Weathering the Winter: Foods to Support the Immune System

Wintertime is upon us — as is a very active flu season. Fortunately, there are specific foods that will provide immune support to your horse and your dog!

In this article:

• • COMPONENTS OF AN IMMUNE-SUPPORTING DIET
  • IMMUNE SUPPORT FOR HORSES
  • IMMUNE SUPPORT FOR DOGS
  • TIGGER’S SLOW COOKER SOUP RECIPE
  • ADDITIONAL RESOURCES AND RECIPES

Components of an immune-supporting diet

The base of a diet that benefits the immune system as a whole is bovine colostrum. This food provides 80 different immune factors, including the immunoglobulins IgA and IgG, and specific peptides that regulate the thymus (which is known as the master gland of the immune system).

 

Coconut oil is an important part of an immune diet because the lauric acid in coconut supports the immune system and has antiviral properties.

 

Probiotics are essential, since the immune system is based in the GI tract.
While yogurt is a convenient food for one strain of beneficial bacteria (L. acidophilus), because the microbiome has so many different strains, it’s much more beneficial to use a multi-strain probiotic. Certain probiotics can decrease toxin gene expression, and therefore reduce toxin production, by specific pathogenic bacteria like Salmonella, E. coli, and C. perfringens. Other probiotic strains like S. boulardii release a protease that can digest C. difficile toxins, while still others, such as L. rhamnosus, can bind to toxins and decrease their bioavailability to the host.

In Ayurveda, Lactobacillus strains are considered cooling to the gut, and yeasts, like Boulardii, are warming. To increase circulation in the gut or put on weight, for example, you would want a yeast probiotic.

 

Shilajit, with its fulvic and humic acids, supports the mitochondria of the cells in producing ATP and CoQ10. The mitochondria are responsible for generating energy for cell division and growth, and the ATP they produce is often referred to as the “energy currency” of the body. When the immune system is under attack, the body feels like it is running out of energy; Shilajit can help restore higher amounts of the much-needed energy currency.

 

Among antioxidants, vitamin C and vitamin E are critical for proper immune support.

Whole oranges (ground up in a food processor for the horses and dogs) provide not only vitamin C, but also important bioflavonoids like quercetin. Bioflavonoids can work as natural antihistamines. Other good sources of vitamin C include papaya, strawberries, and kiwi fruit.

 

When adding to your horse’s and dog’s immune-supporting diets, go for food sources high in vitamin E, as well as regular vitamin E supplementation: camelina oil, almonds, and sunflower seeds or sunflower oil.

 

Other potent antioxidants include: 

• • • Astaxanthin, a red algae-derived super antioxidant that’s more powerful than vitamin C, vitamin E, or resveratrol.
    • Turmeric, an antioxidant-laden food that helps regulate inflammation. 

 

Remember that inflammation is part of the body’s natural immune system response. Chronic inflammation, however, leads to a weakened immune system. By reducing inflammation, turmeric can help restore balance.

Targeted ingredients for immune support can make all the difference

Horses, dogs, and humans can all benefit from immune-supportive foods, and the components are quite similar.

IMMUNE SUPPORT FOR HORSES:

 

                 

*Note for easy keepers and metabolic horses: rather than using oranges and papaya, try ¼ cup of chopped parsley or chopped kale twice per day, which provide vitamin C from a non-fruit source.

IMMUNE SUPPORT FOR DOGS

 

             

 

Tigger’s immune-supporting slow cooker soup for dogs and humans

My favorite winter-time immune support activity for both dogs (and myself!) is making homemade slow cooker soup. The recipe is a vegetarian soup that’s great for supporting the immune systems of both dogs and humans. Organic bison or chicken can be added for meat eaters looking for more protein.

This makes quite a large batch for multiple dogs (and humans). If you’re only feeding one or two dogs, you can always freeze this soup and take it out when needed.

Ingredients:

Optional: Alfalfa (added after soup has cooked) and/or broccoli sprouts

Extras for humans only: Chopped garlic, lemon grass or mint leaves, and croutons.

Directions:

1. Fill a slow cooker halfway with water, then add the chopped celery, carrots, broccoli, sweet potatoes, green beans, winter squash, and a chopped apple.  
2. Add ½ teaspoon of dry organic rosemary.
3. 1 teaspoon of dry organic basil.  
4. Cook on low for 2-4 hours.  
5. As the soup is cooling, you can add some coconut milk for a thicker soup, and/or squeeze in half a lemon to freshen up the flavors. 
6. Add a dash of cinnamon as the soup is cooling for an extra source of antioxidants.

I add the soup to the dogs’ food with some sprouts, a great source of enzymes and chlorophyll, and mix it all together. 

After I’ve divided the soup into a “For-the-Dogs” portion and a “For-Me” portion, I add some chopped garlic to mine, sometimes a little lemon grass or mint leaves, and sprinkle some of Aleia’s Gluten-Free Classic Croutons (my favorite!).

This wintertime, feed the immune system and enjoy good health for your horses, your dogs, and your family.

 

More insights on whole food recommendations and recipes

Whole Food for Horses is a simple, straight-forward guide to nutrition fundamentals and common feed ingredients, along with expert advice on how to feed for performance, recovery, GI tract stress, immune challenges, metabolic imbalances, and overall well-being. What began as one woman’s journey to find out what really goes into commercial horse feed became Whole Food for Horses: an inspiring testament to how feeding real, whole food can improve your horse’s life and performance.

 

The World According to Kemosabe is written from Kemosabe’s unique position in the pack: Storyteller of the Aussie Tribe. In addition to his farm life observations and colorful tales of canine camaraderie past and present, the book offers easy-to-follow nutrition fundamentals for dogs, including raw food, home-cooked food, supplements, recipes, resources, and expert advice on how to feed for a spectrum of specific health challenges ranging from allergies to cancers.

 

 

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About the Author: With over 30 years experience in the equine and human supplement industry, Tigger Montague knows nutrition from the synthetic side as well as the whole food side. She started BioStar US in 2006 with formulas she created in her kitchen. Before she started the company, she was an avid rider and competitor with eventing and show jumping, until she got hooked on dressage in the late 1980’s. She has competed on horses she’s owned and trained all the way from training level to Grand Prix.

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