I have partnered with the National Dairy Council to share with you today’s caliente topic: Your Health and How Dairy + Plants Can Help. I am also excited to share with you my delicious dairy and plant-packed smoothie that tastes great and is great for you, too. As a registered dietitian, I define a healthy person as someone who not only takes care of their mind and body, but also has a good relationship with food.
Given our current situation due to COVID-19, people are more interested in their health than ever. Many factors affect our immune system in a positive way such as sleep, exercise, stress management, minimizing alcohol, not smoking and healthy diets. So, I would like to talk about how nourishing our bodies can support our health.
It is important to eat a balanced diet with a variety of foods so we can get the essential nutrients to help maintain a healthy immune system function. So Good nutrition – on a regular basis – is essential to a strong immune system. But what is the immune system? Consider the immune system as your army and the soldiers are your white blood cells produced by various organs, tissues and cells. So, your army or immune system is constantly working to protect the body from infection, injury and disease. Also, a healthy immune system can help us heal faster from sickness. So, we must feed the soldiers with good nutrition so they can defend us!
We all know eating plenty of fruits and vegetables is essential for a healthy immune system. But one food group that many people don’t think about when we talk about supporting the immune system is dairy. Dairy goes beyond helping with strong bones. Together with fruits and vegetables, it can also help support our immune system. For example, milk is a good or excellent source of 9 essential nutrients, three of which – vitamin A, vitamin D and protein are essential for a healthy immune function. Yogurt contains protein and zinc, a mineral that can also help the immune system. Finally, some cheeses like cottage cheese contains protein and selenium, another mineral that supports the immune system.
Are you ready for my delicious and nutritious dairy and plant-packed smoothie? Learn how to make the recipe below by watching my recipe demonstration above.
