Immunity-boosting food rankings

There is no absolute "number one ingredient for immunity". The core ingredients suitable for people with different physiques and dietary structures vary greatly. There is no need to focus on a certain one.

Don't tell me, I was half-convinced about this list before. Last winter, half of the children in my kindergarten class got the flu. I followed the advice of my nutritionist friend and gave my baby 100g of low-temperature yogurt without added sugar every day. During that time, my baby actually wasn't infected. Of course, some people say that drinking yogurt to improve immunity is an IQ tax. This needs to be broken down and said: Only fermented dairy products with active probiotics ≥10^6 CFU/g can reduce inflammatory reactions by regulating intestinal flora and supplement high-quality immunoglobulin raw materials. If you drink a milk drink with half a cup of sugar or fruity flavoring agent, it is indeed useless except for gaining weight. Some Chinese medicine friends have mentioned that people with weak spleen and stomach who have diarrhea when drinking cold yogurt can completely switch to fermented ingredients such as warm fermented glutinous rice and fermented soy products, and the effect will not be much different.

Many people first think about buying imported vitamin C effervescent tablets when they think of immunity supplements. When I went to Xiehe Nutrition Department for a follow-up visit, the doctor said that the cheapest immunity buff is actually dark green leafy vegetables such as spinach, rape, and kale that cost 2 yuan a handful at the market. The beta carotene in it can be converted into vitamin A to help you maintain the respiratory mucosal barrier. Folic acid and vitamin K are essential raw materials for immune cell synthesis. Calculated, the nutritional density of a pound of spinach is much higher than that of supplements costing dozens of dollars. The controversy over whether green leafy vegetables should be eaten raw or cooked has never stopped. In fact, there is no need to worry: For people with good teeth and no gastrointestinal problems, blanch them for 10 seconds and serve them cold to retain the maximum amount of vitamin C. ； The elderly and children have weak spleens and stomachs, so it is okay to eat them if they are cooked until soft. As long as they are not simmered for half an hour until they become brown and rotten, the nutritional loss will be within an acceptable range. My mother used to think that green leafy vegetables were "greasy" and not nutritious. Last winter, I made spinach soup for her every day. She suffered from chronic bronchitis as soon as winter entered. This year, she only had a cough for two days and was cured. Of course, it is also due to her dancing square dance every day, but the effect of dietary adjustments can really be felt.

If you always stay up late, get oral ulcers every now and then, or catch a cold every time the season changes, you don’t have to stick to yogurt and vegetables. Eat more common mushrooms such as mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms, and oyster mushrooms, as the effect may be more symptomatic. The selenium in mushrooms can directly increase the activity of immune cells, and lentinan has also been proven to regulate immunity. Just eat about 100g three times a week. There is no need to spend a lot of money to buy wild mushrooms. The active ingredients of ordinary commercially available mushrooms are not much different. Of course, I have to mention that in traditional nutrition, mushrooms are always said to be "hair-producing things." If you are experiencing an attack of urticaria or eczema, or you are allergic to mushrooms, you must avoid them and don't eat them.

Oh, by the way, many people don’t know that eating the wrong staple food can also hinder immunity. If you only eat polished rice and white flour, your intake of B vitamins will be insufficient, and the activity of immune cells will also decrease. When cooking, replace one-third of the white rice with whole grains such as oats and brown rice. This will not only control sugar, but also supplement B vitamins. Before my husband worked out, he had white rice and chicken breast. Is that enough protein? I still got tonsillitis as soon as the temperature dropped, so I replaced half of the white rice with oats, and I haven’t had a sore throat in more than two months.

As for the most familiar high-vitamin C ingredients, I would rank them in the third echelon - mainly because many people exaggerate the effects of vitamin C, and some even eat vitamin C tablets as food. In fact, the vitamin C in fresh fruits such as fresh dates, kiwis, and strawberries combined with natural flavonoids is much more effective than a single supplement. For example, the vitamin C content of fresh dates is more than 10 times that of lemons. Eating 2 pills a day can meet the daily vitamin C needs. But you should also note that people with weak stomachs should not eat too much fresh dates. Scratching the hard peel may make the stomach uncomfortable. Diabetics can choose low-sugar strawberries and kiwis, and avoid processed high-sugar products such as candied dates and dried fruits.

Finally, I have to debunk a misunderstanding: Don’t believe in “high-end immune ingredients” such as cordyceps, sea cucumbers, and bird’s nests. A third-party testing agency has done experiments before. The content of immune-related active ingredients in sea cucumbers is not as good as that of ordinary shiitake mushrooms. The cordycepic acid in cordyceps is actually mannitol, which is not much different from the ingredients in white radish. It is very cost-effective for ordinary people to eat daily, and there is no need to pay this IQ tax. Of course, there are also practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine who believe that this type of food is suitable for special groups of people with post-operative weakness and deficiency of qi and blood. This is a matter of opinion and you can choose according to your own needs and budget.

In fact, to put it bluntly, how can there be any absolute ranking list? What you can eat every day and don’t feel uncomfortable eating is the best food for you. I always think of relying on a certain "magic dish" once and for all, but it is better to gather 12 kinds of ingredients every day and have balanced nutrition. Last week, I saw a netizen vomiting after eating broccoli to supplement immunity. It is really unnecessary, don't you think?