As we all know, college can be too much fun and lead to lots of viruses. There are plenty of immunity-boosting foods to eat in your dining hall that can help you prevent getting a cold in the middle of finals. If you don’t know what foods you should eat to help boost your immunity while at school, we have a list of ideas to help you stay healthy.
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1. Yogurt
When you are in the dining hall, you will likely find yogurt, especially during breakfast or lunch. Yogurt is a great way to help boost your immunity because it keeps healthy bacteria thriving to support your immune system. WebMD also put this on their list for the best immunity-boosting foods, but particularly low-fat yogurt. Even if you don’t have it for breakfast or lunch, you can grab a yogurt and save them in your room if you have a mini fridge. That way, when you want it, you can eat it as a snack on the go. I would have one every other day and I hardly got sick at school. Yogurt is healthy and immune boosting, but also delicious and comes in a variety of flavors.
2. Vegetables
Eating vegetables is important because they carry a lot of vitamins C and K, along with folate and fiber, making them powerful immunity-boosting foods. If you see vegetables in the dining hall, be sure to grab a spoonful. They will help you keep your vitamins and minerals up while away at school, which should also keep you healthy. I am not a big fan of most vegetables, but I would eat a dinner with mainly vegetables twice a week to help my body fight off germs and viruses. The best vegetables to eat are carrots, asparagus, broccoli, peas, avocados, and spinach. You can try seasoning the vegetables with dining hall sauces or spices to make them taste more appealing.
3. Fruits
If you don’t like vegetables, you can always eat fruits instead. Fruits can help fight infection by increasing your white blood cells. Fruits provide beta-carotene, vitamin C, and vitamin E, boosting immune function. Some specific immunity-boosting foods to eat in the dining hall are oranges, pears, apples, strawberries, blueberries, and kiwis, depending on what they have. Citrus fruits in particular are known to be full of healthy vitamins. You can usually find a fruit cup at dining that has a mixture of everything, so this is a great option. Often times, they will have apples and oranges sitting in a bowl that you can grab on your way out too. I would grab one of each because you can always save it for later or eat it on a different day.
4. Eggs
Eggs are a great way to help boost the immune system because they have vitamin D, iron, B-12, and more, which is essential to immune function. This helps regulate the body’s immune response, so vitamin D is key. At the dining hall, there are always eggs being served for breakfast. I know that it is easy to get tired of eggs or omelettes when you eat them a lot. So, try to eat them at least once or twice a week and it will benefit the body. If you add in the other foods we’ve recommended throughout the week, you will continue to boost the immune system each day. Try to change up how you eat it such as scrambled eggs on toast with avocado or an omelette with different ingredients each time.
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5. Whole Grains
Whole grains are great for an added immunity boost. Some whole grains to look for in the dining hall are corn, rice, and oats. You can find oatmeal in the dining halls for breakfast. They tend to have plain oatmeal, and you can add brown sugar or fruits to your bowl if you choose to. Be sure to switch it up occasionally, so that you don’t get sick of one food by eating it too much. There are tons of ways to incorporate healthy grains into your diet. Check out your dining hall options and rotate your meal of choice.