Veggie treats to boost your immunity
We all know that what we eat is crucial to helping us to lose weight — but our diet also has a vital role in how successfully our body fights off disease.
Research shows that the more varied your diet, the greater the health benefits, as your body needs a wide range of different food groups, vitamins and minerals to function optimally.
‘We created the myWW+ app based on the foods that are best for your health and immune system as well as to help you to lose unwanted weight,’ says Julia Westgarth, head of programme at WW, formerly known as Weight Watchers.
This is why most non- starchy vegetables and fruits have been classified as having zero SmartPoints, encouraging you to eat them liberally without counting or weighing them while still losing weight. These foods contain a huge range of phytochemicals — powerful naturally-occurring compounds that give fruit and veg their distinctive flavours and tastes as well as being highly beneficial to our health.
Particularly valuable, healthwise, are green leafy vegetables, such as broccoli, cabbage, kale, rocket, spinach and bok choy. These are packed with polyphenols — one of the largest groups
of phytochemicals — which scientific studies have shown to help protect our DNA from damage.
Cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli may also act in the liver to dampen the processes by which dietary toxins in our food are converted into damaging carcinogens.
Meanwhile, research suggests that berries — also rich in numerous polyphenols — can help protect the brain against disease, as well as being a good source of vitamin C, minerals and fibre.
And it’s important not to overlook the role your spice rack can play too. Not only do ginger, garlic, turmeric and cumin add an extra kick tastewise, but they’re also brimming with phytochemicals and micronutrients that can help your body to fight off damage from pollution or dietary toxins.
Today, as we continue our brilliant WW series to help you transform your health, fitness and happiness in 2021, we’re sharing some mouthwatering recipes that are packed with diseasefighting vegetables, fruit, herbs and spices scientifically shown to boost your immune system while also helping you to shed unwanted weight.
Not only do nearly all these simple but scrumptious suggestions have zero SmartPoints, meaning you don’t have to worry about portion size, but they’re all suitable for vegetarians and vegans too.
Fancy something simple but spicy for lunch? Then look no further than our warming spiced carrot and ginger soup.
Or how about a sustaining bowl of courgette primavera topped with delicious roasted vegetables and a zesty herb sauce? You could finish off with a refreshing bowl of fruit salad with mint and lime.
‘The more different coloured fruit and vegetables you eat, the more different types of nourishing micronutrients you will be adding to your diet,’ says Julia Westgarth. ‘And the less likely you’ll be to suffer from recipe fatigue and boredom caused by falling back on the same recipes.’