Best Foods & Recipes to Support Your Immune System This Winter

Highlights

• Winter is a time when our immune system benefits from extra care, and one of the most enjoyable ways to support it is through nourishing meals and snacks packed full of flavour.
• By thoughtfully combining iron-rich foods with vitamin C-rich foods and choosing cooking methods that improve absorption, meals can become both comforting and functional.
• Vitamin D also plays an important role during the winter months when sunlight is limited, and alongside nutrient-dense recipes, supplementation may help top up seasonal gaps.
• Our bean stew, tahini dressing, roasted chickpea snack, and smoothie recipes are great options for supporting your immune system and overall health.

The Christmas season is now behind us, and the excitement of a new year is just beginning. As we move through the winter months, supporting our immune system becomes more important than usual. In this blog, you will find easy to implement, delicious, and nutritious tips, along with our Vitabiotics vitamins, designed to help top up any nutrients that may be lacking in your diet.

Important Vitamins & Supplements for Immune System

While we cannot always control our environment, we can support our bodies by nourishing them with high nutrient dense foods, ensuring our diet includes a broad range of vitamins and minerals.

Iron contributes to normal formation of red blood cells and haemoglobin and contributes to the normal function of the immune system. Vitamin C contributes to normal psychological function and to the normal function of the immune system.

Vitamin C also assists with the absorption of plant-based iron, known as non-haem. Therefore pairing vitamin C rich foods with non-haem iron sources helps increase absorption of iron. Some of the richest food sources of vitamin C include kiwi, bell peppers, strawberries, and broccoli.

Food Sources             Amount of Vitamin C

• Red Bell pepper         170mg
• 2 kiwi fruits                 140mg
• 1 cup strawberries       85mg
• Juice of 1 lemon         20mg

Something as simple as enjoying kiwi fruits or strawberries after a vegan meal, or adding a vibrant pepper sauce over a mixed bean stew, may help support iron absorption.

Plant-Based Winter Meal: Bean Stew Recipe with Red Pepper sauce (serves 4)

Ingredients:

For the stew:

• 2 cups dried mixed beans (such as kidney beans, cannellini beans, chickpeas) best soaked overnight
• 2 medium carrots, diced
• 1 large onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, pressed or chopped
• 2 medium red bell peppers, sliced
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 4 cups vegetable stock
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• Salt and pepper, to taste

To serve:

• Steamed greens (such as Cavallo Nero or Winter Greens)
• Lemon wedges for squeezing
• 2 tbsp mixed seeds per portion (sunflower, pumpkin, sesame, ) or and a dollop of Tahini Dressing
• A small warm drink of lemon water on the side

Method:

1. Drain the soaked beans and rinse thoroughly. Set aside.
2. In a large pan, heat olive oil over medium heat and sauté the red pepper slices until just softened, then add tomato paste and a splash of vegetable stock for a 5–6 minute.
3. Blend the sautéed peppers with tomato paste and a splash of vegetable stock until smooth.
4. In a large pot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onions and carrots and red pepper sauce until softened, about 5 minutes. Add garlic, cumin, smoked paprika, and thyme and cook for another minute.
5. Add the drained beans and remaining vegetable stock to the pot. Stir well and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer gently for 60 minutes, or until beans are tender. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.
6. While the stew simmers, steam your choice of greens until just tender.
7. Spoon the stew into bowls, top with 2 tablespoons of crunchy mixed seeds, serve with steamed greens on the side, and finish with a squeeze of lemon. 4

Enjoy with a small warm drink of lemon water

If you are not following a vegan diet, then topping up your diet through iron rich foods is much easier as iron is abundant in chicken, meat, fish and eggs, this type of haem iron does not require vitamin C to aid absorption.

It is a good idea, especially during the winter months, topping up your vegan meals with mixed seeds, aiming for at least two tablespoons per day. It is all about consistency, the more often you include extra top ups such as seeds in your meals, the higher your iron intake will be by the end of the week. It is not just what you eat in one meal, though more about how your nutrients add up over time.

Seeds are delicious, nutritious, and add a satisfying crunch to any dish. Quick tip: tahini dressing, made from sesame seeds, is rich in iron and adding lemon juice makes this a perfect addition to any meals or snacks for an extra boost of iron and vitamin C.

Tahini Dressing Recipe

Ingredients

• Tahini Dressing serves 6.
• ½ cup Tahini paste
• Juice of whole lemon
• One small garlic clove pressed (optional)
• ½ tsp smoked paprika (optional)
• 120ml cold water (aim to get the texture similar to runny honey)
• 1 – 2 tsps. Honey (if you like your tahini a little sweet)
• Pinch of freshly ground black pepper

Method

• Whisk all together, you may need to play around with the texture adding more water or tahini paste. Keep in fridge and serve over cooked vegetables.

For optimal absorption of iron from beans and pulses, I suggest soaking them overnight to reduce phytates, a compound that can bind to iron and limit absorption. Even with dark green leafy vegetables, particularly spinach and broccoli, it is best to cook them, as they contain oxalic acid, which also binds to iron. For this reason, it is better to swap raw green smoothies to freshly steamed dark green vegetables, or opt for a delicious fruit and seed smoothie. Roasted Chickpeas are another delicious snack and serving these with chopped dried apricots adds even more iron along with slices of clementines which are rich in vitamin C.

Roasted Chickpea Snack with Clementines and Dried Apricots (Serves 4)

Ingredients:

• 2 cups dried chickpeas (soaked overnight)
• 3 tbsps. olive oil
• Seasoning options:
• Savory: garlic powder, sea salt, chili flakes
• Sweet: ground cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg (pinch of each)
• 4 dried apricots, chopped.
• Clementines peeled and sliced and added to the mix (as and when eating)

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C / 400°F.
2. Drain the soaked chickpeas and pat them dry thoroughly.
3. Toss the chickpeas with olive oil and your chosen seasoning.
4. Spread the chickpeas evenly on a baking tray and roast for about 20 minutes, until crisp.
5. Remove from the oven and allow them to cool slightly.
6. Chop the dried apricots and mix them with the roasted chickpeas.
7. Serve with clementine slices for a boost of vitamin C to help support iron absorption.

Smoothie Recipe for Immune System Support

Ingredients

• Two kiwi fruits
• One cup of strawberries
• 1 tbsp. blackstrap molasses (high in iron)
• Fresh ginger
• Squeeze of lemon
• Coconut water or milk 1 glass
• 2 tbsps. Grounded hemp seeds

Another tip for optimal absorption, is to avoid a cup of tea with your iron rich foods, as tea contains tannins which bind to iron. If you enjoy a drink of tea, best to drink this an hour away from food or swap tea for hot water and lemon.

Vitabiotics Best Supplements for Immune System

Vitabiotics Feroglobin Capsules are convenient and gentle on your stomach, whilst providing sustained iron. Iron contributes to reduction of tiredness and fatigue, normal immune system function, and supports normal cognitive function. To support general overall health Feroglobin Plus is a source of iron and folate, along with vitamin D, Siberian Ginseng and more, in an easy to take liquid. The vitamin D and iron support the normal function of the immune system.

All nutrients work together in synergy which is why obtaining as much nutrition from your diet is recommended and supplementing your diet with vitamins and minerals may help to ensure you fill any gaps in your diet Vitamin D contributes to the normal function of the immune system. The UK Government advises to take a daily supplement containing 10 micrograms (400IU) of vitamin D during the autumn and winter months (October to early March), when we cannot make enough vitamin D. In the winter, the sun sits lower in the sky, and the rays are not strong enough to penetrate, even on sunny winter days.

If you wanted to check your vitamin D status, you could ask your GP or health practitioner to run a vitamin D blood test for you as well as checking haemoglobin and ferritin levels. Ultra Vitamin D 400 IU contains the exact daily supplement level recommended by the Department of Health along with higher dosages up to 4,000 IU if advised by your health practitioner.

Immunace Original is an advanced multi vitamin including iron, vitamin D, vitamin C, bioflavonoids, amino acids. It includes vitamin E which contributes to the protection of cells from oxidative stress, which can be caused by free radicals. If you need extra vitamin D, Immunace Extra Protection adds to our trusted formulation with 3,000 IU of vitamin D3 and it also provides Lycopene, L-carnitine, grape skin extract, Astaxanthin, and Alpha Lipoic Acid. If you think you are not getting enough vitamin C in your diet, Vitabiotics has Ultra Vitamin C in both tablet and effervescent form. Vitamin C helps support the normal function of the immune system and also protects cells from oxidative stress.

Diet is the foundation of good health, and when combined with adequate sleep, it helps you feel your best throughout the winter months. Remember, it is not only what you eat, but also what your body absorbs. Therefore, cooking methods, timing, and pairing foods thoughtfully all play a part. Nourishing meals along with proper rest create a strong base for energy, focus, and overall wellbeing, helping you move through the season ready for whatever comes your way.