Answer:

Here are 5 LIFESTYLE CHANGES that will help protect your immune system:

• washing your hands often
• getting enough sleep
• working plenty of physical activity into your day
• reducing stress
• and last but not least: eating a healthy diet

There are a handful of vitamins and minerals that help the immune system in various ways, and many of these can be found in fruits and vegetables. In the last 30 years, studies have uncovered that nutrient deficiencies (even when the deficiencies are mild) do, in fact, impair the immune response and lead to frequent, severe infections.

To name a few -- several immune factors depend on B-6 to do their job, for example. Vitamin C decreases the oxidative damage in human white blood cells, while zinc affects the development and integrity of the immune system by affecting several key immunity mediators or helpers.

These are the nutrients that have important influences on your immune system:

Vitamin B-6 -- poultry, lean meats, fish, nuts and seeds, and fruits (bananas, avocados, mangos, prune juice, and grapes)

Folic acid -- beans, nuts, all types of dark-green vegetables, and many fruits (orange juice, papaya, banana, mango, kiwi, cantaloupe, and berries). Folic acid-fortified rice, pasta and breads, baked goods, and breakfast cereals are also now excellent sources.

Vitamin C -- Citrus fruits, papaya, strawberries, kiwi, cantaloupe, mango, red peppers, broccoli, brussels sprouts, cauliflower, cabbage, dark-green vegetables of all kinds, tomatoes, and potatoes.

Vitamin A -- All dark-green vegetables and yellow-orange vegetables and fruits are excellent sources of carotenoid forms of vitamin A.

Vitamin E -- wheat germ oil, peanuts, almonds, cod liver oil, soybean oil, canola oil, wheat germ, other nuts, selected fruits and vegetables (mango, Swiss chard, papaya, pumpkin, prunes, grapes, broccoli, spinach, pear, blueberries)

Zinc -- beef, poultry, seafood, nuts and seeds, whole grain breads and cereals, tofu, beans, and milk.

Iron -- shellfish (clams and oysters), pistachios, lean beef, dried beans and peas, eggs, nuts and seeds, dark chicken/turkey meat, dark molasses, prune juice, breads and pasta, and green vegetables.

Selenium -- Brazil nuts, oysters, claims, lean pork and ham, whole grain and regular pasta, chicken and turkey, sunflower seeds, lean beef, breads, oatmeal, soy nuts, eggs, nuts and seeds, and low-fat dairy products.

Flaxseed, in addition to offering the body a long list of potential health benefits, delivers a one-two punch to germs and bacterial bad guys. This centuries' old seed contains two substances that help the immune system:

• Punch 1 -- plant omega-3 fatty acids (alpha-linolenic acid) boost the body's ability to defend itself successfully against foreign substances.
• Punch 2 -- phytoestrogens (plant estrogens) called lignans influence certain mediators or helpers of the immune response.

For more information or recipes on flaxseed, check out my new book, The Flax Cookbook.