It’s important to always eat healthy and incorporate foods that naturally help boost our immune systems with added nutrients and vitamins. Although medicine is the go-to way of staying healthy for most once they are sick, many overlook how the body is naturally designed to repair itself given the right tools (can you really rebuild a house if you don’t have the proper tool kit?).

Charlotte Traas of New Chapter, a company devoted to creating holistic and natural supplement products, believes that there are many of healthy ways that you can keep your body running in top shape. She recommends staying well hydrated and rested (so don’t skip out on those zzz’s and drink that water) as well taking probiotics to help protect your intestinal microbiome.

Charlotte also reveals that exercising properly (and not over doing it) helps the body deal with stress (stress has been shown to weaken the immune system). She also adds that keeping a humidifier around is also really helpful because it keeps the nose membranes moist and prevent bacteria from sticking.

Below we’ve included (along with some suggestions from Charlotte) some foods that you can incorporate in your daily diet to help boost your immune defenses and stay healthy!