Foods For Your Immune System

As being quarantined in the house isn't overwhelming, you have to make sure you take care of yourself. As eight hours of sleep and three balanced meals can be essential to live a healthy lifestyle, your body needs more than breakfast and a gym routine.

Each day, I've been following the latest news regarding the coronavirus (COVID-19) disease. As many states and countries begin to alert residents about the spread of the coronavirus disease it has many people worried.

Including myself.

Local stories and markets are limiting essential products like toilet paper and non-perishable foods can be overwhelming to adapt to.

You can have all the toilet paper on your street, but what about your immune system? In order to combat against COVID-19, you'll need more than toilet paper and paper towels.

Here's a list of home grown foods you can add to your kitchen table to help strengthen your immune system.

Passion fruit

Known as the fruit of the Passiflora vine, a type of passion flower. Passion fruit is also known as passiflora edulis and passiflora flavicarpa.

The tropical fruit originates from sub tropical climates in Asia, Europe, Australia, North and South America.

Passion fruit is rich in plant compounds carotenoids and polyphenols.

According to Healthline, passion fruit has more polyphenols than other fruits like bananas, papaya and pineapple, to name a few. Polyphenols act as an anti-inflammatory which reduces the risk of chronic inflammation like heart disease.

Passion fruit is rich in antioxidants like vitamin C and beta carotene. Vitamin C in passion fruit protects your skin from cell damage and supports positive immunity and against heart disease.

Beta carotene converts to Vitamin A, which is good for vision and lowers the risks of cancers targeting the prostate, colon, stomach and breast.

Whether you drink or eat the tropical fruit, the seeds of the passion fruit are rich in piceatannol, a polyphenol compound. Piceatannol can improve insulin sensitivity and lowers the risk of type 2 diabetes.

Since passion fruit is light [as well as tasty], it's high in fiber which improves gut health.

Valerian Root

When I was 18, my mother had a breast cancer scare. At that time, I worked at a local vitamin supplement store. I remember researching numerous natural remedies to help my mother with her insecurity of losing her hair. Luckily, I discovered Valerian root was an ideal remedy as she feared chemotherapy was near.

Valerian is an herb originated from Europe, Asia and North America.

Known as "nature's Valium" was used in ancient medicine for better sleep.

Valerian roots contain antioxidants like hesperidan and linarin which contains sedative elements to aid in anxiety and sleeping disorders.

The earthly smelling herb can reduce symptoms of anxiety disorder or obsessive compulsive disorder, also known as OCD.

According to Healthline, studies show Valerian root may help ease anxious feelings. In a two month study, adult participants with obessive compulsive disorder. Participants consumed Valerian root daily for eight weeks and saw signs of reduced triggered behaviors.

In a study of 169 school children, Valerian improved focus and impulsiveness by 50%.

Another study showed adults with insomnia found that Valerian root helps participants fall asleep faster by 36%.

It's great that Valerian root is non-habit form, so my mother was able to take it daily without the co-dependency. Valerian root is consumable in capsule pills or in liquid form, like tea.

Here's a few Valerian root items I highly recommend:

Elderberries

Elderberries, also known as Sambucus nigra. The tasty elderberries are from the black elderberry bush.

Elderberries have antiviral, anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer properties. The tasty dark berry is high in flavonoids which is good for combating bacterial sinus infections and flu symptoms.

Studies show that elderberry can decrease the duration one can suffer with the flu or common cold.

Elderberries are used to make syrups and throat lozenges.

Elderberry may help strengthen your immune system against coronavirus (COVID-19) infection.

Here's my favorite form(s) of taking elderberries. I like to mix any of my favorite forms with my smoothies, hot oats or baked goods.

During this time of quarantine ....

We should all come together as this is the time to show how united we are. I hope this article brings you and your loved ones some relief on how to combat against the coronavirus (COVID-19) disease.

Have any suggestions on foods you would like me to research? Comment and tip down below!