Foods for Immunity | Bon Appetit's Healthyish Interview
“There’s a lot of unsolicited chatter floating around about what we should and shouldn’t be doing to stay healthy at a time when we’re anxious, socially distant, and feeling under threat: Vitamins? What kinda soap? How many feet apart? Help! And while there’s no “right” or “wrong” way to eat right now (or ever), a lot of us are trying to make food choices that support—rather than hinder—our efforts to keep ourselves feeling well.
So, from my coffee-table-turned-work-desk, surrounded by a French press and a bowl of cashew crumbs, I reached out to Rachelle Robinett—clinical herbalist, holistic health practitioner, and founder of Supernatural Cafe—to see what ingredients she’s leaning on for physical and mental support right now.
“Getting enough sleep and mental rest (like meditation and laughter), staying really warm, and spending some time in the sun can all help,” Robinett tells me over the phone. She also encourages eating tons of vegetables, healthy fats, superfoods, and hot and spicy foods; and watching your intake of caffeine, alcohol, processed foods, and sugar.
“Too much sugar, of which alcohol and flour are also forms of, reduces our white blood cells' ability to protect our bodies,” she says. “Processed foods are also a source of sugar, chemicals, and bad fats.”
So while you’re hunkered down, here’s a look at some of Robinett’s go-to, health-focused ingredients—most of which you’ll probably already have in the kitchen.
[Ed note: No diet or ingredient will protect against a virus like COVID-19. The most important thing you can do right now is follow the CDC’s health advice: wash your hands, keep them away from your face, and stay home if you can.]
Fermented Foods
Why they’re good: “The gut is our first line of defense, internally,” says Robinett, responsible for protecting and balancing our immune systems. Eating naturally probiotic-rich foods—like kimchi, sauerkraut, tempeh, and miso—can boost the amount of good bacteria in our guts and help us ward off pathogens and disease.
How to use them: We love a comforting miso curry—heavy on the miso. And this unassuming tofu stew harbors half a cup of kimchi! Bonus points for the ginger and gochujang, but more on those kids later.
Things to note: If you really want to get serious about bacteria, taking a probiotic supplement can help. Robinett says you want to look for “a high quantity of bacteria and a diversity of strains.”
Read the rest of the story here.