Nutrition Videos

Hi! I'm Stelios Pantazis. I'm a doctor and I specialize in medical nutrition and metabolic disorders. Today, I'd like to warn you about nine foods that negatively affect the immune system. One, sugar. A lot of studies have been published in the last two or three decades claiming that the consumption of foods containing much sugar negatively affects the immune system, because they increase substances causing inflammation in the body, such as interleukin 6. Moreover, it has been established that increased blood sugar obstructs the proper function of white cells, namely the cells protecting us from infections. Finally, sugar disturbs the balance of the gut microbiota, which leads to the disturbance of the body's immune response too. All these studies show that people consuming foods containing much sugar weaken their immune system, which not only exposes them more to viruses and germs, but it also increases the risk of autoimmune diseases or cancer. Two, salt. Salt doesn't contain calories and, besides sodium and chlorine, two very significant ions for our health, it barely contains anything else. However, studies have shown that the increased consumption of salt disturbs the body's immune response and increases the risk of problems related to it, such as reduced immune response against germs, as well as increased risk of autoimmune diseases. Many studies have established that the increased consumption of salt may lead to an outbreak of autoimmune diseases, such as ulcerative colitis, rheumatoid arthritis, and systemic lupus erythematosus. Additionally, the increased consumption of salt disturbs the balance of the gut microbiota, which obstructs the proper immune response of the body too. Three, Omega-6 fatty acids. The most common unsaturated fats, namely oils, are Omega-3, Omega-6 and Omega-9. Oils constitute a mixture of these, although a group usually prevails. For example, olive oil consists of 90% Omega-9. Most seed oils, on the other hand, mainly contain Omega-6. Finally, Omega-3 are mainly contained in fish, algae and flax. All these fats are necessary, but our diet lacks Omega-3, which are the most beneficial. On the contrary, many people consume a lot of Omega-6, mainly through standardized and packaged foods. In plain words, foods contained in bags. Studies have shown that foods rich in Omega-6 fatty acids cause the production of substances that increase inflammation in the body. Ideally, Omega-6 fatty acids in our diet should be one to four times more than Omega-3. Unfortunately, Omega-3 are so hard to find in our diet that we end up eating 10-20 times more Omega-6 than Omega-3. Especially if we consume standardized and packaged foods. Four, fried foods. Fried foods are rich in some substances that are called AGE. These substances come from the reaction of carbohydrates contained in the foods with proteins under the influence of high temperature. The problem is that these substances contribute to and significantly increase inflammation in the body and they weaken our immune system. They also weaken the body's immune response to free oxygen radicals, while they also disturb the balance of gut microbiota. Don't forget that these substances are carcinogens and they increase the risk of heart disease and metabolic syndrome. Five, processed meats. The World Health Organization has classified processed meats as carcinogens, and I'm sure you won't be surprised to find out that they disturb the immune system too. Processed meats are not only rich in saturated fats, but they're also rich in salt and many additives. They should have no place in our diet. Six, takeaway food. This category includes all foods that are prepared fast and are cheap. This category includes pizzas, gyros and souvlaki, puff pastry sandwiches and every food that is ready when bought. These foods are rich in all the wrong substances, namely Omega-6, fats, salt, sugar, flavor enhancers, preservatives and many other substances that, among the many damages they cause to our body, disturb the immune system too. In fact, many of these foods are rich in phthalics, which are substances that disturb our endocrine system too, namely our hormones. Seven, foods with many chemicals and additives. This group includes foods packaged in bags that can be preserved at room temperature for many months. If you've ever made a cake, you've noticed that it starts to go bad in a few days. If you leave it for many days, it will melt so much that you won't be able to eat it. In order to overcome this problem and to be able to sell packaged foods to supermarkets and kiosks for many months after the foods are produced, the food industries have added a series of chemicals, so that their foods can be preserved for many months at room temperature. As you can imagine, all these additives and chemicals cause a series of damages to our body, such as the disturbance of the immune system. Even chemicals considered rather safe, such as emulsifiers, carrageenan and polysorbate, are known to cause inflammation to the digestive system and weaken the immune system. Unfortunately, even natural additives, such as citric acid, syrup, etc., obstruct the proper function of the immune system. Eight, processed cereals. Foods rich in processed carbohydrates, namely mass-produced pastries, bread, rusks, puff pastry, sweets with flour, etc., lead to a sudden increase of blood sugar, which leads to an hormonal profile that is produced in response to this sudden increase of blood sugar and weakens the immune system. Moreover, foods rich in processed carbohydrates disturb the normal gut microbiota, which weakens the immune system, as we've said. Nine, foods and soft drinks with chemical sweeteners. The worst thing that we could eat from a nutritional aspect is not a food, but it's soft drinks with sweeteners or sugar. These drinks are rich in chemical sweeteners that cause a very unpleasant hormonal profile in our body, which, among the many problems it causes, also weakens the immune system. Many studies have shown that some chemical sweeteners disturb the gut microbiota, weakening the body's most important control gate for germs. Finally, many studies have been carried out on guinea pigs and humans that show that chemical sweeteners increase the risk of autoimmune diseases. If you thought this was interesting, please give us a thumbs up. Share it with people who you think might find it interesting and subscribe to our channel in order to get notified when we upload a video. You can also suggest subjects in the comment section. Thank you very much!