If your goal is to strengthen your body defenses for disease prevention, the best way to do it is through your diet. While some people may be genetically predisposed to certain types of illnesses, it has been proven that you can affect your long-term health and even mitigate some of those risks by maintaining a healthy diet and lifestyle. Here we present 5 natural food sources that will help you strengthen your immune system according to scientific evidence.

1. Citrus Fruits: Most of the citrus fruits are charged with Vitamin C, a nutrient with a wide variety of uses in the body. It helps to slow down or prevent cell damage, it keeps body tissues and the immune system healthy and helps the body to absorb iron from plant food sources.

Popular and tasty examples of Vitamin C foods are: oranges, clementines, limes, lemons, tangerines, grapefruit, kiwi, red and green peppers.

2. Spinach and Broccoli: Broccoli and Spinach are known as two of the healthiest vegetables that you can add to your diet, they are fully charged with vitamins and minerals such as Vitamin A, C, and E, as well as fiber and bioactive compounds (health-promoting compounds that can lower the risk of heart disease, cancer, and other diseases). These nutrients can help you to reduce inflammation, boost your infection-fighting ability of our immune system, improve blood control, and contribute to optimal health. Tip: Cook them as little as possible. Steaming is the best way to keep more nutrients in food.

3. Garlic: A powerful antiviral with great power against infections! Garlic’s immune-boosting properties seem to come from a compound called alliin which converts to sulfur-containing compounds that have been shown to boost the disease-fighting response of some types of white blood cells in the body when they encounter viruses, such as the viruses that cause the common cold or flu. Tips to maximize the health benefits of garlic: Crush it or slice it before you eat it to increases the allicin content. And before you cook it, let it stand for 10 minutes. Also, use more than one clove per meal, if you can.

4. Green Tea: The immune properties of high tea come from the high levels of epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), a powerful antioxidant who enhance immune functions; and the content of L-Theanine amino-acid, who aids on the production of germ-fighting compounds in our T-cells.

5. Ginger: Ginger is not only super tasty but it's also one of the healthiest spices that nature gives us. It's loaded with antioxidants, anti-inflammatory, anti-viral, and anti-pathogenic properties coming from the high content in gingerol, a powerful substance that helps lowering down the risk of infections. It has been shown that fresh ginger extract can inhibit the growth of many different types of bacteria and may also be effective against the RSV virus, a common cause of respiratory infections.

Check out on our Instagram stories two delicious recipes using these immune-boosting ingredients.