Feed Your Immune System
This was published in the March 26, 2020 edition of The Fish Wrap
The immune systems of plants and humans have a lot in common. Strong immunity makes us both resistant to bugs and disease. The plant properties that contribute to a strong immune system also make the plant more nutrient dense, which in turn strengthens our immune system when we eat it! Immunity is all about supporting the defenses and removing the stressors.
Plants’ immunity is bolstered by the soil. The soil acts like the human gut to support the defences and remove the stressors. One of the ways plants support their defences is to build complex, nutrient dense leaves and fruits. Bugs’ simple digestive systems can’t digest the compounds in healthy leaves, so they seek out the less healthy plants. On RLF, we focus on building and supporting the soil to give our plants a helping hand with strong defenses.
You are probably already washing your hands and avoiding crowds of people to remove some of the stressors. But in human immunity, some of the defenses you want to strengthen and stressors you want to remove come from food. Nutritious food and healthy digestion are keys to strong immune defence. Stressors to the immune system include sugar, processed food and poor gut bacteria.
The food you choose can support a strong immune system! Nutrient dense, whole foods put the least stress on our bodies, and contain all the building blocks for a strong defense. Use this simple guide to tell if it’s a processed or whole food:
Whole food probably doesn’t come in a box
It has 5 or fewer ingredients and the first 3 aren’t sugar
All of the ingredients are words you recognize and all of them are food!
Choosing locally produced whole foods has the added assurance of the source, growing practices and availability!