Boosting the immune system can help lessen the number of times a person gets sick.

Some everyday foods that boost the immune system are yogurt, oatmeal, almonds, blueberries and red grapes.

Yogurt has probiotics, a healthy type of bacteria, which help keep the intestinal tract free of disease-causing germs. The recommended daily amount is two six-ounce servings per day .

Oatmeal also helps the immune system because of beta-glucan. Beta-glucan is a type of fiber with antimicrobial and antioxidant capabilities. The recommended amount of oatmeal that a person needs each day is one and a half cups.

The skin of the almond helps improve the body’s white blood cells to detect viruses. It also increases the body’s ability to prevent viruses from replicating and spreading in the body. The recommended amount per day is one third of a cup.

Chloe Smith, English teacher, said, “I try to eat almonds to help boost my immune system and lead a healthy life. I also eat almonds for protein because I don’t eat much meat.”

Blueberries have pterostilbene and red grapes have resveratrol which help increase the cathelicidin antimicrobial peptide (CAMP) gene. The CAMP gene produces proteins that help defend against bacterial infection. The recommended amount each day is half a cup of blueberries.  For grapes the recommended amount per day is one cup.

English teacher, Rosalynn Cambe, said, “To boost my immune system I eat a lot of fruits and try to stay away from processed or packaged foods. I also bought a Nutri-Bullet to make smoothies to add more fruits to my diet.”

Some ordinary drinks help boost the immune system, including green tea, orange juice and a cup of hot water with fresh lemon and ginger .

Green tea has polyphenols that cleans up free radicals, damaging compounds that can hurt a person’s DNA and accelerate aging. The recommended amount each day is one to two cups of green tea.

Orange juice can help boost immunity because of the vitamin C that helps protect cells from substances that damage the body. It too is an antioxidant. The recommended amount per day is eight to 12 ounces.

Science chair, Erin Flynn, said, “I drink orange juice because it contains vitamin C which some studies suggest boost immunity. It may also work with other nutrients to help the immune system.”

Hot water with fresh lemon and ginger helps clean a person’s system. All it takes is one teaspoon of fresh grated ginger in eight to 12 ounces of water with the juice of one or two lemon slices.