Boost Your Immune System with MyPlate

There is no superfood, herb, supplement, or magic potion that will prevent you from getting sick. But good nutrition can keep your immune system in good working order! We’ll show you how to use MyPlate to eat well and help your body fight infection and disease.
 
Follow along with Catalina, one of your SNAP4CT nutritionists, as she explains. Or, learn more by reading on.

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MyPlate Basics

If you have not heard of MyPlate before, it is a guide for healthy eating. It shows the 5 food groups we should eat every day and how much of each. It focuses on choosing a variety of foods and beverages with less saturated fat, sodium, and added sugars.
 
As you can see, half of our plate should be fruits and vegetables, about ¼ should be grains, about ¼ should be protein, and another small portion should be dairy.

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What are Vitamins, Minerals, and Antioxidants?

You may have heard a lot of talk about vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants and how they keep us healthy. But, what exactly are they? The simple definitions are:

• Vitamins and Minerals = small nutrients found in foods that our bodies need to grow and work properly.
  
• Antioxidants = defenders or fighters that help protect our bodies. Antioxidants include some vitamins and minerals like vitamins A, C, D, E, B6, folate, zinc, and selenium.

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Antioxidants in MyPlate Food Groups

Good news! We can find vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants naturally in all the different food groups shown on MyPlate! We’ll explore them here.
 

Fruits
Vitamin C is found in berries and all citrus fruits like oranges, tangerines, and lemons.

Add a boost of vitamin C to your breakfast by tossing berries into your oatmeal in our super simple Berry Oatmeal recipe.

Vegetables
Veggies provide us with many antioxidants! Vitamin A is in bell peppers, dark green leafy vegetables, beets, winter squash, sweet potatoes, and tomatoes. Vitamin C is also found in bell peppers, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, and dark green leafy vegetables. Dark leafy greens provide our bodies with vitamins B6 and folate, too!

For an easy veggie rich meal, try Southwest Baked Potatoes.

Grains
The mineral selenium is found in whole grains like brown rice, oatmeal, and whole wheat bread.

Load up on selenium and other valuable nutrients with Crock Pot Vegetable Brown Rice.

Protein
Almonds and sunflower seeds provide vitamin E, while eggs and legumes (beans, chickpeas, and lentils) provide vitamins B6 and folate. Zinc can also be found in protein foods like beef, poultry, seeds, chickpeas, and lentils.

Get vitamins B6, folate, and zinc in this easy Vegetarian Tacos recipe.

Dairy
You can find vitamin D in fortified dairy products like yogurt, milk, kefir, and milk alternatives such as soy, almond, and oat milks.

Combine the vitamin and antioxidant benefits of dairy and fruit with a Fruit Yogurt Parfait.

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Keep it Simple with MyPlate

Getting enough immune-boosting foods is easy if you use MyPlate as your guide. The following tips will help even more:

• Include a variety of whole grains, fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, and dairy every day for good nutrition.
• Different colors mean different nutrients. When choosing fruits and veggies, try to eat as many colors of the rainbow as you can, so you get a variety of nutrients.
  
• Buy food in its different forms. Fresh is not the only healthy option. Frozen, canned, or dried foods can be equally nutritious. If you have trouble finding one kind, substitute for another. You will get all the same benefits!

Find tips on using frozen and canned fruits and on enjoying vegetables the easy way.

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Want More Information?

• For more on MyPlate and a tour of each food group, visit our MyPlate page
• Download your Eat Well & Spend Less with MyPlate Guide (PDF)
• Learn more about your own Personal MyPlate Plan from ChooseMyPlate.gov
  
• Read how to Support Your Health with Nutrition from the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics