Plants are our everything: the most important staples for immunity and health promotion

Dear reader, we present to you our beauty columnist Inessa Tsarkova!

Inessa is an active nutritionist, gastroenterologist, therapist, naturopath and aromatherapist, health coach, integrative medicine doctor with a holistic approach. And now he will share with us his knowledge in the field of both physical and mental health, nutrition and much more.

According to the World Health Organization, you need to consume at least 400-500 g of raw plant food every day. True, in the modern world we often forget about the importance of this norm. Why are plant foods responsible for our immunity and how can they help improve health during the cold season?

Nowadays, more and more people are beginning to understand that energy and health are the most important resources. It allows you to stay effective and continue to enjoy life.

In 2024, there was an even greater trend towards mindfulness, an eco-friendly environment and natural ways to take care of health:

— people are becoming less willing to consume chemically transformed and refined products;

– try to reduce the toxic effects of the environment;

— reduce the use of household chemicals as much as possible;

— protect yourself from toxic exhaust and fumes;

— Increasing protective factors using natural methods.

The plant kingdom is our main assistant in this regard.

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What are the benefits of plant foods?

Why is it so important to include a variety of plant foods in your diet, and why do they need to be predominantly raw and fermented? There are several reasons for this.

1. Plants are the primary source of life on earth. It is they who are able to capture the energy of the sun and convert it into biological molecules, creating building materials (proteins and fats) for living cells.

2. Only plants can convert solar energy into fuel for cell functioning, simple sugars (primarily glucose) that they have learned to store in the form of starch.

3. Plants produce oxygen through the process of photosynthesis, creating absolutely all organic molecules, without which life is impossible.

4. Plants accumulate in their parts vitamins and microelements necessary and irreplaceable for life.

5. In raw food, the most important protein substances for life are preserved – enzymes (aka enzymes), without which not a single biochemical reaction occurs. Sprouts and fermented vegetables (like sauerkraut or kimchi) are especially rich in enzymes. Moreover, in order to “extract” the same vitamins and enzymes from vegetables and herbs as much as possible, you first need to destroy their cell membranes (they are closed as if covered with protective armor), that is, prepare freshly squeezed juices. or smoothies made from raw herbs.

6. Only plants contain vital fiber. By the way, it is he who creates this “armor”, behind which plant juices containing vital substances are hidden.

Our enzyme systems don’t know how to break it down and digest plant fiber. But our body really needs it. Coarse insoluble plant fibers consisting of cellulose and hemicellulose are particularly useful. This fiber is found in the husks of grains and legumes, and in the leaves, stems and roots of raw plants. Fiber activates and regulates the gastrointestinal tract, absorbs and removes harmful substances from the body and “feeds” the beneficial intestinal microflora. The latter is responsible for local and general immunity and directly affects our hormonal health, metabolic processes and mental state.

7. Plants contain essential oils that penetrate into cells through any membrane within seconds and have a protective, healing and restorative effect both on the cells and on all internal processes occurring in the body. Essential oils contained in plants, their immunity, are energy information carriers, without which the harmonious implementation of life processes on Earth is impossible.

8. Plants are naturally blessed with highly effective antioxidant factors. After all, in the process of evolution they learned to interact with aggressive solar radiation and protect themselves from it. And they can transfer this protection to us. It is the antioxidants found in plants that can protect us from free radicals – the main factors of cell damage that lead to diseases and aging.

To better preserve the vitamins and antioxidants of plants, you should try to consume them raw or after short-term and minimal heat treatment (ideally not exceeding 42-45 degrees). After all, all living things on our planet eat everything raw. And only man began to use aggressive heat treatment, thereby destroying the delicate living structures of biologically active substances in a way that nature did not intend.

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What are the most powerful antioxidants and in what foods can you find them?

To provide the body with the necessary amount of antioxidants, as well as a number of vitamins and microelements, we must try to eat six different dishes a day from raw vegetables, herbs, berries and fruits. These can be salads, sauces, smoothies, freshly squeezed juices.

Vegetables and fruits of different colors have different compositions of substances that we need. Therefore, it is important to include fresh foods of different colors in your diet.

vitamin C

It is also called the king of vitamins. The most vitamin C is found in fruits that modern people do not eat very often:

– rosehip;

– sea buckthorn;

– Blueberry;

– cranberries;

– currants;

– pomegranate;

– snowball.

There is also plenty of vitamin C in greens (for example, fresh parsley) and raw cauliflower (it is useful to add it to salads and use it to make smoothies).

Immature fruits contain very little vitamin C and are extremely thermally unstable and are rapidly destroyed during food storage. Therefore, it is best to consume fresh seasonal vegetables and fruits. Or processed by quick freezing during the natural ripening season.

ß-carotenoids (provitamin A)

They are most abundant in red and orange plants such as vegetables (sweet peppers, carrots) or berries and fruits (sea buckthorn, apricots). Carotenoids are found in large quantities in green plants, where they are hidden under the green pigment chlorophyll, another powerful antioxidant: spinach, broccoli, green onions, parsley, sprouts.

One of the most powerful carotenoids is lycopene. Most tomatoes have skin on them, which means it is better to choose cherry tomatoes.

Polyphenols (flavins and flavonoids)

They are most commonly found in spices, herbs and fruits:

– clove;

– anise;

– mint;

– sage;

– oregano;

– Blueberry;

– black currant;

– raspberry.

tannins

Tannins, which can be found in high-quality cocoa beans and tea, are excellent antioxidants.

Anthocyanins and quercetin

Powerful antioxidants found in large quantities in fruits, especially red berries.

Tocopherol (vitamin E)

Vitamin E is found in vegetable oils from avocados, seeds, nuts (such as walnuts and brazil) and grain sprouts.

Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids

These are most abundant in flaxseeds, but also in seaweed and unrefined cold-pressed vegetable oils, which are actually not absorbed very well.

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How to maintain immunity during a cold?

Maintaining acid-base balance is especially important for our health and immunity. Some foods shift the pH of the internal environment to the acidic side, while others, on the contrary, alkalize. When the internal environment becomes acidic, immunity decreases, people often begin to suffer from infectious diseases, conditions are created for the growth of cancer cells, and depression occurs. To maintain acid-base balance, alkalizing foods (primarily raw vegetables and fruits) must be 2-3 times more than acidifying foods.

List of foods that acidify the body:

– products containing a large number of chemical additives (dyes, flavors, preservatives);

– Coffee;

– alcohol;

– tobacco;

— soft drinks (energy drinks and sweet sodas);

– sweet products and confectionery containing white refined sugar;

– trans fats and heated oils;

– bread and flour products, especially from refined grains (wheat, corn, soy).

List of alkalizing products:

– all fresh fruits and berries, including citrus fruits (the strongest of which is lemon);

– fresh herbs and leafy vegetables;

– sprouts.

List of partially alkaline foods:

– fresh green (in shell) beans, peas, cereals and millet;

– fresh nuts: almonds, coconut, Brazil nuts;

– seeds (e.g. flaxseed, sesame, pumpkin, sunflower).

Another condition for perfect immunity is the required amount fiber (especially insoluble). The norm is 40-50 grams per day. Soluble fiber is found in fruits, while insoluble fiber is found in raw vegetables, herbs and the husks of grains.

Another helper of the immune system, especially in protecting against infections, are products with natural ingredients. antiseptics: phytoncides and allicin. They are found primarily in bitters: onion, garlic, radish, horseradish, mustard. Berries like raspberries and blueberries have enough.

Including spices in our daily diet is very beneficial for our immunity:

– ginger;

– cinnamon;

– clove;

– turmeric.

And our immunity will not be strong unless we meet three basic conditions.

1. Adequate production of the night hormone melatonin. This means we need full sleep (at least 7 hours, ideally between 22-23 hours).

2. Regular physical activity. And best of all, in the fresh air.

3. Good mood and positive attitude. That is why it is so important to experience joy, love and gratitude towards this world and everything in it every day.