You know good nutrition is essential to your health, and Meghan Telpner, certified nutritionist and holistic lifestyle consultant, confirms that eating a balanced diet allows us to build up our body’s defences and remain strong.
"When looking to steer clear of any virus, it is essential to eat an array of vegetables to ensure we get our bodies into an alkaline state, as opposed to an acidic one," she says, adding viruses and bad bacteria thrive in acidity.
"By eating healthy foods, we get all the nutrients we need to help us lower our stress levels, improve our sleep, and maintain our good gut bacteria,' she says.
Health-boosting nutrients for Super Women
Telpner recommends vitamins A, C, E, zinc and probiotics to boost health. Need convincing why? Read on to understand how these – plus a few other key nutrients – play a major role in supporting and strengthening your health.
• Vitamin C: Helps build white blood cells, the soldiers that actively seek out and destroy invaders. Find it readily in red bell peppers, steamed broccoli, strawberries, oranges and kale.
• Vitamin A: Important for immunity and supporting your fleet of health-boosting soldiers. Vitamin A also keeps the respiratory and digestive tracts healthy, your first lines of defense against germs. Find it readily in carrots, spinach, sweet potato, kale and winter squash.
• Vitamin E: Important for the nervous system and red blood cells, which carry oxygen throughout the body. Find it readily in sunflower seeds, almonds, olives, and boiled greens like Swiss chard and kale.
• B-complex vitamins: Essential for red blood cell production and maintenance. Red blood cells carry energizing oxygen through your entire body and keep your system strong. B-complex vitamins also help to support and regulate the nervous system. Find B vitamins in salmon (B12), bananas (B6), sunflower seeds (B1), chicken (B3), mushrooms (B2), yogurt (B5), or find all the key B-complex vitamins in a convenient multivitamin.
• Vitamin D: Important in the development and maintenance of bones and teeth. Find vitamin D in Chinook salmon, cow's milk, eggs, and safe doses of sunshine.
• Selenium: This understated trace element helps produce enzymes that regulate the body’s defenses and protects it against free radicals. New studies suggest selenium may help against inflammatory diseases. Find selenium in mushrooms, turkey, eggs, oats and tofu.
• Probiotics: The best friends of your intestines, probiotics are the strong-armed bouncers in the nightclub of your intestines: many invaders that make it in are promptly escorted out. But when there are a few bouncers, not every bad guy gets caught. Find probiotics in kefir, yogurt, saurkraut, kimchi, or conveniently in an over-the-counter probiotic supplement.
Remember to consult your doctor before adding vitamin supplements to your daily routine.