Can My Diet Be An Immune System Booster?

Your diet affects how you feel and how well your body functions. 

While a nutrient-dense, well-rounded diet supports your immune system, a diet that’s low in nutrients and high in ultra-processed foods impairs immune function

Foods That Boost Your Immune System  

There are a number of foods which boost our immunity — from super-antioxidant foods, like green tea, turmeric and spinach; to sulfur-rich free-radical fighters, like garlic and broccoli; to vitamin C immune system powerhouses, like red bell peppers, citrus fruits, kiwis and papaya; and vitamin D immune system staples, like salmon, mackerel, tuna and sardines. 

Those foods are all excellent, but if you are Googling “How to build your immune system” or “Supplements to boost immune system,” one macronutrient stands taller than most — protein. 

A study in the journal Nutrition pointed out that supplementation with the bioactive peptides found in soy “can be useful in healthy [people] through an improvement in immune function.”  

One of the many reasons why soy’s such a critical immune ally is precisely because of its naturally occurring bioactive peptides.   

Peptides are parts of protein that are made with amino acids. When these amino acids join together, they make an amino-peptide — and when these peptides assemble they form the basis of proteins.  

Peptides are vital to a whole range of body functions, plus they act as the building blocks of important enzymes and certain natural hormones. 

Hormones and Protein 

How much high-quality protein we’re taking in does some interesting things for certain hormones in the body, too, which wind up helping with immune health as well. 

Ghrelin is a hormone that jacks up our appetite, food intake and fat storage. This was helpful for our ancestors, but for us not so much. Leptin, on the other hand, blocks hunger. 

The great thing is that protein lowers ghrelin and lets leptin do its job telling us “we’re full”! 

When more of the feel-good brain neurotransmitter hormone, dopamine, is released, we have less cravings, more energy and increased motivation. 

If we consume soy protein and amino acids, specifically the amino acid tyrosine, our bodies then produce extra dopamine. 

Eating more protein, like the non-GMO soy protein in every serving of Almased, helps us digest the protein that we do eat we more easily. Why? Because extra protein enzymes are released and set to work.  

In fact, soy contains four major components that can enhance the composition of immune-boosting gut bacteria in a prebiotic way: fiber, oligosaccharides, isoflavones and, as mentioned, protein. Prebiotics are food components or nutrients that feed good bacteria.   

A healthy gut-friendly diet includes live cultured foods, since they work wonders to support a healthy balance of bacteria. Say “yes” to fermented foods like yogurt, kimchi, pickles, miso, sauerkraut, kefir and kombucha.  

These living foods help to fend off unwanted “bugs” and maintain healthy functioning of the gastrointestinal tract. 

Take-Away: Almased is an essential part of your immune-system armamentarium, one that can complement all of the other good things you’re doing to boost your health. When you’re thinking immune health, make sure to think Almased!