SALT LAKE CITY – Many people have been sick over the past few months. Are you one of them? You may already know that nutrition plays an important role in your immune system, but how exactly does it work?
recently Let’s move with Maria Podcast episode, Maria Silaos speaks with a functional medicine nutritionist Karin G. Reiter Learn what foods to include in your diet if you want to strengthen your immune system.
Get good nutrition and boost your immunity…
12 minutes
What is functional medicine?
Reiter describes functional medicine as a fusion of conventional and holistic medicine.
“What we believe in functional medicine is that every disease has an underlying cause that influences disease and health,” Reiter says.
These root causes can be physical and psychological. To achieve health, you need to condition your mind and body together.
There are many factors that affect our immune system.
We know that vitamin C is good for you, but it’s not the only thing that determines the strength of your immune system. Our sleep habits and stress levels also have a huge impact on this.
“When it comes to food, there are foods that reduce inflammation and foods that increase inflammation. When your body is in a state of chronic inflammation, your immune system is compromised,” Reiter says.
Molecules that Reiter calls pigments that give fruits and vegetables their color are present in foods. For example, there’s blue from blueberries, red from raspberries, and green from kale. These colored pigments are known as antioxidants and contain powerful chemicals that support the immune system and reduce inflammation.
Conversely, chemicals such as sugar are known to cause inflammation in the body. Reiter says it’s best not to fill up on sugar during your meals, as sugar is a favorite food of inflammation.
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