Sunday, January 27, 2008

Juice Drinks Help Boost Immune System

Your family can find effective ways to fight the flu. That's just as well, considering each year, 200,000 Americans are hospitalized and 36,000 die as a result of influenza infections. Nevertheless, a recent survey showed many people wait until they experience symptoms to adopt such healthful lifestyle changes as eating fruits and vegetables and getting a flu shot. And, almost half surveyed never get a flu shot.

Maintaining overall health during cold and flu season is very important. But even more important is taking action each day to support your health, as health isn't just a seasonal concern. Making smart choices including consuming nutrient-rich foods like fruits and vegetables. And if beverages other than water are consumed, then choosing juices that aren NOT from concentrate - like orange juice, pomengranate juice, or grape juice - all which help support the body's immune system and help in overall disease prevention.

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If you start experiencing flu-like symptoms, then be sure to consume more nutrient-rich foods and sources of antioxidant-building foods like grapes, berries, spinach, broccoli. Even an 8-ounce glass of orange juice is loaded with disease-fighting nutrients and antioxidants. As part of a healthy diet, consuming just one glass of grape, orange, or pomegranate juice a day can help boost the immune system. Of course, a balanced diet means having plenty of whole foods like fruits and vegetables, not just the juice.

Here are just a few other nutrients that you will get from the juice of the fruits mentioned:

• Folate. Folate is needed by the body to produce new cells to help supply the immune system with a healthy stock of disease-fighting cells and replenish red blood cells to help prevent anemia. For women of childbearing years, adequate folate may also reduce the risk of having a child with certain brain or spine birth defects.

• Vitamin B6. Through its involvement in protein metabolism and cellular growth, vitamin B6 is important to the immune system. The immune system relies on vitamin B6 to properly function. Vitamin B6 helps maintain the health of lymphoid organs that make white blood cells, which help fight infections in the body.

• Flavonoids. Flavonoids may contribute to the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities that take place in the body and may help in the fight against cancer, heart disease and other serious health problems.

• Potassium. Potassium is important for the body's cardiovascular health. Diets containing foods that are a good source of potassium and that are low in sodium may reduce the risk of high blood pressure and stroke. In addition, potassium also plays an important role in the response of nerves to stimulation and in the contraction of muscles.

• Magnesium. Magnesium may help support healthy blood pressure and contribute to bone health. In addition, it helps your body generate energy and is required for the action of more than 300 enzyme systems in the body.

NOTE: One thing to point out here is that although these are all important nutrients for the health of the body, they are only a few of the hundreds of nutrients that are in the whole food. A piece of fruit or vegetable contains (literally) hundreds of nutrients, all of which must presumably be needed to support our health in concert with one another. So if you need more nutrients in your diet because you're not consuming enough fruits and vegetables each day, then try adding a fruit and vegetable extract that is made from the juice of 7 different fruits and 8 different vegetables, plus when it's put into a capsule it makes it quick and easy to consume. Follow the link on the right.