Unfortunately, there are many foods that are not healthy for our body and at the same time weaken our immune system. We would like to provide a little insight into this. The list is of course not complete, but it can certainly provide some food for thought.
Sugar
There is much discussion about how harmful sugar can be. However, it is certain that excessive sugar consumption not only causes weight gain, but can also promote the development of bacteria and fungi. This unnecessarily overloads the immune system, too. Highly processed food contains a bunch of industrial sugar and it should therefore not play a central role in our diet. Fortunately, there are now many delicious recipes to be found online that are low in sugar or even sugar-free.
Deep-fried food
Fried foods are bursting with fat and oil and are poison for the immune system. Participants in a study in the USA (90 % men, average age 64) were followed for 3 years and their eating habits were documented. It was striking that the people who ate fried foods the most frequently developed Coronary heart disease (CHD, coronary arteries become too narrow through plaque by supplying oxygen to the heart). The higher the consumption of fried foods, the higher the risk of CHD, which can develop into heart failure, arrhythmia or even a heart attack.
Therefore, it is better to avoid fried foods as much as possible in order to protect our immune system on daily basis.
Alcohol
Contrary to the common opinion that a glass of alcohol now and then can do no harm, many studies show how harmful alcohol consumption is to the body. Above all, regular or excessive consumption cripples the immune system the most.
Not only does it make you more susceptible to infectious diseases, but the hormone system and the liver really suffer from the toxin alcohol.
Salt
Here applies: The dose makes the poison! Salt is essential for a functioning metabolism, but we usually consume far too much of it in everyday life. Pizza, chips, hamburgers, convenience food…
Excessive salt consumption increases blood pressure and weakens the immune system. It is more helpful to prepare your own meals fresh and to use spices and herbs for seasoning.
By the way, our usual Kitchen salt is in fact relatively unhealthy, since all the nutrients that natural salt normally contains have been removed from it during refining.
If you want to change and improve your health, you can start by replacing the “normal” table salt with sea salt. If you want to go one step further, you should switch to Celtic Sea salt or Pink Himalayan salt. These still contain plenty of minerals and trace elements. It is also advisable to prepare a mix of sea salt and Himalayan salt yourself and keep it ready for use in the kitchen.
It is certainly worthwhile to find out more about salt!
Fast Food
Fast, cheap and delicious – fast food has revolutionised the food industry and unfortunately it is very often seen as a pillar of many people’s diets. Almost every single one of the highly processed foods contains large amounts of fat, salt or sugar – or even all three.
The health disadvantages are generally well known and need no longer be explained here.
Food additives
We have already mentioned that convenience foods are unhealthy. They contain countless additives to make the dishes tastier, more colorful, tastier and more durable. Very often, for example, Monosodium glutamate (MSG) and Aspartame are processed, which have really enormous side effects. Among other things, they cause inflammation in the body, trigger allergies and can even damage brain cells. The University of Newcastle has been able to prove through studies that these additives can make existing asthma worse or even cause it.
Conclusion
In summary, we now see that our immune system benefits most from freshly prepared meals or snacks from our own household.
Buying only healthy ingredients is then only a matter of time until it becomes a habit!
Critical research of what is good for our body is definitely the first step. Let’s start getting stronger!
