Infections: 4 Foods That Fight Them Off

When it comes to dealing with infection, your greatest ally is your immune system.

The immune system fights off infections by employing antibodies and white blood cells to locate and destroy the organisms that cause them. A strong immune system will battle the organisms quickly after they’re detected within the body. A weak immune system will fight the same battle and either take much longer to win it, or will lose as infection spreads.

Antibodies are proteins of the immune system that attach to microbes and help to neutralize the toxins or infection that they produce.

The white blood cells used by the immune system are created in the bone’s marrow and move through blood and tissue, searching for microbes. Once they’ve found their targets, their job is to defeat them and then commit a profile of the offenders to memory. That way, if they come across that microbe again, they’ll remember how to destroy effectively (speeding up the healing process).

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Within Immune Support, a whole food supplement by NutriPlex Formulas, are a host of powerful ingredients that work to build your immune system and fortify it against attacking microbes.

Here are 4 foods proven to be effective against infection:

1. Garlic: It’s commonly known that garlic is a champion for the immune system. Garlic has been used historically to fight infection and bacteria, and was even used in both world wars to prevent gangrene. Within one clove of garlic exists more than 100 sulfuric compounds, as well as potassium, calcium, and allicin – a cocktail of nutrients strong enough to knock out bacteria and infection.

2. Green Tea: Catechins, components within green tea, have been shown to kill off bacteria, inhibit viruses, and lower the risk of infection. For this reason, green tea has proven increasingly beneficial in dental health, where consumption of either extract or liquid has led to a reduction in bad breath and the risk of caries.

3. Echinacea: A staple herb in many medicine cabinets, echinacea has been used to treat infections and wounds for hundreds of years. Current studies have shown the herb to promote immune function, provide pain relief, reduce inflammation, and have hormonal, antioxidant, and antiviral effects. As a result, echinacea is often used to treat urinary tract infections, yeast infections, ear infections, sinusitis, and open wounds.

4. Astragalus: Astragalus is a Chinese herb that has gained a great deal of attention in the West for its immune system—enhancing properties. The herb is known as an immunostimulant, which means it activates and speeds up the body’s immune response. Astragalus increases the amount of stem cells present in bone marrow and hastens their maturity into white blood cells. Then, it ushers the white blood cells to the areas of infection, allowing them to fight the microbes off faster.

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Infections: 4 Foods that Fight Them Off

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