When it comes to the immune system, nothing nourishes and boosts it better than a whole food traditional diet.  Processed foods, GMO’s, and sugar all create havoc on the body’s immune system and causes serious long term imbalances in the body.

In fact, research has shown that the microbiota found within the gut have a serious influence on our body’s immune system.  It has been shown that the intestinal microbiota shapes the hosts immunity and prevents inflammation in the body (1).

Sadly, if your still following a SAD (Standard American Diet) the integrity of your gut will be weak at best and your immune system will inevitable suffer.  For those looking for a starting point on how to properly eat, check out this free guide here.

Foods That Destroy Immune System Health

Grains

To be fair, most traditional diets included some form of grains in their diet.  In fact, Weston A. Price, a dentist who studied various un-contacted tribes, observed that these people had great teeth, strong bones and robust health when compared to the western world (2).

So if these native peoples were consuming grains, why are they unhealthy?  Well, for one, the grains that are available to us today no longer resemble the grains traditionally consumed by these natives.  Most grains now a day are highly hybridized, GMO, full of synthetic ingredients and sprayed with harmful pesticides.

Furthermore, these native people always prepared the grain in a special way in order to remove any anti nutrients that can interfere with digestion and absorption of vitamins and minerals.  In fact, many would soak the grains for days and make a sourdough as the end product.  Soaking and fermenting dramatically reduces the anti-nutrient load found in grains.  It’s also important to understand that these breads would have contained two ingredients; grains and water.

Research has shown that the Phytic acid found in all grains binds to minerals in the body and makes them unavailable (3).

This binding effect can lead to mineral deficiencies which can negatively affect the health of the immune system.

Further research has shown that when following a gluten (protein found in grains) free diet, patients significantly reduced inflammation and showed improvements in their immune system (4).

Unless you’re properly preparing your own bread at home with an ancient grain, grains should be excluded from the diet if you wish to build the immune system.

White Sugar

This one is obvious but many are still consuming copious amounts of this toxic byproduct of the sugar cane plant.  White sugar has absolutely no place in the human diet.  It was never consumed by our ancestors and it creates disorder in the gut microbiome.

One study showed patients following a high sugar diet saw significant changes in gut function and composition of bowels (5).

High sugar diets have also been linked to colorectal cancer risk (6).

It’s absolutely necessary that you remove all white sugar from the diet if you wish to boost the immune system.

Processed Foods

As mentioned before, a whole foods diet is the absolutely best diet to follow if you wish to build the immune system.

Processed foods are full of harmful additives which can cause serious distress in the body and disrupt the proper function of the gut.

A study conducted by The National Institute of Health revealed that mice fed a diet containing emulsifiers (abundant in processed foods)developed intestinal inflammation, increased risk of type 2 diabetes, heart disease and stroke (7).

Genetically Modified Organism (GMO)

If you could do one thing to help boost your immune it would be to avoid GMO’s at all costs.  No seriously, there’s a reason all GMO’s are banned in nearly 40 different countries.  This stuff is toxic and should not be consumed by anyone.

GMO’s are an assault on the natural world and were never a product of nature itself.  These foods are man-made and may have serious health consequences. Introducing GM foods to the microbiota within the gut could have serious unseen implications.

Altering the gut microbiome with man-made food that is not found in nature is a terrible idea.  Do yourself a favor and stay away from GM foods if you wish to boost the immune system.

Supplements to Boost the Immune System

As always, following a correct diet is the first step to regaining the health of the immune system.  However, there are also many whole food supplements that can be incorporated into the diet which can boost immune system health dramatically.

Below are the top 5 supplements to boost the immune system

1. Reishi Mushroom

Reishi is often referred to as “The Mushroom of Immortality” in Traditional Chinese Medicine.  It contains powerful immune modulating properties that can help bring either an overactive or underactive immune system to where it needs to be.

Numerous studies have shown reishi mushroom improves immune system function, fight cancer, prevent diabetes and fight bacterial infections (8)(9).

2. Chaga Mushroom

Right behind reishi in its ability to build and modulate the immune system, chaga remains to be a potent medicinal mushroom.  David Wolfe, an expert in super foods and super herbs, believes an entire immune system can be rebuilt within 6 months use of chaga mushroom.

Research indicates that continuous intake of chaga mushroom suppresses the development of cancer and helps maintain body temperature (10) (11).

3. Maitake Mushroom

This mushroom has been consumed for centuries in Asia and its immune enhancing effects are well documented in medical literature.   It’s especially useful for protecting the body against infectious disease and preventing cancer.

A study found that patients suffering from myelodysplastic syndromes (blood disorder) showed significant improvements when consuming a maitake mushroom extract (12)

Further research indicates that maitake can induce death of cancer cells in patients with breast cancer (13).

Host Defense makes a high quality maitake mushroom product for those interested in supplementing with this amazing mushroom.

4. Fermented Foods

Not exactly a supplement but definitely worth adding to your diet, fermented foods can help improve the gut microbiome and boost the immune system.

You can read more about fermented foods and how to make them in our post here.

5. Astragalus

Used in Traditional Chinese Medicine for centuries, astragalus makes an excellent addition for anyone wishing to boost the immune system naturally.  This herb has been used traditionally for treating autoimmune conditions in the body.

A study conducted in Beijing showed that astragalus can control t-helper cells 1 and 2 and regulates the body’s immune responses (14)

It has also been shown to help control a number of infectious diseases and protects the body from the effects of stress (15)

 

 

2. Price WA. Nutrition and physical degeneration: a comparision of primitive and modern diets and their effects. Oxford: Benediction Classics; 2010.