Carbohydrates:
what to include, what to skip to arm your immune system!
Carbohydrates
When it comes to carbohydrates it is just as important to include the ones that support your healthy and weight goals as it is to minimize the intake of the ones that threaten it!
Do include: a cornucopia of fruits and vegetables at every meal.
1) Cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower and brussel sprouts as they have been shown to help latch on to toxins in our colon and remove from our bodies.
2) Bitter vegetables such as broccoli rabe, escarole, endive contain compounds that contain polyphenols that help counteract free radicals.
3) Herbs, spices and teas that have even higher concentrations of essential phytonutrients help fight inflammation and boost your immune system.
4) Fermented vegetables, such as sauerkraut, kimchi as well as resistant starch such as heated/ cooled potatoes, overnight oats or greens bananas. Fermenting produces beneficial bacteria for the health of microbiome while the resistant starch provides food for the microbes to encourage proliferation and growth!
5) Fruit, especially berries such as blueberries have immune boosting flavonoids.
Best to avoid: high sources of sugar and/ or highly processed carbohydrates.
1) Sugar suppresses your immune system by blocking receptors on your cells where vitamin C should go.
2) Compromises the response of white blood cells to pathological bacteria
3) Feeds bacteria in the gut that trigger inflammation
4) Provides empty calories depleting the body of essential nutrients.
5) Associated with obesity and most if not all chronic diseases.
Bottom line: focus on getting more fruits, vegetables, herbs and spices and look to avoid sugar by reducing the amount of packaged foods and always read labels. (warning: sugar has 61 different names!)
