These 5 natural immune system boosters will keep you happy and healthy all fall season long.

Summer may have you feeling invincible. Well, invincible to everything but the heat, that is. But once autumn makes its entrance, the immune system becomes more vulnerable and you may find yourself dealing with an unwelcome visitor: a debilitating flu or a pesky cold. Luckily, Mother Nature is on your side, and her bounty is well-equipped to help you fight off any sickness that comes knocking. 

1. Probiotic Yogurt

It’s not the yogurt itself that is boosting your immunity, instead, it’s the natural probiotics in the yogurt that make the difference. While the precise mechanism by which probiotics boost immunity is unknown, researchers have found that good bacteria in the gut help to correct deficiencies and increase the numbers of certain T cells, whose primary purpose is to attack infected cells.

2. Oats

Oats contain beta-glucan, a fiber molecule that has antimicrobial and antioxidant properties. Beta-glucan helps to raise the immune system’s response so that the body can naturally fight off and protect the body from disease.

3. Garlic

When it comes to immunity, garlic is king. It protects the body from all kinds of physiological threats. In one study of people with inoperable colorectal, liver or pancreatic cancer, immune activity improved after participants took aged garlic extract for 6 months. In the Iowa Women’s Health Study, researchers found that women who ate garlic, fruits, and vegetables had a 35 percent lower risk of developing colon cancer than the control group.

4. Chicken Soup

This shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise, but chicken soup is actually good for the (healthy) soul. Researchers at the University of Nebraska Medical Center challenged the age-old folk remedy of chicken soup by testing to see if it actually heals the body. They found that chicken soup blocked the migration of inflammatory white cells, whose accumulation in the bronchial tubes is what causes flu and cold-like symptoms.

5. Mushrooms

Mushrooms have the ability to boost white blood cell count, making them ideal in fighting off infection. Mushrooms are lauded for being anti-cancerous and when it comes to the common cold or flu, they can indeed be the game changers!

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Blowing nose image from Shutterstock

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