A variety of plant-based food can boost your immune system. Here are the five reasons why.
It Has a Daily Dose of Antioxidant
We can’t cross out the risk we get from free radicals, but we can reduce the damages it might cause us by eating foods that are high in antioxidants. It gives our body the strength to boost our immune system and fight off germs and microorganisms that bring us infections.
Oranges, lemons, nuts and seeds, tomatoes, and various berries are rich in vitamins. Do not limit yourself by only focusing on eating superfoods. It’s highly important to eat a variety of fresh and clean plant-based food, too. After all, each plant does not just have antioxidants. They have way lot more!
It Has Phytochemicals
You probably know photosynthesis in plants, but have you ever heard about phytochemicals? You have not known, but it was already part of your daily diet. Phytochemical is a natural compound of plants use to protect themselves. These are non-essential nutrients in the human body, but according to researchers, it helps us protect ourselves against diseases. It prevents damaged cells from reproducing and slows the growth of cancer cells.
Several types of phytochemicals but not just the following:
a. Flavonoids: it inhibits the growth of a tumor. You can find this in onions, soybeans, coffee beans, and tea.
b. Inositol: it acts as a shield to prevent what damages the cells. You can find this in bran from corn, oats, and rice.
c. Polyphenols: help prevent cancer cell formation and inflammation. You can find it in green tea, wine, whole grains, and peanuts.
It Helps Regulate Hormones
Hormones also play a vital role in our overall wellbeing. They are the ones that tell our bodies how to develop to help keep our immune system to stay on track. Plant-based food regulates hormones such as stress hormones and estrogen.
Manage to balance your stress hormone level by taking probiotics found in oats and artichokes, and magnesium content found in legumes, nuts, and seeds. As for estrogen hormones that disrupt our endocrine system, you can stabilize its level through eating whole grains and psyllium husks.
It is High in Fiber
You’ve heard a lot of health benefits about fiber, especially those who want to maintain their weight. Our stomach has a big role in our food digestion as it needs to digest and absorb the nutrients we get from what we eat. But fiber is not one of those that are digested.
Fiber helps our stomach to soften the food that we eat and help us lower the chance of constipation, which makes you feel like you have gained weight. A high-fiber plant-based food normalizes our bowel movement to lower our risk of hemorrhoids and colon cancer.
There are two types of fiber and varies with its benefits. They are:
a. Soluble Fiber: helps lower cholesterol and helps to normalize glucose level. You can find it in barley, carrot, and citrus fruits.
b. Insoluble fiber: promotes proper digestion, which you can find e found in wheat bran, whole-wheat flour, green beans, and potatoes.
It Reduces Inflammation
Our body needs to heal, and it has its natural way to defend harm from various infections. The process is called inflammation. But the negative side of it is when it becomes chronic, which can cause numerous illnesses like arthritis.
Plants have the essential elements which help to neutralize our body’s inflammation. It helps to reduce our body’s inflammation and can provide us an overall health improvement. Plants that have a ton of inflammatory elements are:
a. Ginger: The most common ingredients in herbal medicine, tea, and spice. Aside from anti-inflammatory content, it also has antibacterial and antiviral properties. A popular remedy for stomach pain, you can use it as a dry spice, powdered, or as an oil.
b. Cabbage Family: this includes cabbage, broccoli, and Brussels sprouts. They contain essential micronutrients to boost immunity, such as Vitamin A, Riboflavin, and Iron. Edible as fresh but best to boil and mixed with other veggies.
c. Red Grapes: although compact with high natural sugars, this fruit contains resveratrol, which, according to studies, has shown to protect some cartilage that causes back pain.
d. Turmeric: it’s more popular than ginger because of its curcumin content. Studies have shown that it battles rheumatoid arthritis better than ibuprofen.
Health experts advise that we must get the essential nutrients that our body needs not on pills but on eating healthy food. Make sure that you support your diet with an active and healthy lifestyle.