With the ever-increasing Covid-19 cases, we need to boost our immunity to stay fit. If our immune system is strong, then we’ll be better prepared to tackle the pandemic. The food we eat plays an important role in strengthening our immunity. While we search for foods that boost our immunity, we often forget to exclude the ones causing harm. Now, let’s turn our focus on things that are degrading our immunity.
Let’s look at five foods that weaken our immune system:
Salty foods
Salty foods like chips, frozen items and fast food tend to make our immunity low. They trigger tissue inflammation, increasing the risk of immune diseases. Too much salt is also said to hamper our normal immune response.
Fried foods
Fried foods contain excess oil which can lead to various diseases harming our immune system. They promote inflammation in our cells and deplete the antioxidant mechanism of our body, leading our immune system to work slowly. As fried foods require high temperatures to cook, they form advanced glycation end products (AGEs) which can damage our cellular function.
Candies
Candies are not only bad for our gums and digestive system, but they also impact our immunity. Candies have too much sugar which inhibits the immune cells to fight foreign bacteria.
Soda or Aerated Drinks
Sugary drinks are always a no when it comes to staying healthy. However, soda and other aerated drinks possess to be the biggest culprits in making our immune system weak. Experts believe that carbonated drinks often contain phosphorus that can deplete the calcium from our body. Calcium is important to activate immune cells. Therefore, low calcium means lower immunity.
Alcohol
Alcohol like beer and wine tends to react to our body’s normal functioning. If taken in excess, alcohol can increase blood sugar, the stress hormone, and insulin which can harm our body. Alcohol doesn’t let our immune system work properly and chances of infection increase in people having chronic alcoholism.