Top 10 Immune Supporting Vitamins and Minerals
Ready to learn about the most important vitamins and minerals and how they impact your immune system for the better? Keep reading!
Top 10 Immune Supporting Vitamins and Minerals
#1: Magnesium
Used for many different biochemical processes — over 300! It helps to maintain bone health, heart health, and immune health. It balances blood sugar levels, may help to lower cholesterol levels, and promotes healthy sleep habits. Magnesium promotes healthy mood and may help to relieve anxiety.
Magnesium also promotes gut health, and relieves occasional constipation. It helps muscles to function properly, and relieves occasional leg cramps.
Use magnesium to support the body overall, and especially promote healthy sleep and healthy bowel habits!
Find it in: Good Night Lotion
#2: Vitamin D
Vitamin D is a pre-hormone that has lots of important functions in the body! It helps with the absorption and use of calcium and other major minerals. It supports a healthy immune system. Vitamin D also promotes bone health. It may even help to prevent or fight cancer, diabetes, heart disease, and more!
Use vitamin D to balance out the body and support hormone production. It isn’t found in many foods, but you can get it from the sun in the summer months — or year around, in hot climates.
Find it in: Cod liver oil
#3: Zinc
Zinc helps directly with immunity and may even fight the common cold. It also promotes hormone balance, the growth and repair of new body tissues, and is anti-inflammatory in the body. Most people could use more of it, especially during cold and flu season.
It’s mostly found in animal foods, like beef or liver, but can also be found in nuts and legumes. Take extra if you feel something coming on!
Find it in: Dessicated liver pills
#4: Vitamin C
Vitamin C has long been known as a “cold fighter,” and for good reason! People who are deficient are more likely to get colds and they can last longer. Vitamin C is also anti-inflammatory, protects eye health, promotes heart health, and even keeps skin looking young.
It’s famously found in oranges, but that’s not actually the best source. Red peppers, strawberries, and other red fruits are higher in vitamin C, and special tropical berries like camu camu and acerola are the highest yet! (That’s where we get our vitamin C powder — these special berries.)
Find it in: Immune-Aid Vitamin C Powder
#5: Vitamin E
Vitamin E is a powerful antioxidant with tons of benefits to skin, hair, and immune health. It helps promote heart health, eye health, and protects all the cells in the body. Many people use it because of its anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant properties.
Vitamin E also helps with moisturizing skin and reducing itching, dryness, and inflammation, as well as reducing scarring.
It’s a fat-soluble vitamin that’s found in wheat germ oil, nuts, and seeds.
Find it in: Wheat germ oil
#6: Vitamin B6
Vitamin B6 is very important — it helps your body turn the food you eat into energy you can use! Plus, B6 helps to promote healthy energy levels (without the crash that stimulants can cause), supports the liver, promotes skin and eye health, and balance mood and blood sugar.
Perhaps most importantly, B6 works to create antibodies that the immune system uses to keep us healthy!
Get it from beans or legumes, meat, avocados, or leafy greens. It’s found in many common foods!
Find it in: Nourish Me Naturally
#7: Selenium
Selenium has a special role in the body — it’s a powerful antioxidant, it improves blood flow, and increases the body’s ability to respond to stress. This improved stress response means that you’re less likely to get sick, even if you’re around others who are!
Selenium also promotes heart health, and may protect against cancer. It also promotes fertility and promotes a healthy thyroid.
It’s found in Brazil nuts, legumes, meat, fish, and sunflower seeds.
Find it in: Nourish Me Naturally
#8: Folate
Many people aren’t getting enough of this, thanks to MTHFR gene mutations. And it’s important, because it supports immune system function, nerve function, and copying DNA (which promotes healthy cellular regeneration).
Folate also helps with energy, digestion, and may even prevent anemia (or help with symptoms of anemia).
It’s found in leafy greens and legumes, and when it occurs naturally, is usually in methylfolate form, which is the most absorbable.
Find it in: Nourish Her Naturally
#9: Iron
Iron is actually key to healthy energy levels and healthy sleep habits! It also helps to oxygenate red blood cells, and promotes normal growth and development in children, especially brain development.
Iron is found in red meat, as well as many different plants — including legumes, nuts, and seeds.
Find it in: Energy Plus {Herbal Iron}
#10: Vitamin A
A fat-soluble vitamin, vitamin A is incredibly important to immune health. It also promotes eye health, fertility, and skin health (including reducing acne). Vitamin A is also crucial to growth and development.
Vitamin A is a powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory that helps to support the immune system and all the cells in the body. It’s found in liver and cod liver oil, and is safe when it’s food-based (but can be dangerous in high doses if it’s synthetic).
Find it in: Cod liver oil