If you have been falling ill lately, doctors suggest that you check the type of foods you have been eating in the last three months.
According to the physicians, what you eat can either boost or weaken your immunity level.
Family health physician, Dr. Segun Agbaje, says that when people fall ill regularly and they do not feel as energised they used to, it is most often because of unhealthy habits or diets.
Agbaje, a consultant says, “Antibodies are cells that boost the immunity levels of the body. They help the body to ward off illnesses, including viruses and bacteria, and the more of them that you have in your body, the healthier you will be.
“When you eat fried foods, junk and over cooked foods, the body suffers to break them down even when it will get almost nothing from such foods. As this continues, you immunity level reduces because you are starving it of nutrients that it is supposed to use to produce antibodies.”
Antibodies are critical to our daily existence. For instance, scientists have tied the survival of the Ebola Virus Disease victims to the high levels of antibodies in their body system.
They also say that more than 80 per cent of the diseases affecting and killing humanity, including cancer, heart diseases, hepatitis B, occur when the level of antibodies in the body system is low due to one reason or the other.
Agbaje adds that these cells are often built up to fight off toxins from microbes and other germs that may cause sickness and infections in the body.
He states, “Antibodies develop our immune system to help the body to fight infectious organisms so that diseases do not occur. It is nature’s way of ensuring that the body and the immune system do not succumb to foreign things.
“There are diseases such as Ebola that have no known cure. But people have survived EVD because their bodies were naturally able to fight the disease through antibodies. Those who did not survive it could be because they did not have enough of antibodies.
“Also as you grow older, your antibodies reduce because they are getting tired of fighting off germs and the body is weary of producing more of them. You may have to take extra steps to boost your level of antibodies to build your body’s defences against some diseases,” Agbaje adds.
According to experts, several factors, including your fitness level and overall state of being influence the number of antibodies in the body. They, however, affirm that the most important of the factors is your diet.
If you have been feeling weak lately, it may just be because your immunity level is weak and you need to strengthen it.
Though there are a few medications that can be taken to increase antibodies, eating the right foods can have the same effect without the side effects of using drugs.
Eat oranges
Oranges are one of the healthiest foods to eat in order to increase antibodies. A physician and professor at the University of California, Dr. Bill Sears, states that the high level of vitamin C in oranges increases the production of antibodies in the body and stops viruses from entering the body. This may be the reason many people take vitamin C to get over a cold faster. Though it can be taken in a supplement form, it is better to get vitamin C from oranges because they have other health benefits, including antioxidants and fibre.
Cook with fresh garlic, onions
This potent onion relative contains the active ingredient allicin, which fights infection and bacteria. British researchers gave 146 people either a placebo or a garlic extract for 12 weeks; the garlic takers were two-thirds less likely to catch a cold. Other studies suggest that garlic lovers who chew more than six cloves a week have a 30 per cent lower rate of colorectal cancer and a 50 per cent lower rate of stomach cancer.
Switch to fish
According to the world’s healthiest foods, fish can help boost antibody levels in two ways. Fish is rich in dietary protein, which helps to stimulate the immune system and heal the body. The omega 3 fatty acids found in fish can prevent the body from getting infections by increasing antibodies.
Drink tea
People who drank five cups a day of black tea for two weeks had 10 times more virus-fighting interferon in their blood than others who drank a placebo hot drink, a recent Harvard study revealed. The amino acid that is responsible for this immune boost, L-theanine, is abundant in both black and green tea—decaf versions have it, too.
Drink several cups daily. To get up to five times more antioxidants from your tea bags, bob them up and down while you brew.
