Help your immune system to fight illness effectively by making sure that your diet is full of foods to boost and maintain it.

Your immune system is your body's defense mechanism. By paying particular attentions to your diet, you can boos your immunity and avoid catching some illnesses in the first place or speed up your recovery if you do succumb. In particular, you should build a healthy immune system before the winter to avoid colds and flu. Make sure you eat regular meals to keep your strength up so that your body is fit enough to cope with illness.

Many immune-boosting nutrients are found in fresh fruit and vegetables. This is why doctors recommend that people eat five portions of fruit and vegetables every day. If you are unable to buy fresh produce daily, choose frozen products rather than tinned, as they retain more nutrients.

Eat vegetables raw or lightly cooked and reduce your intake of sugary, fatty foods such as cake and biscuits and cut down on alcohol and caffeine.

If levels of free radicals, produced during normal body processes, build up, they can damage body cells, influencing your health. Free radicals are linked to reduced immunity, age-related conditions and coronary problems, Parkinson's disease and some cancers.

Antioxidants neutralize free radicals, rendering them unable to cause damage. Some are found naturally in your body in the form of enzymes, but many are obtained from vegetables and fruit. Antioxidants include vitamin C and beta-carotene (found in various vegetables and fruit), vitamin E (in nuts and seeds), mixed carotenoids (in dark colored fruits) and the minerals selenium (in Brazil nuts) and zinc (in seafood).

Certain nutrients, and therefore foods, are good for your immune system. Following are some of the most important ones.

Vitamin C Vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant that enhances the activity of immune system cells. A high intake of vitamin C (above 200mg daily) can reduce the severity and duration of a cold. Smokers need twice as much vitamin C because absorption is reduced.
Food sources: Fresh fruit, especially kiwis, berries and citrus fruits, and green leafy vegetables such as broccoli and spinach.

Vitamin E Vitamin E has potent antioxidant activity and is particularly important in preventing damage to cell membranes. It also works in synergy with selenium to produce potent antioxidant effects.
Food sources: Nuts and seed oils, wholegrain cereals and sweet potatoes.

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