By: Elizabeth Rahavi, RD   Date: 12/6/10

Holiday hustle and bustle can cause wear and tear on the body. Stress, anxiety and poor nutrition can all take their toll on the immune system, keeping you from being your best. We all want to be everywhere and do everything this time of year, so it’s important that we take time out to focus on nutrition, physical activity, and food safety practices that can support our immune health.

Findings from the IFIC 2009 Functional Foods/Foods for Health Survey show 80 percent of Americans believe that foods and beverages can provide immune health benefits. By giving our bodies a little TLC, we can give our immune system the tools it needs to keep us healthy. There are four major ways we can help our immune system do its job:

• Eat a well-balanced diet including fruits, vegetables, whole grains, low-fat dairy and lean meats and beans;
• Practice safe food handling;
• Exercise at least two and a half hours per week; and
• Aim for seven to eight hours of sleep each night.

You can also support immune health by consuming certain foods with beneficial components, known as functional foods. Consider adding some of these foods that support immune health into your next holiday meal:

• Vitamin C, perhaps one of the best-known immune supporting vitamins, is found in citrus fruits and juice, strawberries, bell peppers and certain fortified foods and beverages.
• Selenium supports immune function. Increase intake by consuming foods rich in selenium like red meat, garlic and eggs, or try a daily multivitamin with selenium.
• Vitamin D also has been shown to help support the immune system and can be found in oily fish such as salmon, mackerel and sardines, and also in certain fortified foods, including yogurt, milk, certain cereals and juices. Certain dietary supplements also provide vitamin D.
• Flavonoids can help to bolster cellular antioxidant defenses. They’re found in foods like berries, bananas, tea, cocoa and citrus fruits.
• Probiotics are helpful bacteria that research suggests may support immune health. They’re found in certain fermented foods like yogurt, kefir and cheese.

Learn more about immune supporting functional foods watching our new video on the “Foods for Health: Immune Health Hot Topics” page. The immune health video is the second in a series of videos, featuring the “Guyatitian,” Dave Grotto, RD, focusing on the role of functional foods in supporting health.