Wondering How to Boost Your Immune System? Funghi and Ferment to the Rescue

Wondering how to boost your immune system? Eat more mushrooms. Mushrooms are high in selenium and B vitamins like riboflavin and niacin. These minerals and vitamins are necessary for the immune system to work in tip top form. Mushrooms are also high in polysaccharides, sugar-like molecules that boost immune function.

Mushrooms have a savory quality that can enhance the flavor of many dishes. Not quite sure how to eat mushrooms? Try the following mouth-watering ways to serve up these tasty fungi.

• Sautéing, grilling, and roasting will help bring out the rich, savory flavor of mushrooms.
• Mushrooms make a great addition to scrambled eggs and omelets.
• Toss sliced mushrooms into soups, salads, or lasagna.
• Enjoy Portobello mushroom tops in veggie burgers.
• Stuffed mushrooms make tasty hors d’oeuvres.

If Mushrooms really aren’t your thing, you could try to go the fermented route. Miso soup has been a staple in Japanese cuisine for centuries. Miso is a salty paste made from fermented soybeans. It is rich in probiotics that are beneficial for gastrointestinal health and boosting the immune system. A lack of beneficial bacteria or an imbalance of bacteria in the GI tract is associated with a variety of medical conditions including irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), food allergies, gastroenteritis, inflammatory bowel disease (ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease), and even certain kinds of cancers. Sipping a cup of miso soup is a great way to introduce beneficial food-based probiotics into the GI tract.

Beneficial microorganisms found in miso soup and other fermented foods perform a variety of necessary functions in the GI tract. They synthesize vitamins and amino acids. They produce short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) that the cells lining the GI tract use for fuel. The probiotics establish a healthy balance of flora in the gastrointestinal tract, protecting against pathogenic strains that try to take hold. About 70% of the immune system lies in the gut. Healthy, balanced gut flora makes for a strong immune system.

If you want to give your body a super immune boost, put some mushrooms in your miso soup!

—
Photo Credit:  AdelinaSr / Shutterstock.com