8 Vitamins to Support Your Immune System
The question, “What should I eat to support my immune system?” can be answered with one big word that describes a very small dietary element: micronutrients.
Micronutrients play an important role in supporting your immune system. And hey, if a healthier immune system means not missing out on time in the gym or with family and friends and spending less time in the medicine aisle of the grocery store, it’s worth prioritizing, right?
Learning how vitamins and minerals can support your health could be the difference between being the person who gets sick every year and sailing through cold and flu seasons with no problem.
Wait, what about macronutrients? Download our Ultimate Nutrition Guide to learn more.
What are Micronutrients?
When you hear “micronutrients” you probably think of vitamins first.
Maybe your doctor recommended that you take a daily multivitamin or maybe you heard a coworker say they’re getting their “daily dose of vitamin D” after eating lunch outside.
However, micronutrients include the vitamins and minerals that your body needs in small amounts.
What are Vitamins?
Vitamins are organic substances (made by plants or animals). They’re further broken down into two categories: fat-soluble and water-soluble
Fat-soluble vitamins are best absorbed when eaten with a healthy fat source. They’re then stored in your body fat and liver. Fat-soluble vitamins, such as A, D, E, and K can be used later since they are stored in the body.
Water-soluble vitamins dissolve in water. Some examples of water-soluble vitamins include C and B vitamins. They travel through your bloodstream and exit your body more quickly, typically through urine. Because water-soluble vitamins can’t be stored, it is even more important that your body replenish them.
What are Minerals?
Minerals are inorganic elements made from soil or water and absorbed by plants or consumed by animals.
There are also two types of minerals: macrominerals and trace minerals.
Your body needs macrominerals such as calcium, magnesium, and sodium in larger amounts and trace minerals like zinc and iron in smaller amounts. Minerals are important for numerous functions in the body including enzyme and hormone production, turning food into energy, bone strength, and brain operations.
Micronutrients are essential for development, well-being, and disease prevention. There are approximately 30 vitamins and minerals that your body does not produce naturally but still needs in order to stay healthy. Since your body cannot manufacture micronutrients in sufficient amounts on its own, most micronutrients come from your diet.
Wait, did I say thirty micronutrients?!
Don’t worry, in this article we’re only focusing on eight of the most important micronutrients to your immune system: vitamins A, B6, B12, C, D, and E and the minerals zinc and magnesium.
Before we dive into which vitamins and minerals do what, let’s take a crash course on the immune system.
How Does the Immune System Work?
Before we can dive into how micronutrients support the immune system, we have to back it up and answer the question, “How does the immune system work?”
It’s okay if the last time you thought about the immune system was before a high school science test. We’re giving you a brief overview of the immune system and its two types of immunity: innate and adaptive.
The Immune System 101: Innate Immunity
“Innate immunity” refers to the part of the immune system you were born with. It Includes physical and biochemical barriers and immune cells. These are your body’s first line of defence against germs.
Physical barriers keep germs from entering your body and include:
Skin
Body hair
Mucous membranes (the inner lining of some organs and body cavities like the ears, nose, and throat)
If germs break the physical barriers it becomes the job of biochemical barriers to keep the bacteria from getting much further. Some biochemical barriers include:
Tears
Sweat
Saliva
Acid
When physical and biochemical barriers are infiltrated, immune cells help stop bacteria and viruses that enter the body. Your immune system has a special type of white blood cell called scavenger cells (or phagocytes). These cells essentially “eat” germs which neutralize them until the adaptive immune system kicks in.
Natural killer cells (lymphocytes) are another type of white blood cell that plays an important role in the innate immune system. They search for cells that are infected and then kill their surface with cell toxins.
The innate immune system is fast-acting. If you get a papercut and bacteria makes its way into the wound your innate immune system detects and kills that bacteria within hours.
Your innate immunity, sometimes called “nonspecific immunity”, responds to all germs and foreign substances in the same way. That is where the next type of immunity comes into play.
The Immune System 101: Adaptive Immunity
Your adaptive immune system is made up of B cells, T cells, and antibodies. It kicks in when your innate immune system is not able to destroy the germs on its own.
Adaptive immunity takes longer than innate immunity because it identifies and then targets a specific type of germ. The adaptive immune system has to figure out what the germ is before it can respond.
T cells and B cells are the white blood cells in charge of this determination. Once activated, B cells produce antibodies that attach themselves to the cell surfaces of bacteria and viruses. This prevents the bacteria and virus cells from attaching to and infecting the normal cells in your body.
Even though it is slower (sometimes taking a few days to kick in) the adaptive immune system is more accurate. Your adaptive immune system can also remember germs, which can speed up future responses when your body is exposed to a previous infection.
How do Micronutrients Support the Immune System?
That’s the big question, right? If you know that micronutrients are some of the best things to eat to keep your immune system strong, the next question is “How do micronutrients support the immune system?”
Every part of the immune response relies on certain vitamins and minerals to function properly and efficiently. Here’s a quick, simplified breakdown:
What to Eat to Strengthen Your Immune System
You might be thinking, “Great, now I know how the immune system works and how each micronutrient supports it. But what does all this mean for me?”
Remember, your body does not produce the amounts of micronutrients that it needs on its own so you must get them from other sources.
It is ideal to meet your micronutrients needs by eating whole foods rather than by taking supplements. So where can you find each vitamin and mineral crucial to immunity? And how much should you consume each day? Check out the table below!
Chances are, you already eat a lot of the foods listed here. Isn’t this great news?! You can boost your immune system just by eating foods that are rich in micronutrients. And while you are at it, why not pair eating whole foods with drinking more water and getting quality sleep for the ultimate disease defence?
You can forget the trip to the drug store and start taking the cheapest medicine around - FOOD!
The bottom line is that micronutrients, although needed in small amounts, can make a significant difference in your health, and not just in terms of fighting sickness.
Science class dismissed!
