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Alyne Ellis: With cold and flu season beginning, and COVID-19 continuing keeping our immune systems healthy can help us fight off an illness. Here to clue us in on how, what we eat can boost the immune system is Liz Berman, a Registered Dietician Nutritionist with Acton Medical Associates, an Adult and Pediatric Primary Care Practice affiliated with Emerson Hospital. This is Health Works Here, the podcast from Emerson Hospital. I'm Alyne Ellis. Welcome Liz. Thanks so much for joining me today.

Liz Berman: Thanks for having me.

Host: So, let's start with the connection between food and the immune system. What is that connection?

Liz Berman: Sure. So food plays lots of different roles in our immune system. I think we have to think about our immune system as many different pieces. So part of our immune system is the things that keep our body separate from the outside world. So things like our skin, the acid in our stomach that helps to fight off germs by killing them on their way in. But then there's all these other parts of our immune system that we really can kind of fuel with foods. So there's things like our good gut bacteria, which needs fiber to really grow and survive and thrive, and then vitamins and minerals that help to keep our immune system strong, give our white blood cells the stuff that they need to really be a nice, strong, ready, prepared immune system. And that can be a variety of different things.

Host: What are some of the super foods that boost your immune system?

Liz Berman: Oh man, superfoods are a loaded word. Aren't they? So I hesitate to say the word super foods. I think all foods have some good things to give us there's foods that have different nutrients that we want to pay attention to. So vitamins like Vitamin A, Vitamin D, Vitamin C, Vitamin D and then minerals like Folic Acid and Zinc and Iron. I think a lot of times we've heard of these things, but it feels more like a alphabet soup, the natural foods. So sometimes knowing the foods that they come from are more important. So things like lots of different colors of fruits and vegetables are going to give you some good Vitamin A, Vitamin B, Vitamin C, things like that.

Host: And in addition to fruits and vegetables, what other superfoods do we think of with that kind of label?

Liz Berman: Sure. So whole grains, I think start just get a bad rap right now, but whole grains are really where we get our Folic Acid and our Zinc from, and we can get Iron from those as well. Other than that, trying to get lots of really colorful foods. So having avocados is one of our oils or like nuts and seeds, whole grains, fatty fish, those kinds of things.

Host: And what food do you recommend if people have a cold or the flu or COVID like symptoms?

Liz Berman: So, there's certain things that I think can help. In the winter, I always like to think of things that are seasonal. So, in the winter, I think about things like pumpkin and squash, those would give us the Beta Carotene that we need. That's that stuff that our body turns into Vitamin A. Beans and lentils, they're going to give us the prebiotics, which is basically the stuff that feeds our gut bacteria. So the prebiotics that are in beans and lentils are going to help to feed our gut bacteria, which is one of the first places where our immune system starts. That's part of what really fuels our immune system, that would also give us Zinc and Iron, which are important for our immune system. They're also two things that in the US we tend to fall short on. So making sure that we're getting some good things and iron foods in our day is really important. Clementine’s and citrus fruits. So oranges and grapefruits, things like that are great. They have a lot of Vitamin C. I feel like that's the one people have heard about a million times before, but I'd much rather people get Vitamin C from their foods than from supplements.

So that's one to think about. And then getting your cruciferous vegetables in as well. So broccoli cauliflower, those kinds of things. When we're thinking about what to eat, when you have a cold, I think soup is the right way to go. So trying to get lots of those foods, I mentioned maybe making like a vegetable bean soup or minestrone soup or something like that. And then also staying hydrated when you're feeling sick. So maybe seltzer, there's so many different flavors of seltzer out there, fruit popsicles can be nice, cause they're really soothing. If you have a sore throat or a dry throat, and also can give you some of the fluids your body needs. And then for me, when I was sick as a kid, I always got soft boiled eggs and toast. So that's like the ultimate sick comfort food for me. And that would give you the whole grains, the protein, and then some of the vitamins, some eggs, you can get like fortified with Vitamin D and that can be helpful as well.

Host: And do you have suggestions for foods for the whole family? Because I know there's some foods that will boost our immune systems, but they sure won't feel like kid-friendly or child-friendly foods.

Liz Berman: Yeah, yeah. So this, I mean, this is the hard part, isn't it? It's trying to make sure that if you bring the healthy foods home, your family actually eats them as well. I think the popsicles, especially if you make popsicles at home, they have some really fun Popsicle molds now, that could be something to try. Yogurt or oatmeal could be some good options in the morning. You can add lots of really nice toppings that would give you some of the foods we just talked about. So maybe adding some berries, you can get frozen berries in the winter. They're just as healthy as fresh whole grain cereal or toasted nuts would give you some of the nutrients we were talking about as well. Things like Iron and Folic Acid and Zinc as well. So maybe making like oatmeal with some fruit in it and then some toasted nuts on top or like a yogurt parfait with some berries and some whole grain cereal. That could be something that could work. I love muffins. That's an option too. I feel like a lot of times we think about muffins as like a baked good. But if you're making muffins at home, you can use whole grain flour, at least half of the flour, and then put like pumpkin or zucchini or blueberries or things like that in there that maybe your kid wouldn't eat if they were just sitting on a plate, but once they're mixed into a muffin, it's a no brainer that kid will grab it and eat it and enjoy it.

Host: Now you mentioned eggs and toast, but when you're feeling sick, do you have any other go to foods?

Liz Berman: Tea. I think tea is really comforting. It's also, if you get herbal tea rather than a black tea or green tea, it tends to be pretty hydrating as well. And then I love this recipe. I found a couple of years ago for a cranberry orange ginger smoothie. So you just throw frozen cranberries, an entire Clementine, some fresh ginger that you peel. And then you just fill it up with either water or a little bit of orange juice and some ice. And I find that really soothing when I'm sick, because it has a lot of that Vitamin C that I think we look for, but it also is just like flavorful. It's bright, it's fresh. And it's soothing on your throat at the same time.

Host: Well, now that just sounds wonderful. But what about if you lose your sense of taste or smell? What do you recommend for proper nutrition?

Liz Berman: Yeah. This is an interesting one with COVID isn't it? I think this is something we don't often hear with a lot of illnesses. The interesting thing here is we, I think we mistake, taste and smell. So when we're talking about losing our sense of taste or smell with COVID, what people are actually losing is their sense of smell. Now flavor is mostly smell. Taste is only those really kind of basic tastes. So salty acid, really basic flavors. Those don't usually go away with COVID. It's the things that make things smell like fresh herbs or smell like baking cookies or things like that. So we can keep the basic tastes. And I think that helps. So if nothing is appealing, if you're feeling sick, you don't find that the food is very flavorful, add things that have the basic tastes in them. So add lemon juice or add vinegar to your foods, that burst of acid is going to give the food a little bit more flavor, and it'll also get the saliva going in your mouth so that your mouth doesn't feel so dry. So the food doesn't feel like cardboard, adding salt or adding like a little bit of brown sugar can help to cause that gets to the basic teeth.

Host: Are there foods that can actually do the opposite and harm the immune system as opposed to making it boost and feel better?

Liz Berman: A healthy eating pattern is really the way to go. All foods fit into a healthy eating pattern. It's just a question of what we eat more of and what we eat less of. If you're relying totally unprocessed foods and sugary foods, yes, you can do some damage to your immune system. But most of that is coming from the stuff you're missing out on. Not necessarily the stuff that you're adding in. So I would say try to get a variety of foods. When we're thinking about an eating pattern. I think so many things come back to the Mediterranean style eating pattern, which is basically lots of fruits and vegetables, some whole grains and beans, some nuts fish, especially the fatty fish, some of the lean protein, so chicken and Turkey, eggs and dairy. And then a little bit, if you want it of red meat, and then trying to keep the sweets as something that's more of a treat and less of a habit.

Host: And finally, what about supplements, Liz? I know sometimes we don't eat right, or even when we do eat right, we miss things. What's your recommendation?

Liz Berman: So, I've seen people ask about supplements in several different ways. The world of supplements is, is wide and varied. So the first thing that I get as a question all the time is, do I need a multivitamin to be healthy? So multivitamin is basically, it's giving you a lot vitamins and minerals. Really the consensus is that most people, if they can eat a varied diet, do not need a multivitamin. There are people who might need a multivitamin. And that's usually if you're falling short on your nutrition goals for a specific reason. So people who have a limited diet because they have Crohn's disease or Celiac's disease or a food allergy or something like that. If they're missing a big chunk of their food group, because of that, then they might need a multivitamin. Really small children who aren't eating a whole lot of food might need a multivitamin. Best case scenario, talk to your doctor, find out if they feel that the kid needs a multivitamin. And then the elderly, sometimes either because they have problems eating certain foods because of chewing or because they're just not that hungry. So somebody as they age, if they're not as hungry, they might just not be eating as much food.

Or if they're living alone, they might not be that motivated to cook a meal for themselves. Sometimes the multivitamin comes in handy there, but for the general population, I'd much rather you get a variety of foods and not need the multivitamin. Then there's also single ingredient supplements. So there's like high dose Vitamin C or there's these immune boosting vitamins quote unquote. So things like Airborne or Emergencee. That are really high doses of some of these things, especially really high doses of Vitamin C and some of them go over what you're really recommended to have for those vitamins or minerals. So I don't recommend those. They can put you at risk of kidney stones and they tend to have more than your body really needs. Again, food can really serve most of those purposes for you. As far as herbal supplements go, herbal supplements can interact with medications depending on what they are. So it's important that you talk to your doctor before you consider anything that's more of an urban, less of a specific vitamin or mineral.

Host: Thank you so much, Liz. This is all really good information as we head into winter, and we really appreciate your taking the time to talk to us today.

Liz Berman: Absolutely. Thanks for talking with me.

Host: Liz Berman is a registered dietician nutritionist with Acton Medical Associates, an Adult and Pediatric Primary Care Practice affiliated with Emerson Hospital. For more information on keeping your immune system healthier with food, visit Emersonhospital.org and Actonmedical.com for information, and to find a physician. Thanks for listening to Emerson's Health Works Here Podcast. Make sure to catch the next episode by subscribing to the Health Works Here Podcast on Apple podcasts, Google podcasts, Spotify, or wherever podcasts can be heard. And if you found this podcast helpful, please share it on your social channels and be sure to check out the full podcast for topics of interest to you. This is Emerson's Health Works Here from Emerson Hospital. I'm Alyne Ellis. Thanks for listening.