6 immunity boosting nutrients and superfoods to eat amid Covid-19 – citrus, avocado, garlic, ginger ... chocolate?

Aug 29 , 2020

Lauren Jacobsen is an expert in her field with more than 20 years’ experience designing nutrition products, supplements and meal plans. Photo: supplied

There has never been a better time to adopt new healthy habits and reset your diet with these 6 immune-boosting, vitamin-loaded ingredients superfoods, including turmeric, ginger and – our personal favourite – dark chocolate

If you’re not eating healthily, there’s no time like the present to start. Good nutrition is crucial for health, particularly in times like now when the immune system might need to fight back.

A good diet is the first line of defence when it comes to your immunity. Your diet provides you with all the nutrients you need to super charge your immune system. In addition to eating better, you also need to be sure you’re exercising regularly, this will ensure your metabolism is functioning properly. Being healthy and active is critical to having a healthy functioning immune system that can handle any added stress from a cold or flu caused by a virus.

Lauren Jacobsen holds a degree in nutritional biochemistry, specialising in sports nutrition and supplementation, from Trent University in Canada. Photo: supplied

If you’re looking for some ingredients to include in your diet to help boost your immunity, be sure to add these six ingredients. I’ve also included a few smoothie recipes to make it easy to get these ingredients into your body.

Turmeric

Turmeric is a bright orange/yellow-coloured root, which contains the active component curcumin. This root has potent anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. Curcumin works by blocking a key compound involved in the inflammatory response, which means it can not only help protect the immune system, but also help stimulate the recovery process. Curcumin’s antioxidant properties help it neutralise free radicals and boost the activity of your body’s own antioxidant enzymes.

One thing to note, however, is that curcumin is not absorbed well, but combining it with black pepper can help increase absorption. Black pepper contains the active ingredient piperine. One study showed that combining 20 milligrams of piperine with 2 grams of curcumin increased bioavailability by 2,000 per cent.

What to eat: You can eat fresh turmeric root – similar to how you would consume ginger root. You can also purchase the pure powder. Add the powder or root to curries, soups and yoghurt, juice blends and even in your post-workout smoothie.