Juices to Boost Your Immune System
Everyone knows that eating a healthy, balanced diet with fresh fruits and vegetables can improve your overall health and well-being and provide essential vitamins and minerals to bolster immunity. But eating fruits and vegetables is not the only way to boost immunity; you also can drink them. In fact, some people prefer to drink juice because it is quicker and easier than eating the recommended servings of fruits and vegetables in a day. However, there are some juices that pack more power for your immune system than others:
- Kale Juice - Kale is a great source of nutrients including vitamins A, C and K. Raw kale is especially high in antioxidants, including beta-carotene, which helps to protect against conditions such as heart disease. Additionally, Kale has been shown to reduce LDL (bad) cholesterol.
- Carrot Juice – Carrots are low in calories and high in vitamin A, biotin and potassium. They are chocked full of carotenoids which function as powerful antioxidants in your body, these include beta-carotene, lycopene, alpha-carotene, and lutein. Carotenoids may be linked to a lower risk of degenerative eye diseases, heart disease and certain types of cancer, including prostate. Due to their slightly sweet flavor, carrots are the perfect choice for juicing and blend nicely with citrus or beets.
- Beet Juice - Beets are vibrant in color, earthy in flavor and full of health benefits. They are packed with manganese, potassium and folate and are high in nitrates which may improve blood pressure and enhance athletic and mental performance. Don't forget to use the beet greens when juicing - they are also nutrient-rich!
- Orange Juice – Orange juice, as well as other citrus fruits, are good sources of vitamin C. Vitamin C is an antioxidant that protects cells from substances that damage the body. Vitamin C also promotes white blood cell and antibody production, which helps defend against foreign invaders.
- Tomato Juice – Tomato juice is a top source of vitamin C and vitamin A; both vitamins play an integral role in immune health.
- Kiwi Strawberry Juice with Mint – Both kiwis and strawberries are sweet fruits full of vitamin C, and mint is an herb that is a good source of folate, vitamin A, magnesium, and zinc. Kiwi strawberry juice with mint boosts immunity and helps the body fight infection.
Juicing Your Way to Immune Health
Because it’s possible to reap the benefits of certain fruits and vegetables by consuming them in juice form, the juicing trend emerged as a way to gain the benefits of different fruits and vegetables in powerful, blended beverages.
There are thousands of juicing recipes blending the effects of multiple fruits and vegetables to create a rich, immune-boosting smoothie or beverage to supplement your healthy diet and regular exercise program to improve your immune health and overall well-being. Combinations such as tomato-carrot juice offer a robust combination of antioxidants and Vitamin A to boost collagen health in the skin, providing a barrier to entry for pathogens that can cause disease and regulating the activity of immune cells including T-cells, B-cells, and cytokines. Not to mention, this combination is an excellent one for warding off the effects of aging on your skin.
If your taste buds aren’t the biggest fans of tomato juice, other combinations such as carrot-apple-pear juice offer a tasty and beneficial alternative. The possibilities are endless, and once you’ve learned the various immune-boosting effects of a variety of fruits, vegetables, and even herbs, you can create your own immune-enhancing juice combinations to bolster immunity, fight the effects of aging, and ward off everything from chronic disease to the common cold.
