Local doctor offers tips on how to boost your immune system during pandemic
KALAMAZOO, Mich. — Eating a rainbow a day can help keep you stay safe during the coronavirus disease 2019, or COVID-19 pandemic.
By a rainbow, Dr. Tammy Born Huizenga means eating a variety of colorful fruits, vegetables and berries can help get the vitamins and nutrients your immune system needs to fight the virus.
"Anything that is bright and colorful will give you more antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, and more bioflavonoids," Huizenga said. "These are all very important for a healthy immune system."
There are also foods to avoid.
Sweets can raise your blood sugar which makes it harder for your immune system to fight off virus. Foods you're sensitive too can also hinder your immune system.
"Especially at this time if you know you have an reaction to a food, whether it's dairy, wheat or soy. Any of the common foods that can give you a immune reaction, those are the foods to avoid," she said.
Huizenga has been practicing medicine for over 30 years. She owns and operates Born Clinic in Grand Rapids.
Besides eating well, she also suggested taking vitamin supplements. She said 1,000 milligrams of vitamin C and vitamin D two times a day, 30 milligrams of zinc and multivitamins will help boost your immune system.
"Many people have a bottle of vitamin C in their cupboard that they can take, I also think the studies on zinc, selenium, and vitamin D are all really evidence that there's a lot of old supplements that we can use to keep strong," Huizenga said.
For some patients, Huizenga suggested vitamin IV therapy, such as people who are on medications that deplete their nutrients or those who don't absorb vitamins well.
While a healthy lifestyle can't guarantee that you won't catch COVID-19, Huizenga said it will help you during the pandemic.
"I don't have a double blind study to report to you that staying healthy and taking your supplements is going to protect you from COVID-19, but it's general common sense that the healthier you are going into any virus, the the better we're going to be," she said.
