It’s cold, it’s raining and we’re going into another lockdown. Hunkering down on the sofa with Netflix and comfort eating our way through the winter sounds like a pretty good plan right now. The only flaw in this plan is it’s not actually going to help our immune system defend any viral invaders.
So why is processed food so bad for our immune system anyway?
Comfort eating is so normal especially in stressful times like these. Stress increases cortisol and cortisol increases our appetite. It’s so widespread I’ve heard collective weight gain being referred to as Covid 15 on account of those extra 15lbs gained during lockdown.
Our bodies are like a mini-ecosystem. Most of our immune fighting cells are located in the microbiome (our gut). If the microbiome is healthy it would look like a beautiful rainforest. Birds are singing and lush green vegetation grows everywhere. Now imagine this rainforest was cut down and space cleared to grow a single crop. Without an ecosystem to support it we would need pesticides, herbicides, fungicides and chemical fertilizers just to keep this crop going.
I’m sure you get the analogy by now. Good nutrition requires diversity, and lots of vegetation! Processed food unbalances our microbiome and weakens our immune system.
If you’re working from home and find yourself wandering into the kitchen for sugary snacks on a regular basis, take a 5 minute break and blend up an immune boosting smoothie instead. This has beetroot, carrot (these are purple carrots but orange is just as good), celery, apple, turmeric and ginger.
Immunity Boosting Smoothie
Ingredients
- 1 Beetroot
- 1 Carrot
- 1 Apple
- 1 Stick of celery
- 1/2" Ginger
- 1" Turmeric
Instructions
- Chop all ingredients and place in a blender
- Add one cup of filtered water
- Blend and serve
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