, Tomatoes, Black Olives.

As you can see on the table, a simple mindful inclusion of certain food does not only save you from lot more cravings and its ill effect but can also provide you with lots of nutrients and minerals.

So what will you choose?

*Appetite is an international research journal specializing in cultural, social, psychological, sensory and physiological influences on the selection and intake of foods and drinks. It covers normal and disordered eating and drinking and welcomes studies of both human and non-human animal behaviour towards food

 

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