Boosting your Immunity Series Part 3 -Foods to Boost Immunity
Apr 04, 2020
[The Foolish Couple are founders of the Foco Academy, nutrition specialists and success coaches. We focus on teaching Jack Canfield’s Success Principles and applying the principles to the 3 areas of life that money can’t buy, that is, Health, Time, and Love Relationship.]
Hi. We’re the Foolish Couple. I am Andrew and Minna, founders of the Foco Academy, Functional Nutrition Specialists and Life Coaches. We help people achieve whole life success by applying the Success Principles to the 3 areas of life that money can’t buy, that is, Health, Time, and Love Relationships.
We started releasing our ‘Boost your Immunity’ blog series in response to the latest health threat, which is the coronavirus. So, what do we think are important for boosting your immune system? First thing is to know your numbers. We started off by talking about metabolic efficiency and how it is important to track your health numbers and what your optimal numbers should look like.
And then we talked about fear. You are probably aware of how fear can heighten your stress level, but fear could also lower your immune system. To help you face your fears, we have included an exercise in episode 2 that may help you release those fears.
On the topic of fear. Shelter in Place is now extended to May 3rd for the people here in the Bay Area. And if you believe what the experts are telling you in the news, then we may see the death toll from COVID-19 up to 240000 in the US. And they also say that without the self-quarantine protocols, that death toll could be as high as 2 million.
The key is, how are you reacting to this piece of information?
Are you just going to stay at home and hope that you won’t catch the virus?
Or are you actually going to fight back?
How are you reacting to the fear that is all around us right now?
Many people are reacting to this fear by hoarding up supplies such as toilet paper and also buying lots of food that has a long shelf life. They may be spending a lot of money stocking up on foods, but they’re not doing anything to boost their immune system. Foods that have a long shelf life are usually highly processed, high in calories and low in nutrition. So, they may have stocked up on a lot of food, but they don’t get a whole lot of nutrition that they need to support their immune system.
When we go out and do our grocery shopping, we see many empty shelves which means they are the most ‘sought after’ items. What are people stocking up on?
Doesn’t matter whether it is a local grocery store, a nationwide chain or a mega store, the common theme seems to be pasta, rice, bread, instant noodles, and flour. And also, the stuff that goes with the pasta and rice such as pasta sauce, dumplings, spam, and all types of pre-made meals. We also noticed that junk food filled with high fructose corn syrup, such as twinkies, ho-hos, and ding dongs are super-hot items. And of course, soda, sugary drinks and liquor are also selling like hot cakes.
The weird thing is, the produce section still has an amazing selection of fruits and vegetables. And that’s where we tend to hang out.
Yeah, it’s springtime, and this is the best time to eat the rainbow.
The more colorful the fruit or vegetable, the higher the nutritional value. If all you are eating is brown or white, more than likely you are eating foods that high in calories and low in nutritional value.
Fresh produce tends to have a shorter shelf life, but some can last longer than others. What do you suggest to shop for when shopping for fresh produce?
We try to get as many colors as possible and some of the foods that you see here are actually quite hardy and can last for over a week.
Sweet potatoes, potatoes, onions, spaghetti squash, cabbage, beets, carrots, celery, cauliflower, apples, oranges, grapefruits and lemons.
Others that are good for 5 to 7 days are the different colored peppers, tomatoes, avocados, bananas, mangoes and pineapples. We also load up on fresh strawberries, raspberries or any type of berries. We love berries because they are high in Vitamin C and antioxidants but they only last a few days at home. For us, we freeze some of the berries so that we can use them for fruit sauces and smoothies later.
We try to eat as organic as possible because of the harmful pesticides and herbicides that can be found in many of the produce. These toxic chemical can compromise your gut bacteria which is part of your immune system. Organic produce are generally pricier, so sometimes we refer to the EWG dirty dozen and clean fifteen list. We have a link here if you’d like to see which of the dirty dozen that you really must eat organic, and which are the clean fifteen that we can perhaps go with the non-organic options.
Our friends and family know that we don’t keep any white rice at home. We have very limited pantry space in our kitchen, so we almost never buy big, bulky foods such as big bags of rice. And we are also very conscious about what to put into our pantry. Most of the stuff in there are high in nutritional value. So instead of refined, white rice, we opt for the opposite; which is this purely black, forbidden rice. You may also go with brown rice, red yeast rice, quinoa, farro, or any other type of ancient grain that you like.
As for the pasta, try to stay away from regular pasta, which are highly processed and instead try brown rice pasta or buckwheat soba.
Highly processed carbohydrates such as white rice and pasta tends to spike your blood sugar, which can lower your immune system and the number of white blood cells to fight off infection.
Also, even though you may not have celiac disease, many people actually are sensitive to gluten without being diagnosed with it. If you are gluten sensitive, eating wheat products can cause mild inflammation in your digestive system. Remember if your body is busy fighting inflammation, then it won’t have the resources to fight infections coming from the outside.
I know you are looking at this whole pile of fruits and vegetables and wonder how we eat it all. Why don’t you give them a few tips on what we do?
Fruits and veggies are beautiful and versatile. You can be as creative as you like to and come up with a gazillion different ways to prepare them.
Instead of going for the highly processed cereal, bread and oatmeal in the morning, blend some of these veggies and fruits together with flax seeds, chia seeds, MCT oil, and other superfoods with your favorite protein powder to make some super yummy smoothies.
We also buy organic bone marrow and make our own bone broth. It is super easy if you have an instant pot. Just put the bones in the pot, add water, turn it on and it’s done. We also like making stews with either grass fed beef or organic chicken, and we throw in onions, celery, carrots, cabbage, peppers, potatoes, tomatoes, beets, ginger and garlic.
You can also steam or bake the vegetables like spaghetti squash, cauliflower, broccoli and sweet potatoes.
And of course, you can stir fry the veggies with healthy oils such as coconut oil or avocado oil.
Try to stay away from the highly processed oils such as vegetable, soy or Canola oil as they can cause inflammation to your body.
As for the strawberries and all the other berries we either snack on them, make fresh desserts out of them or freeze them for smoothies. We like to use them with keto friendly desserts or gluten free desserts such as gluten free apple berry pies or fresh tofu pudding with berry sauce.
We will be including a PDF download for what we recommend to buy when shopping for groceries along with their nutritional value. We will also include the healthy cooking tips we talked about. Hit us up for any recipes ideas or share your best recipes with us below. We are always looking to try new ways to cook foods.
Remember, the foods you put into your body either brings up your immune system or lowers it.
Choose wisely as they directly affect your digestive system which accounts for about 60% of your immune system, learn more about how our digestive health is important to your immune system in our Free “gut matters” book if you haven’t downloaded it yet. And constant stress also causes inflammation in your cells, and when your body is fighting inflammation inside, it doesn’t have the resources to fight off external attacks. You do not want chronic inflammation in your cells as that will cause you to be immunocompromised. Remember to check out our Free Video on how inflammation in your cells can cause chronic conditions in the future if you haven’t already done so with the link provided here.
In the next episode, we are going to talk about household cleaners and how they can affect your health and immunity.
Until next time, love what you live, and live what you love.
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We are not medical doctors. This blog is not intended to diagnose medical condition, or replace your health care provider. The contents of this blog are for informational purposes only. Statements on this website have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration, and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. Always consult your personal physician before starting any fitness or exercise program or changing dietary habits. The content of this site is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. It is not a substitute for a medical exam, nor does it replace the need for services or counsel provided by medical professionals. However, we do hope to inspire you to become healthier, more self sufficient, and more aware of options.
