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Do you always feel
as if you have just recovered from one cold
when another comes along? Luckily, according
to Jenna Bell-Wilson, MS, RD, LD, media representative
for the New Mexico Dietetic Association and
doctoral student in exercise physiology at
the University of New Mexico, eating |
foods rich in four special nutrients can enhance
your immune system:
1. Hooray for Vitamin A! Vitamin A is an immune
system powerhouse! Studies have shown that vitamin
A deficiency can lead to damage in the mucosal linings
of the respiratory, gastrointestinal and genitourinary
tracts. (These linings are essential to the body’s
defense against foreign particles. When they are
damaged, one is more likely to be infected.) Vitamin
A deficiency has also been linked to an increased
number of skin infections.
2. Keep Your Eye on Vitamin E. Also a mainstay of
the immune system, vitamin E helps protect the body
against cardiovascular disease and cancer. In a
study reported in the British Journal of Nutrition,
researchers evaluated the impact of three different
amounts of vitamin E on immune function in animals,
and the immune systems of those animals that received
the greatest amount of vitamin E (65 times the minimum
daily amount currently recommended for humans) were
enhanced. Because of this finding, researchers believe
that a diet rich in vitamin E may also help humans.
3. The Power of Zinc. Zinc aids the immune system
in many ways. For example, it appears to help produce
T cells, the small white blood cells essential to
the adaptive immune system. (The adaptive immune
system remembers how to respond to each new threat
so, if a person had a disease such as chicken pox
as a child, that person doesn’t get it again.)
It may also help produce phagocytes, the large white
blood cells that patrol the body on ready alert.
Zinc may even help produce natural killer cells,
which help destroy foreign substances in the body
as well. Zinc deficiency sometimes contributes to
death due to gastrointestinal or respiratory problems.
Fortunately, zinc supplementation can reduce such
risks in people with low T cell counts, such as
the elderly; those undergoing chemotherapy; and
people suffering from HIV/AIDS, alcoholism, burns
and more. However, because zinc can decrease the
body’s absorption of copper, iron and calcium,
zinc supplementation is not recommended for healthy
adults.
4. The Impact of Iron. Iron deficiency,
also called iron deficiency anemia, can weaken
the immune system. You can correct this condition
by eating plenty of iron-rich foods or, if necessary,
taking iron supplements. However, zinc may limit
the absorption of iron. If you take both zinc
and iron supplements, also increase your daily
consumption of iron-rich foods so the one nutrient
doesn’t nullify the benefits of the other.
Source content: IDEAfit.com
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