The struggle to stay healthy is real - and one of the ways to take good care of our health is by maintaining a good immune system. Whether you are a child or an adult, you should take the necessary steps in taking care of your immune system.

Aside from staying healthy, having a good immune system also helps to improve your overall mood. If you’re wondering how to boost your immune system, you can start by ensuring you have sufficient immune-boosting vitamins.

Not sure how to get enough of these immune-boosting vitamins? Luckily, we can easily consume vitamins through food! Read on to find out what are the top vitamins to boost the immune system alongside how you can get them.

Importance of the Immune System

The immune system consists of various types of tissues, organs, cells, and proteins. You might be wondering why do we even have to take care of our immune system. Well, our immune system plays an important role to protect our body from various harmful germs, cells, and substances which make us fall sick. For instance, bacteria, fungi, or toxins can enter our body which affects our health.

Best Vitamins For Immune System

1. Vitamin D

Vitamin D is one of the vitamins to boost the immune system as it helps to maintain the blood level of phosphorus and calcium in our body.

You can naturally get Vitamin D by spending time under the sun as the UV rays provide Vitamin D. Alternatively, you can consume various foods which are high in Vitamin D such as red meat, egg yolks, cheese, salmon, and canned tuna.

2. Vitamin C

The Vitamin C immune system benefits include curing the symptoms of a cold as well as reducing your stress levels. Generally, a high dose of Vitamin C reduces the chance of you getting any form of infection.

The top Vitamin C immune system foods are found in a wide variety of fruits such as oranges, papayas, and strawberries. As for vegetables, the ones with high content of Vitamin C include broccoli, brussels sprouts, spinach, and kale. Potatoes and sweet potatoes also contain a high amount of Vitamin C.

3. Vitamin A

One of the best vitamins to boost the immune system would be Vitamin A as it improves your overall eye vision alongside helping your organs including your lungs to function well.

The best vegetable sources of Vitamin A would be carrots and spinach. In terms of food, yogurt, natural cheese, tuna, and salmon contain high amounts of Vitamin A. You can also consume fruits such as mangos or apricots.

4. Vitamin B6

Vitamin B6 is the best vitamin for the immune system because it maintains the amount of amino acids in our blood alongside fighting against infections by regulating the chemical reactions in our immune system so that it functions effectively.

You can find Vitamin B6 in tuna, chickpeas, salmon, and beef liver. As for fruits or vegetables, you should consume bananas, leafy greens, cantaloupe, oranges, and papayas.

5. Vitamin B12

Vitamin B12 is also one of the major vitamins for the immune system, though not many people have heard of this particular vitamin. The primary benefit of Vitamin B12 is that it helps to maintain the production of red blood cells in our body.

For those unaware, the red blood cells are essential to transport oxygen all over our bodies. If we lack red blood cells, our immune system will be weaker, thus, we’ll be more fatigued and tired over time.

Most meats will contain a high amount of Vitamin B12, but turkey and beef contain a significantly higher amount than the rest. Other than meat, fish is also a primary source of Vitamin B12, with certain types such as tuna, salmon, and sardines containing the highest amount.

If you’re vegetarian and can’t eat meat, that’s okay as you can opt for vegetarian B12 supplements instead.

6. Vitamin B9 (Folic Acid)

Other than Vitamin B12, the best vitamin for the immune system that combats fatigue and tiredness would be Vitamin B9, also known as folic acid. These two vitamins generally work best together to maintain the production of red blood cells.

The plus side is that Vitamin B9 can be found in vegetables and fruits aside from meat (unlike Vitamin B12). You can consume Vitamin B9 by eating dark green vegetables such as cabbage, broccoli, and spinach. Other than that, oranges, cauliflower, and whole wheat bread contain high amounts of Vitamin B9 too.

7. Vitamin E

Vitamin E is one of the crucial vitamins to boost the immune system to prevent diseases such as heart diseases or other health conditions such as diabetes, and cancer, to name a few. How Vitamin E helps our immune system is by promoting the growth of t cells which are known to combat infections. The t-cells in our body boost the other immune cells by activating them.

Thankfully, Vitamin E can be found in a wide variety of sources such as vegetables and fruits. Vegetables that are high in Vitamin E would be broccoli, spinach, green leafy vegetables, and green beans.

As for fruits, kiwi, raspberries, and mango are some of the ones that contain high amounts of Vitamin E. Nuts or seeds such as sunflowers, hazelnuts and almonds are good sources of Vitamin E.

Should you take vitamin supplements?

The main reason why vitamin supplements exist is to ensure we get sufficient amounts of them when we can’t do so through our daily diet.

Sufficient vitamins for the immune system for adults sometimes can’t be consumed through food, so they opt for vitamin supplements instead.

Another reason why vitamin supplements are good for you if you are perhaps lactose intolerant or vegetarian is that you can’t consume certain food such as dairy products or meat.

Hence, the best way to consume these immune-boosting vitamins is to take supplements. Though you can consider getting supplements containing specific vitamins, to make it easier, you can opt for the multivitamin supplements which have more than one primary vitamin for the immune system.

If you're looking for an easy way to achieve your lifestyle goal, don't forget to check out our meal plans!