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Friday, March 05, 2010

Eat More Fiber to Boost Your Immune System

Although we are nearing the end of the “typical” cold and flu season, most of the country, including us poor folks here in South Florida, continue to experience less than desirable weather. A handful of my friends are recovering from a nasty head cold and if I had to put money on it, I’d guess that people are going to continue to get sick even though we are now into March.

For that reason I wanted to share the results of a new study out of the University of Illinois. Researchers are claiming that soluble fiber, found in foods like oatmeal, citrus fruits and beans, helps to reduce inflammation associated with obesity-related diseases (diabetes, heart disease, etc.) and strengthen the immune system. According to Gregory Freund, a professor in the University of Illinois’s College of Medicine, “soluble fiber changes the personality of immune cells – they go from being pro-inflammatory, angry cells to anti-inflammatory, healing cells that help us recover faster from infection”.

The study gave two groups of mice identical low-fat diets except that one contained soluble fiber and the other contained insoluble fiber. After six weeks on the diet researchers induced illness in the animals by giving them a substance that caused their bodies to mimic a bacterial infection and mice in the soluble fiber group got noticeably less sick and recovered sooner. Wow! The study is set to be published in the May 2010 issue of Brain, Behavior and Immunity and will also be available online.

Of course more research needs to be done to see if the same thing will happen in human subjects. However, we already know fiber (soluble and insoluble) is good for us…so if eating more of it helps boost our immune system then that’s just a bonus.

More on Soluble Fiber

Soluble fiber is found exclusively in plant foods including fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, seeds, beans and legumes. The best sources of soluble fiber are citrus fruits like oranges and grapefruits, prunes (dried plums), pears, apples, beans and lentils, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, oatmeal, barley and flaxseeds. In addition to potentially boosting your immune system, soluble fiber can also help lower cholesterol, keep off unwanted pounds by promoting a sense of fullness and help control blood sugar.

Tips to Increase Your Intake

Try oatmeal with chopped apples (leave the skin on) and cinnamon.
Mix some ground flaxseeds into yogurt, cottage cheese or a smoothie.
Throw some beans on your salad, make a bean burrito or try a lentil or bean soup.
Try orange or grapefruit slices in your salad, mix them with cottage cheese or enjoy alone as a snack.
Have broccoli in an omelet, stir-fry or pasta or enjoy raw as a snack dipped in hummus or low-fat dressing.