[LifeStyle] These are the best foods to boost your immune system

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Eating a healthy and balanced diet is one of the most important habits to help strengthen our defenses or immune system.

Living healthy habits is essential to reduce the risk of disease. And having and maintaining a healthy and balanced diet is one of those habits, a fundamental pillar that can help us protect and maintain (more) strong our immune system, that is, our body's natural defense against infections.

How should our diet be to make our immune system stronger? José Manuel Fernández García, head of the nutrition group of the Spanish Society of General and Family Physicians (SEMERGEN) explains to EL ESPAÑOL that the most important thing is to follow a healthy diet, the one that is recommended to reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases, because this diet also improves the immune system.
"The essential thing is to eat a diet based on the Mediterranean diet pattern where fruits, vegetables and vegetables predominate mainly, which is a diet rich in antioxidants and micronutrients, which is fundamentally what our body
needs ", says Fernández. In this way, the diet that we must follow must be made up of some basic rules that mark the nutritional recommendations. These are the following:

A consumption of five servings of fruits, vegetables and vegetables daily; whole grains and complex carbohydrates, that is, unrefined products; a weekly consumption of meat and fish, preferably more fish than meat and preferably white meat over red meat; I consume legumes in all their varieties (according to the recommendations 2-3 weekly servings); daily consumption of dairy products (in the form of cheeses, yogurts and milk) and weekly consumption of eggs (nothing happens, it saves medical contraindications, by taking an egg a day). One of the basic essentials of our diet must be olive oil, both for cooking and for dressing and it is also important to include nuts daily (raw or toasted).

"Processed meats and processed foods / products should only be for occasional consumption," says the expert. As for salt, it is important not to exceed the 5 grams per day indicated in the recommendations and as for sugar, you should take the least refined sugar possible, both in the form of sugar and in the form of sweets and industrial pastries (according to the Organization World Health, no more than 25 grams a day, however in Spain we take an average of about 110 grams per day).

A healthy lifestyle
In addition to food, it is essential to exercise regularly and get adequate rest. "About 30 minutes of physical activity a day, along with a healthy diet and a good rest is the best protection for the immune system," says Fernández.

"It is important to maintain common sense at all times. You must eat a healthy and balanced diet, good hydration, practice physical exercise regularly and sleep and rest properly."

The most important thing is not to take specific foods or others, because each person has a different metabolism, the fundamental thing to protect our immune system and our health in general, is to "lead a healthy lifestyle."

In spite of everything, the SEMERGEN expert wants to make one thing very clear: "There is no specific diet to protect against viruses, nor from the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus," he assures.

There are protection measures against viruses, such as, above all, the annual flu vaccination. Also and in the specific case that concerns us these weeks due to the coronavirus emergency, "it is important to follow the recommendations of the authorities, such as washing your hands, not coughing on top of others (doing it on the elbow) and staying away from the spotlights. contact"