There aren’t many people that would turn down the chance to boost their immune system and reduce their chances of illness. But do you know which are the best vitamins for your immune system? This article will explain which vitamins are best for immune support, giving you the boost that you need, when you need it the most.
Many people choose to take vitamins to support their immune system. Taking immunity support vitamins can help you fend off illness whilst promoting optimum health.
Can Vitamins Really Strengthen Your Immune System?
Let's face it, no one likes getting ill. It’s an inconvenience that we have to deal with, but there aren’t many people who would turn down a chance of boosting their immune system and minimising their chances of getting ill.
What if we told you that there are supplements that you can take to strengthen your immune system and keep the illnesses away?
Read on to discover the best vitamins to support and strengthen your immune system.
View our range of immunity-boosting supplements here
How To Boost Your Immune System
The immune system is complex and many factors go into keeping it healthy. You need your immune system to function effectively to fend off illness and keep you in optimum health. However, you also don’t want your immune system to overreact, leading to allergies and autoimmune disorders. A delicate balance is required to keep your immune system operating at its best.
Despite the complexity of your immune system, there’s a few everyday things that you can do to give your immune system a boost and help it to function optimally.
1. Maintain a healthy diet
Your diet is critical for maintaining a healthy immune system. It should contain plenty of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, lean protein and healthy fats.
Eating a healthy diet will help to ensure that your immune system has the energy that it needs, as well as being supplied with the micronutrients that it needs to operate effectively.
2. Exercise regularly
Exercise helps to boost your circulation, giving your immune cells a boost when it comes to getting around your body. In fact, research shows that just 30 minutes of exercise a day can help to stimulate your immune system.
3. Get plenty of sleep
Studies have shown that a lack of sleep can have a negative impact on your immune system, leaving you at an increased risk of falling ill. Making sure that you get enough sleep every night can give your body the time that it needs to produce infection-fighting molecules, helping your body to fend off infection.
4. Minimise stress
Stress can suppress your immune system, especially if your stress levels remain high for an extended period. It’s important to understand how to identify stress and work to minimise it. This could be through relaxation, meditation, deep breathing and self-care.
5. Take supplements for immunity support
If you aren’t getting enough micronutrients through your diet, it’s likely that your immune system will suffer. You can make sure that you’re consuming the nutrients that your body needs by taking vitamin supplements. This can also help to give your immune system that extra boost when it’s needed.
Find our range of immune system supplements here
Benefits Of Taking Vitamins For Your Immune System
It’s important to recognise the importance of eating a healthy balanced diet when it comes to maintaining a strong immune system. However, a large proportion of the population don’t eat enough fresh fruit, vegetables and other foods that we need to keep our immune systems strong throughout the year.
For example, many people know that vitamin C helps to provide immunity, but it’s not as simple as eating a single orange and watching your body fend off the illnesses. You need to be consistent in your approach and it’s not always that easy.
Taking vitamin supplements can help to ensure that your body is consistently receiving the nutrients it needs to maintain a strong and healthy immune system. Although the benefits of eating a healthy diet cannot be underestimated, taking immunity supplements can complement your diet and give your immune system a boost.
Which Vitamins Will Strengthen Your Immune System?
Many people take vitamins supplements to help keep their immune system in good shape. Vitamin supplements can support your body in fighting off infections and help you to recover quicker when you do catch an illness.
Here are our top recommendations for vitamin and mineral supplements which can help to strengthen your immune system and aid your body in fending off infection.
Discover our range of immune-boosting supplements here
Vitamin A
Vitamin A is often referred to as an anti-inflammatory vitamin thanks to its crucial role in enhancing immune function. This vitamin has been proven to play a key part in the development of the immune system and in supporting cellular immune responses.
Foods such as eggs, fortified breakfast cereals, liver and dark leafy vegetables contain high levels of vitamin A. However, if you aren’t getting enough vitamin A from your food, taking a vitamin A supplement could help to boost your immune system. However, you should avoid taking vitamin A supplements during pregnancy.
Vitamin B6
Vitamin B6 is crucial for maintaining a healthy immune system. This is because vitamin B6 helps to support biochemical reactions within the immune system. Studies have shown that a deficiency in vitamin B6 can lead to the immune system failing to function effectively, whilst supplementing with vitamin B6 can strengthen the body’s immune response.
You can find vitamin B6 in chicken, fish, green vegetables and houmous. However, if your diet doesn’t contain enough vitamin B6, you may find that you begin to catch infections more easily. Supplementing your diet with vitamin B6 can help to support your immune system, helping to keep illnesses at bay.
Find our range of immunity supplements here
Vitamin C
Vitamin C is one of the best-known vitamins for immune support. Research has shown vitamin C to be a strong antioxidant whilst supporting many of cellular immune functions. If your body becomes deficient in vitamin C, your immunity will be impaired and you will become more susceptible to illness as your immune system will struggle to function effectively.
Citrus fruits such as oranges, grapefruits and tangerines are well-known sources of vitamin C. However, you’ll also find vitamin C in strawberries, bell peppers, broccoli, kale and spinach.
Your body is unable to produce or store vitamin C so it’s important to make sure that you consume enough of this vitamin every day. Taking a daily vitamin C supplement is a good way to ensure that you get the right amount of vitamin C to support your immune system and protect against illness.
Vitamin D
Vitamin D is best known for its role in promoting healthy bones. However, vitamin D also plays an important role in the immune system. It helps to facilitate immune responses, enabling the immune system to function normally. If you’re deficient in vitamin D, you may find yourself more susceptible to illness.
Often referred to as the sunshine vitamin, vitamin D is found naturally in sunlight. Before effective antibiotics were discovered, vitamin D was often used to treat infections such as tuberculosis, through increased exposure to sunlight.
In the UK, many people are deficient in vitamin D. This is because we lack sunlight, particularly in the winter months. For this reason, the NHS recommends that both adults and children take a daily vitamin D supplement, especially through the winter. Not only will this help you to maintain optimum bone health but it will also help to support your immune system.
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Vitamin E
Vitamin E is one of the most effective nutrients when it comes to maintaining a healthy immune system. It helps your body to fight off infection thanks to its strong antioxidant properties.
Although vitamin E deficiency is rare, taking vitamin E supplements above the current daily recommendations has been proven in studies to strengthen the immune system and help to prevent infection. This is particularly useful in older adults.
Vitamin E can be found in nuts, seeds and leafy green vegetables such as spinach. If you think that you might not be getting enough vitamin E from your diet, or you just want to boost your immune response, taking vitamin E supplements could help to strengthen your immune system.
Calcium
Calcium is often thought of as a mineral which supports healthy bone growth. However, it can also help to strengthen your body’s immune response.
Although research into calcium is still ongoing, it has recently been discovered that calcium plays a key role in the activation of cells in the immune system.
It’s important that your body is able to fight against invading microbes whilst also recognising the body’s own tissue to prevent autoimmune disease. Calcium signals are important for keeping the immune system balanced, creating an immune response at the appropriate time.
Calcium can be found in dairy products, green leafy vegetables and fortified products such as bread, cereals and soya drinks. If you think that your diet may be lacking in calcium, taking a calcium supplement could help to improve your immune system.
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Magnesium
Magnesium is an essential mineral for the body, helping to strengthen muscles and bones whilst supporting bodily functions such as the cardiac system, nervous system and brain. However, it also plays a key role in supporting a healthy immune system.
Deficiency in magnesium has been proven to reduce the effectiveness of the immune system, making magnesium supplementation beneficial for maintaining a healthy immune system. Not only that, but it is also thought that magnesium could help to reduce the risk of cancers by preventing carcinogens from binding to cells and DNA.
You can find magnesium in foods such as cashews, almonds and spinach. However, if you don’t get enough magnesium from your diet, it could be a good idea to take magnesium supplements. This can help to boost your immune system and protect against illness.
Zinc
Zinc plays a critical role in the immune system, helping to activate the cells which are responsible for fighting infection. This powerful antioxidant also supports the immune system by activating the enzymes which help to break down the proteins in viruses and bacteria, preventing them from spreading.
Zinc is so powerful that it has even been found to destroy microbes such as E. coli by overloading them. This is why zinc is found in many immunity multivitamins, thanks to its pivotal role in supporting a healthy immune system.
You can find zinc in foods such as oysters, red meat, beans, nuts and whole grains. If you become deficient in zinc, it can have a dramatic effect on your body’s immune system. If you think that you might not be getting enough zinc from your diet, it may be a good idea to take zinc supplements. This can help to support your immune system and help to prevent illness.
Discover our full range of immune-boosting supplements here
Should You Take Vitamin Supplements For Your Immune System?
Your immune system relies on many different vitamins and minerals to operate effectively. If you become deficient in any of these micronutrients, you may find that your body’s immune response is compromised and you fall ill more regularly as a result.
Taking vitamin supplements can help to promote a healthy immune system, fending off infection and helping your body to recover more quickly when you do become ill.
Related Questions
What Lowers Your Immune System?
There are many things that may weaken your immune system. These include smoking, alcohol and eating a poor diet. Illnesses such as the common cold and flu can also weaken your immune system temporarily. However, there are many things that you can do to boost your immune system such as eating a healthy diet, making sure that you get enough sleep and taking immunity-boosting supplements.
Which Foods Help To Boost Immunity?
The best way to help your immune system to function effectively is to eat a varied and nutritious diet. Foods which can help to boost your immunity include citrus fruit broccoli spinach garlic and red Bell peppers. If you think that you may not be getting enough nutrients from your diet, it may be a good idea to supplement your diet with extra vitamins and minerals. This can help to boost your immunity and help to prevent illness.
Boost Your Immune System With Vitamin Supplements
If you’re looking for a way to strengthen your immune system and help to prevent illness, taking vitamin supplements may help. At Evo Nutrition, we have a vast range of vitamin supplements which can help to promote a healthy immune system and fend off infections and illness.
You can find our full range of immune-boosting supplements here.
