Boost your immune system with Vitamin C
Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) is a water-soluble vitamin and is involved in many functions in the body. In addition to its best-known function for the immune system, vitamin C helps to protect the cells from oxidative stress. However, it also increases iron absorption and contributes to normal collagen formation and normal skin function. Vitamin C can therefore rightly be described as an all-rounder.
Citrus fruits in particular, but also vegetables such as peppers and cabbage – kale, by the way, is the leader in terms of vitamin C content – are recommended. Vitamin C can be quickly lost in foods: cooking vegetables for a long time reduces the vitamin C content, as do long storage times. Fruits are best eaten unpeeled, since a lot of vitamin C is stored directly under the skin.
Why it is beneficial for the body to receive vitamin C spread throughout the day and why DEPOT tablets are so valuable, you can find out under Vitamin C strengthens the body’s defences.
Vitamin D – a ray of hope for the body’s defences
Many people know Vitamin D primarily as a strong partner of the bone mineral calcium. In the meantime, however, scientific studies have shown that it performs even more complex role in the body – for example, for the immune system.
The special thing about vitamin D is that it can be formed by the body itself. We owe most of our body's vitamin D reserves to the sun: whenever the sun’s rays hit our skin, complex processes are set in motion, which ultimately produce vitamin D that can be used by the body. However, sun protection creams with a high sun protection factor prevent the UV-B rays required for self-production from getting in.
The rather rare hours of sunshine in this part of the world make our body’s own vitamin D production more difficult. Especially in winter, when the sun is very low, the intensity of the sun’s rays is no longer sufficient. This leads to further depletion of reserves over the course of the winter.
It therefor makes sense to add vitamin D-rich foods to our diet – even if they can only make a small contribution to the supply.
Selenium and zinc – trace elements for the immune system
Selenium and zinc are trace elements, i.e. minerals that only occur in small amounts in the body, but take on vital functions.
Among other things, selenium helps to protect cells from oxidative stress and, like zinc, contributes to normal immune system function. Furthermore, selenium is required by the body for normal thyroid function.
In order to adequately supply our body with zinc, proper food selection is crucial, because an unbalanced diet can contain ingredients that interfere with zinc absorption or are low in zinc.
You can find out which foods affect zinc absorption in the body and why plant foods sometimes contain hardly any selenium in the chapter Selenium and zinc.