While all fruits and veggies will support immunity through their various water, fiber, and phytonutrient contents, some stand above the rest thanks to their unique combination of immune-boosting nutrients.

Here are nine of the best fruits and vegetables for immune health you can eat all year around. These slightly sweet peppers are also chock-full of water, fiber, and plant compounds.

Red bell peppers are the perfect addition to a savory stir fry, refreshing salad, or pasta dish. This cruciferous veggie is an immune-boosting powerhouse in its own right thanks to its soluble fiber and vitamin A, B6, and C content.

And thankfully, there are so many tasty ways to use broccoli in the kitchen from soups and stews to omelets, pasta, and rice dishes. While all citrus fruits deserve a mention in a list of immune-supporting foods, grapefruit gets a special shoutout in particular, thanks to its hefty amounts of vitamin C.

One grapefruit contains well over percent of your daily needs, plus soluble fiber, water, and vitamin A. Grapefruit can of course be enjoyed simply with a spoon people typically eat about half , but it also adds a fruity, acidic bite to salads, sauces, and a variety of baked goods.

It is also a source of iron. These nutrients combined with the fiber and plant compounds also found in spinach make it an excellent choice for those looking to bolster their immune system.

While this dark berry is rich in water, vitamin C, and plant compounds, its fiber content really sets it apart. With a whopping eight grams per cup , blackberries support a thriving gut microbiome, and thus an equally flourishing immune system. As an excellent source of plant compounds and vitamins C and E, avocado is certainly an immune-booster.

But did you know that avocado is one of the best sources of soluble fiber available? Its prebiotic power bodes well for both our immune systems and gut health. Add this mild and creamy green fruit to salads, wraps, sandwiches, burgers, eggs, spring rolls, and so much more.

Instead, cook and bake with fresh ginger to reap all its healthy benefits. This pungent root is a fantastic addition to stir fries, soups, rice dishes, proteins, and also many sweet treats from sorbet to baked goods to cocktails and mocktails. This tropical fruit is perfect in smoothies, fruit salads, chia pudding, and even savory marinades.

As a potent source of phytonutrients, garlic also makes this list of immune-boosting fruits and veggies. But how you consume your garlic is actually really important to reap the full benefits.

Eating a wide variety of healthy foods , including these excellent fruits and vegetables, is a key factor for helping your body prevent and fight sickness.

However, Micko reminds us that no single, magic fruit or habit works on its own. Use limited data to select advertising.

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Develop and improve services. Use limited data to select content. List of Partners vendors. The 9 Best Fruits and Vegetables for a Healthy Immune System, According to RDNs They've got fiber, vitamins, antioxidants, and so many more immunity-boosting nutrients.

By Christina Manian, RDN. Medically reviewed by Kristy Del Coro is a registered dietitian nutritionist, RDN, and professionally trained chef with more than 10 years of experience in the field of culinary nutrition.

Medically reviewed by Kristy Del Coro, MS, RDN, LDN. Learn More. Trending Videos. Exercise Is Essential for a Strong Immune System—These Health Experts Explain How Movement Can Boost Immunity. The microbiome is an internal metropolis of trillions of microorganisms or microbes that live in our bodies, mostly in the intestines.

It is an area of intense and active research, as scientists are finding that the microbiome plays a key role in immune function. The gut is a major site of immune activity and the production of antimicrobial proteins.

A high-fiber plant-rich diet with plenty of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and legumes appear to support the growth and maintenance of beneficial microbes. Certain helpful microbes break down fibers into short chain fatty acids, which have been shown to stimulate immune cell activity.

These fibers are sometimes called prebiotics because they feed microbes. Therefore, a diet containing probiotic and prebiotic foods may be beneficial. Probiotic foods contain live helpful bacteria, and prebiotic foods contain fiber and oligosaccharides that feed and maintain healthy colonies of those bacteria.

Animal studies have found that deficiencies in zinc , selenium , iron , copper, folic acid , and vitamins A , B6 , C , D , and E can alter immune responses. Epidemiological studies find that those who are poorly nourished are at greater risk of bacterial, viral, and other infections.

Eating a good quality diet, as depicted by the Healthy Eating Plate, can prevent deficiencies in these nutrients. However, there are certain populations and situations in which one cannot always eat a variety of nutritious foods, or who have increased nutrient needs.

In these cases a vitamin and mineral supplement may help to fill nutritional gaps. Studies have shown that vitamin supplementation can improve immune responses in these groups. The elderly are a particularly high-risk group. The immune response generally declines with increasing age as the number and quality of immune cells decreases.

This causes a higher risk of poorer outcomes if the elderly develop chronic or acute diseases. In addition, about one-third of elderly in industrialized countries have nutrient deficiencies. Diet variety may also be limited due to budget constraints or lower interest in cooking for one person; poor dentition; mental impairment; or lack of transportation and community resources to obtain healthy food.

Megadose supplements many times the RDA do not appear justified, and can sometimes be harmful or even suppress the immune system e. Remember that vitamin supplements should not be considered a substitute for a good diet because no supplements contain all the benefits of healthful foods.

Several herbal supplements have been suggested to boost immune function. What does the research say? Diet Review: Anti-Inflammatory Diet. Food Safety, Nutrition, and Wellness during COVID Ask the Expert: The role of diet and nutritional supplements during COVID The contents of this website are for educational purposes and are not intended to offer personal medical advice.

You should seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.

Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website. The Nutrition Source does not recommend or endorse any products. Skip to content The Nutrition Source. The Nutrition Source Menu. Search for:. Home Nutrition News What Should I Eat?

What Is Our Immune System? These barriers include: Skin that keeps out the majority of pathogens Mucus that traps pathogens Stomach acid that destroys pathogens Enzymes in our sweat and tears that help create anti-bacterial compounds Immune system cells that attack all foreign cells entering the body Adaptive or acquired immunity is a system that learns to recognize a pathogen.

Other conditions that trigger an immune response Antigens are substances that the body labels as foreign and harmful, which triggers immune cell activity. What factors can depress our immune system?

Older age: As we age, our internal organs may become less efficient; immune-related organs like the thymus or bone marrow produce less immune cells needed to fight off infections.

Aging is sometimes associated with micronutrient deficiencies, which may worsen a declining immune function. Environmental toxins smoke and other particles contributing to air pollution, excessive alcohol : These substances can impair or suppress the normal activity of immune cells.

Excess weight: Obesity is associated with low-grade chronic inflammation. Fat tissue produces adipocytokines that can promote inflammatory processes. Chronic diseases: Autoimmune and immunodeficiency disorders attack and potentially disable immune cells.

Chronic mental stress: Stress releases hormones like cortisol that suppresses inflammation inflammation is initially needed to activate immune cells and the action of white blood cells.

Lack of sleep and rest: Sleep is a time of restoration for the body , during which a type of cytokine is released that fights infection; too little sleep lowers the amount of these cytokines and other immune cells.

Does an Immune-Boosting Diet Exist? Probiotic foods include kefir, yogurt with live active cultures, fermented vegetables, sauerkraut, tempeh, kombucha tea, kimchi, and miso. Prebiotic foods include garlic, onions, leeks, asparagus, Jerusalem artichokes, dandelion greens, bananas , and seaweed.

However, a more general rule is to eat a variety of fruits, vegetables , beans , and whole grains for dietary prebiotics. Chicken soup as medicine?

Is there scientific evidence that it aids in healing? But when breaking down its ingredients, it does appear a worthwhile remedy to try. Second, it provides fluids and electrolytes to prevent dehydration, which can easily occur with a fever.

Lastly, a traditional chicken soup recipe supplies various nutrients involved in the immune system: protein and zinc from the chicken, vitamin A from carrots, vitamin C from celery and onions, and antioxidants in the onions and herbs.

A note on COVID The COVID pandemic is creating a range of unique and individual impacts—from food access issues, income disruptions, emotional distress, and beyond. References Childs CE, Calder PC, Miles EA. Diet and Immune Function. Green WD, Beck MA.

It is well known that carotenoids like beta-carotene seem to reduce damage from free radicals. Sweet potato is also rich in vitamin C, which is also a boost for the immune system. Enhance your meals with a boost of color and nutrients using sweet potato in stews, roasted in the oven, either alone or with other vegetables, or steamed.

Garlic has been used in traditional medicine to prevent or treat diseases. Due to different bioactive molecules, garlic compounds can help with DNA repair, slow the growth of cancer cells and reduce inflammation. Garlic is rich in phytochemicals, inducing many health benefits, with anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory properties.

Garlic is largely used as a flavoring in many Asian and Mediterranean cuisines. Yogurt and other probiotic foods help build up a healthy microbiome, playing a key role in immune function.

Diet can determine which kinds of microbes live in our gut. Probiotic foods —such as yogurt with live active culture, kombucha, sauerkraut, tempeh, miso and fermented vegetables — contain live active bacteria.

Including some of these natural probiotics in your eating pattern will help boost your immune system. Skip to main content. Environmental toxins smoke and other particles contributing to air pollution, excessive alcohol : These substances can impair or suppress the normal activity of immune cells.

Excess weight: Obesity is associated with low-grade chronic inflammation. Fat tissue produces adipocytokines that can promote inflammatory processes. Chronic diseases: Autoimmune and immunodeficiency disorders attack and potentially disable immune cells. Chronic mental stress: Stress releases hormones like cortisol that suppresses inflammation inflammation is initially needed to activate immune cells and the action of white blood cells.

Lack of sleep and rest: Sleep is a time of restoration for the body , during which a type of cytokine is released that fights infection; too little sleep lowers the amount of these cytokines and other immune cells.

Does an Immune-Boosting Diet Exist? Probiotic foods include kefir, yogurt with live active cultures, fermented vegetables, sauerkraut, tempeh, kombucha tea, kimchi, and miso. Prebiotic foods include garlic, onions, leeks, asparagus, Jerusalem artichokes, dandelion greens, bananas , and seaweed.

However, a more general rule is to eat a variety of fruits, vegetables , beans , and whole grains for dietary prebiotics. Chicken soup as medicine? Is there scientific evidence that it aids in healing? But when breaking down its ingredients, it does appear a worthwhile remedy to try.

Second, it provides fluids and electrolytes to prevent dehydration, which can easily occur with a fever. Lastly, a traditional chicken soup recipe supplies various nutrients involved in the immune system: protein and zinc from the chicken, vitamin A from carrots, vitamin C from celery and onions, and antioxidants in the onions and herbs.

A note on COVID The COVID pandemic is creating a range of unique and individual impacts—from food access issues, income disruptions, emotional distress, and beyond.

References Childs CE, Calder PC, Miles EA. Diet and Immune Function. Green WD, Beck MA. Obesity impairs the adaptive immune response to influenza virus. Annals of the American Thoracic Society. Guillin OM, Vindry C, Ohlmann T, Chavatte L.

Selenium, selenoproteins and viral infection. Wessels I, Maywald M, Rink L. Zinc as a gatekeeper of immune function. Molendijk I, van der Marel S, Maljaars PW.

Towards a Food Pharmacy: Immunologic Modulation through Diet. Caballero S, Pamer EG. Microbiota-mediated inflammation and antimicrobial defense in the intestine. Annual review of immunology. Li XV, Leonardi I, Iliev ID. Gut mycobiota in immunity and inflammatory disease.

Chandra RK. Nutrition and the immune system: an introduction. The American journal of clinical nutrition. Hemilä H, Louhiala P. Vitamin C for preventing and treating pneumonia. Cochrane database of systematic reviews.

Martineau AR, Jolliffe DA, Hooper RL, Greenberg L, Aloia JF, Bergman P, Dubnov-Raz G, Esposito S, Ganmaa D, Ginde AA, Goodall EC. Yogurt, Kombucha, Sauerkraut, Kimchi, Pickles, Tempeh Fermented Soybeans , and certain types of cheese contain live cultures, also known as probiotics, which are thought to help stimulate the immune system to fight off disease.

The microbiome helps you process the nutrients described throughout the rest of this article, while also acting as an extra barrier for fighting off harmful bacteria and fungi. Garlic contains compounds that help the immune system fight germs in a variety of ways by stimulating cells important to fighting disease and helping to regulate the immune system.

It helps boost the production of virus-fighting T-cells and can reduce the amount of stress hormones your body produces which can help keep your immune system functioning at full strength.

Vitamin B-6 is essential in the formation of new and healthy red blood cells, and aids in maintaining the lymphatic system. Chicken, turkey, cold-water fish salmon and tuna , chickpeas traditional hummus , bananas, fortified breakfast cereal, and nutritional yeast are great options for consuming vitamin B Water helps produce lymph which carries white blood cells and other immune system cells through the body.

There are many foods with high water content such as cucumbers, watermelon, and celery. If you have a hard time drinking plain water, try a cup of green tea with lemon, watermelon, cucumber or mint-infused water for an immune system powerhouse beverage.

Think of proper hydration as a way to make it easier for immune-boosting nutrients to get to where they need to go cells in your body. Immune system cells need zinc to function as they are intended.

Zinc is a mineral that our body does not store or produce. While oysters have the highest food content of zinc, there are several other options such as shellfish crab, clams, lobster, and mussels , poultry chicken or turkey , red meat and beans. Zinc is also found in fortified cereals and some breads, but the best absorption comes from animal-based foods.

As you take stock of this information, consider layering the practice of mindful eating to your plan. Mindful eating is a way to be present, focused and tuned in to the pleasure of eating.