From Super Immunity by Joel Fuhrman, M.D.
The key component to obtaining incredible health is to eat more vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds, beans, and other nutrient-rich foods. As you eat larger amounts of these protective foods, you will meet your body’s micronutrient needs and naturally reduce the amount of animal products and processed foods in your diet without gimmicks, calorie counting, or portion control. The foods highest in life-extending micronutrients and lowest in calories are green vegetables. As you know by now, they form the basis of my Nutritarian diet. If you are overweight, the more greens you eat, and the less of everything else you eat, the thinner and healthier you will become. All humans are dependent on a sufficient amount of green vegetable–derived nutrients, and some of these nutrients should be consumed in their raw form for maximum benefit. This means that a large salad each day, with lettuce and other greens, tomatoes, and other raw vegetables, is important.
Eating high on the nutrient density line is important, but we also need enough nutritional variety to meet all the body’s nutrient needs. To meet those needs in a manner that pushes your immune function to the max, you need to make sure your food choices cover all the bases that enable you to achieve Super Immunity.
Here are five simple rules for a powerful immune system that you should commit to memory:
1. Eat a large salad every day.
2. Eat at least a half-cup serving of beans/legumes in soup, salad, or another dish once daily.
3. Eat at least three fresh fruits a day, especially berries, pomegranate seeds, cherries, plums, oranges.
4. Eat at least one ounce of raw nuts and seeds a day.
5. Eat at least one large (double-size) serving of green vegetables daily, either raw, steamed, or in soups or stews.
Avoid these five deadliest foods:
1. Barbecued meat, processed meat, and commercial red meat
2. Fried foods
3. Full-fat dairy (cheese, ice cream, butter, whole milk) and trans fats (margarine)
4. Soft drinks, sugar, and artificial sweeteners
5. White-flour products
Learn more about boosting your body’s defenses in Super Immunity by Joel Fuhrman, M.D.