A diet to strengthen your immune system should be done all the time if you want to stop getting sick. Your body is an incredible machine that kills virus, bacteria and other pathogens. But it can’t do this without your help so – here are some tips to help you strengthen your immunity.

Tip Number 1: Start your day right. Vitamin C is one of the best nutrients for your immune system. It increases your body’s production of antibodies and white blood cells that fight infection. It increases the level of natural interferon, which is the antibody that coats cells and stops virus from entering. It raises your good cholesterol and helps prevent plaque build-up in the arteries. But waiting until you get sick isn’t enough. This is a vitamin you should be getting plenty of in order to prevent a flu or cold from even starting. It takes time for your body to get these effects.

To get enough in your diet on a regular basis, start your day with an orange or grapefruit. Be sure to eat berries and other fruits and vegetables throughout the day. If you absolutely need to supplement, 200 milligrams a day should be enough. This would be equivalent to about six servings of fruit and vegetables a day.

Tip Number 2: Eat steel-cut oats, or oatmeal, for breakfast. The type of fiber found in this cereal contains beta-glucans which activates your killer cells. The steel-cut oats take more time to cook than the quick-cook kind, but it has twice the amount of this nutrient.

Tip Number 3: Top your lunch salad or sandwich with plenty of tomatoes. Besides being high in vitamin C, they are an antioxidant with tremendous cancer fighting powers. In studies, people who ate a diet rich in tomatoes compared to a diet with no tomatoes had less free-radical damage to their infection-fighting white blood cells.

Tip Number 4: Add five cups of chamomile tea a day to your diet. Recent studies show drinking this much tea for two whole weeks had more polyphenols in their blood. These plant compounds are phytonutrients, which increases your body’s bacteria-fighting ability. In addition, this tea is well known to be a sedative and nerve relaxant. This is beneficial since your body does most of its healing and repairing while you are asleep.

Tip Number 5: Eat proteins that contain plenty of zinc. These foods include dark meat turkey, beans, beef and even crab. Zinc increases your body’s T-cell count, which are a type of cell that fights infections. It helps all your white cells, or immune cells, to release more antibodies and increases the production of many more. It also causes them to work more aggressively. However, don’t rely on zinc supplements. Overdoing it on zinc can suppress your immune system. Instead, eat the foods that contain natural zinc.

Tip Number 6: Use fresh garlic in as many dishes as you can. Add it to soups, sauces, or even fresh vegetable juice if you make it. It stimulates production of your natural killer cells and increases antibody production. It is a well-known antioxidant that is a powerful cancer fighter. It protects your heart by stopping platelets from sticking together which can clog blood vessels. This is helpful in the prevention of heart attacks.

Tip Number 7: Spice it up. Use lots of chili peppers, onions, radishes, cayenne pepper and garlic in your daily dishes. These contain “mucolytics,” which actually thin mucus, making it easier to clear from your sinuses and chest. This is a natural expectorant without the side effects of medications.