Dr. Oz's 12 Natural Immunity Boosters

Sage Photo: Dr. Oz

I'm a big fan of Dr. Mehmet Oz. He makes medicine easy to understand and gives smart tips to follow on staying healthy. Even when you practice traditional medicine, it never makes sense to over medicate with drugs if a natural remedy works just as well. Dr. Oz is a respected heart surgeon who is open to natural remedies and alternative medicine. When someone with Dr. Oz's backgound talks, people listen (and we should!). He recommends eating a diet rich in immunity boosting foods to help your body better ward off illness or recover quicker. I am condensing and publishing his list below: 

Dr. Oz's 12 Natural Immunity Boosters:

1. Kill a Cold: With Japanese mushrooms - They are loaded with ergothioneine, a powerful antioxidant that doesn't get destroyed during the cooking process.

2. Cleanse Your Gut: Try oregano oil - It helps to eliminate bad bacteria that may be dominating your digestive system. Dr. Oz says spread out your dose by taking 200 mg 3 times a day.

3. Relieve Your Liver: Eat cruciferous vegetables such as kale, broccoli, lettuce and cabbage - They boost the liver's ability to flush out toxins.

Avocado photo: Dr. Oz

4. Attend to Your Adrenals: With avocados - They contain essential amino acids, antioxidants and healthy fats to help balance hormone production. Eat 1/2 cup per day.

5. Clear Your Lungs: use ginger - According to Ayurvedic traditions, ginger warms the body and helps to break down the accumulation of toxins in the organs, especially in the lungs and sinuses. It helps clean the lymphatic system - the body's sewage system. By keeping your airways open, ginger may lessen your risk of infection.

6. Improve Your Vision: Try black currants - They contain compound anthocyanosides, which may be helpful in promoting night vision. Black currants are also super rich in vitamin C, making them a powerful immunity booster.

7. Lower Your Cholesterol: Eat Oatmeal - A super food, oatmeal contains soluable fiber. It reduces LDL, or "bad" cholesterol.

8. Get Healthy Skin: With pomegranate seeds - They contain elegiac acid and punic alagin which fights free radical damage and helps preserve the skin's collagen. It also has phytonutrients, which also promotes healthy skin.

9. Reduce Heart Attack Risk: Eat pumpkin seeds - They are rich in magnesium, which may help lower blood pressure and reduce your risk for heart attacks or stroke.

10. Ease a Cough: Use sage extract - It works as an expectorant, which helps your body move mucus out of your respiratory tract and helps calm your cough. Dr. Oz recommends putting a drop of sage extract in tea or hot water, as needed.

11. Strengthen Your Hair: Eat eggs - The iron, biotin and vitamin B12 in eggs can help to strengthen hair, and the iron will guard against anemia - a cause of hair loss in women.

Graviola photo: Dr. Oz

12. Kill Cancer: With graviola - As a natural immunity booster, graviola has been traditionally used to kill parasites, ameliorate liver problems, reduce fevers, and help treat colds and the flu. Scientists have studied graviola since the 1940s and research has centered around annonaceous acetogenins, a group of natural compounds that appear to have anti-tumor properties, meaning they may fight cancer and boost immunity.

Eating a diet of healthy food to boost immunity is a time honored way of staying healthy. Your grandmother preached it. But never, ever treat yourself for a serious illness. If a cold, cough or condition lingers, hot tail it to your family doctor. Listen M.E.N., you especially ... nip it earlier than later, because we love you!

You may also enjoy:
The Doctors' Home Remedies
Health Care Reforms: A Doctor Weighs In
Doctor's Orders: Is It Time For A Checkup?  
No Skimping On Good Oral Hygiene