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Hosted by Paul Evans, Registered Nutritionist (@paulthenutritionist)
Tired of the endless food fads, influencer nonsense, and TikTok nutrition “hacks”? This podcast cuts through it all.
No Forking Nonsense delivers straight-talking, science-backed nutrition advice that actually makes sense — in under 20 minutes. No fluff. No fads. Just real answers from a qualified expert who knows what works in the real world.
Each episode tackles one myth, one headline, or one common mistake — and gives you clear, practical takeaways you can apply straight away.
Whether you're trying to eat better, feel more human, or just stop falling for the same old food BS — this is the show for you.
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Hello and welcome to another episode of No Forking Nonsense and today, we are talking about your immune system. So this is an episode of the last winter I think and I thought to myself when I was doing it, probably should have done this before winter. So here we are. I'm going to talk you through exactly how to improve your immune system. We're going to talk through how orange juice does very little for your immune system, as does chicken soup, and what you can do to improve your immune system and make yourself not get ill.
@paulthenutritionist:As always, if you're sick of your algorithm giving you rubbish information, information that is toxic, is via Stephen Bartlett, then engage with this podcast. I've had so many messages from people telling me since they've done that, their algorithm has changed. It's literally a way for you to improve your algorithm. Why do you want shit on your social media, just toxic stuff? Every Friday with my clients, we do a live call covering a topic and it s usually a topic that is about something that s come up and recently we have done the trilogy of fats, carbs and this week we have got protein and fibre.
@paulthenutritionist:And in it, I am basically talking through the easiest ways to get your protein, how much protein you need, what it does and how to what protein sources it shows and why it so important. If you think that that would be helpful, I want you to send me a message because what I can do is I can do one of two things: I can turn it into an episode on here, so that you've got access to that, or if you'd like to see the workshop, and this is pretty exclusive, just send me a message on Instagram pawlenutritionist with the word workshop, and I will share this client only live call with you. So send me that message and you can have it. In other news, if you are someone who is going out most days to the supermarket to get your lunch and you end up cobbling together some meal deal from into whatever shop, I've got good news for you. In the next couple of weeks, I am going to be releasing a meal deal survival guide for free and I am going to start by offering it on here.
@paulthenutritionist:It's going to be unreal. I think 3,000 people downloaded the supermarket hacks list that I wrote. This is even better because it s basically outlining meal deals, I ve literally created combinations for you in the big six supermarkets, including Waitrose and Marks and Spencer, which usually gets overlooked. What I ve also done is given you these rules where if you can learn these three numbers, it s going to show you what to look for when you re building a meal. So how much calories you want to look for, how much fibre you want to look for and how much protein you want to look for.
@paulthenutritionist:And if you hit those numbers, you literally can t fail. So that s coming up in the next few weeks, so look out for that. If you've got any questions about anything, send me a message on Instagram, bordennutritionist. If you start that message with podcast so I know where you came from, I will prioritise your message. But other than that, enjoy this episode on improving your immunity and I shall speak to you on Wednesday.
@paulthenutritionist:The bitter best. So the first place that we are going to start is talking about what your immune system actually needs. So your immune system simply needs enough calories, protein, hydration and sleep. And if any of those dip, your defences are also going to dip. So if you re someone who is overeating, there s busy days, skipping meals, perhaps you put yourself on too much of a calorie deficit, if you re really stressed, all of these components will weaken your immunity significantly.
@paulthenutritionist:So here is what enough actually looks like in real life. So the first thing, the easiest thing to do, and I m sure you re not going to be surprised at this, we need to make sure that we are getting enough protein with every single meal. If you aim for about 25 to 35 grams of protein each time, so whether that s Greek yogurt, some fruit, eggs on toast, a chicken wrap, tofu stir fry, salmon and rice, whatever, just ensure that you are always looking when you eat at where you re getting your 25 to 35 grams of protein every time you eat. Another thing is to avoid big gaps without eating. So going six to seven hours between meals will just create your blood sugar to drop and that will also weaken your immunity.
@paulthenutritionist:So again, keep those higher protein snacks available and maybe even if you're somebody who gets too busy and you forget to eat, set a reminder on your phone to just eat lunch or whatever it may be. And also eat mostly whole foods but certainly don't be scared of carbs. Carbs are the energy for your immune cells and we never want to be cutting any food groups out but carbohydrates are really important. So adding potatoes, rice, oats or fruit to your main meals is going to give your body what it needs. Remember, we want to be putting energy in our vehicle, which is our car, to maximise our body's response.
@paulthenutritionist:Remember, our body is made up of cells and our cells are made up of what we put in our body. So the better the cells, the better our body is going to respond to it. Second thing, vitamin D. So this is an absolute non negotiable. For me, I m not mad on loads of supplements.
@paulthenutritionist:I see so many people online like fitness influencers or whatever and they re like this is what I take in the day and a lot of it is just filler. But they take stuff like one cod liver oil tablet, is absolutely pointless or one multivitamin tablet, which again is crazy. We'll talk about that another time, I have got my list to do a supplements podcast which yeah, anyway. Ninety percent of our country, well, The UK becomes vitamin D sufficient, insufficient I should say in winter. That is that low vitamin D is linked to an increase in respiratory infections, it's linked to obviously SAD, Season Affective Disorder.
@paulthenutritionist:I had a client whose partner was really, really struggling during winter and they said could you take a look? I said have you tried because they really were like rock bottom depression over winter and I said, why don't you just try having four thousand international units of Vitamin D a day and within a week they were literally a different person. So it's really significant. I would recommend that you take anything from two thousand to four thousand international units of vitamin D3 a day between October to April. And actually, even if we have those summers where the sun's not out, it's always a good supplement to take.
@paulthenutritionist:And as I say, there is a lot of research linked to increased low vitamin DBA in having there is a lot of research linked to increased respiratory infections for those who are deficient in vitamin D. The things you can do if you didn't want to take supplements is eat oily fish once, two times a week, so salmon, sardines, and mackerel. And again, you'll get a sufficient amount of not quite, but you'll be certainly increasing your vitamin D there. But it is really hard to get vitamin D via food. If are you taking vitamin D, it's a fat soluble vitamin, so make sure you take it with food.
@paulthenutritionist:Same with fish oils. We need to ensure that we're having fats ideally when we're taking those things. Some nutrients that your immune system relies upon. So vitamin C is a funny one because most people think that vitamin C boosts your immune system. It doesn't, but it does support immune cells, so they respond faster.
@paulthenutritionist:So in the most simple explanation, when you get a virus, your white blood cells produce oxidative stress, and vitamin C acts like a shield and a fuel source for those cells so they keep functioning. And this is why vitamin C doesn't prevent cold but reduces how bad they get and how long they last. I guess the annoying thing is people are like, I'm just going to have more orange juice or just have some orange juice and some chicken soup. Orange juice has vitamin C, yeah, but it also has 20 grams of sugar per glass and barely any fibres. The best source of vitamin C food wise are kiwi has more vitamin C than orange and it's amazing that people don't know that.
@paulthenutritionist:Red and yellow peppers, berries, broccoli, citrus fruits, potatoes also are really rich in vitamin C, tomatoes as well. And you probably need one to two vitamin C rich foods daily, ideally with a meal. Now you can get Baroque tablets, vitamin C and zinc, I'm going to talk about zinc in a second, which kind of do the job, I have one of those every morning and they are really cheap because it's such a cheap nutrient to put in tablets if you like and effervescence. Remember, vitamin C absorbs best with food, not on an empty stomach. So the easiest thing to do is add peppers or broccoli to even a meal, have berries at breakfast, swap your afternoon snack for a kiwi or maybe even a clementine.
@paulthenutritionist:But if you're using something, you want to have one hundred to two hundred mg a day, not two thousand or two grams like a lot of people assume. More isn't necessarily better, it will just pee out, it just becomes an expensive hiss. Zinc is, I guess, an antiviral mineral that often people forget about. And this is the nutrient almost no one gets enough of, yet it's probably one of the most important nutrients for your immunity. So your immune system uses zinc to signal an attack, so if you have low zinc, you get low response and you'll stay here longer.
@paulthenutritionist:There was a study in 2017, I think it was a German or a Swedish study, which reported that zinc lozenges can shorten colds by up to 40% when taken at the very start of a cold, which I thought was really interesting. But the best way to offset that is during winter, have a vitamin C and zinc tablet you can get from Bifanescent, sorry, that you can get from Aldi, you get from Lidl, you get from Tesco, wherever or ideally you take daily intake free food, so aim for one thing containing food each day, so pumpkin seeds perhaps sprinkled onto a yoghurt. Eggs, I have loads of zinc in, nuts, be careful of the portions of these. Beans, lentils, seafood. A lot of cereals are fortified now but again, not enough.
@paulthenutritionist:Cheddar cheese is okay but again, of the calories. What I would probably do is stick to having a vitamin C and zinc effervescent with some food, they kind of dissolve quite nicely and then you can drink them. But avoid taking zinc on an empty stomach because it can cause you to feel sick. But ideally, you would have pumpkin seeds and your yoghurt or your porridge and that should do you. Omega-three, so Omega-three, people assume it's for heart health but for immunity, it's really important as well.
@paulthenutritionist:When you get cold, your immune system creates inflammation to fight it. So omega-3s will help you produce enough inflammation to kill that virus without producing so much that you feel awful for days. There was a study in 2020 that explained that omega-three improves immune and cell function and inflammation resolution. So some practical actions if you're someone who eats fish, salmon, mackerel, sardines, trout, herring, two to three servings of any of those fish each week. But if you don't eat fish, take an omega-three supplement, making sure it contains EPAs and DHOs, not plant omega-three because they don't do a lot, so always take it with food, ideally a meal containing fat for better absorption and stop you getting those fish burps.
@paulthenutritionist:But ideally, you would have salmon once, perhaps some other fish at another time throughout the week. Pretty cheap, you can get frozen fish these days, it's really cheap and that kind of does the job. Protein, so obviously I'm always banging on about protein because it's one thing that pretty much everyone under eats. Most people will think that protein is like a gym thing, not an omeat thing but quite simply, your immune system is made up of cells and these cells are made up of protein. So if you're not eating enough protein, your body literally cannot make or repair immune cells fast enough.
@paulthenutritionist:So you'll get ill more often and you'll stay ill longer. Again, there was a study in 2020 by Gomber at Etl which clearly showed that low protein diets weaken immune response, which sounds really obvious. So some really practical things you can do if you don't want to take away protein shake, and there is nothing wrong with taking away protein shakes, by the way. It is just a food derivative, well, meal derivative. Four eggs is 24 grams of protein.
@paulthenutritionist:Greek yogurt bowl, chicken wrap, salmon fillet, tofu stir fry, or you could just have a protein shake, protein bars, whatever. Don't rely on one big protein meal that a lot of people do, you need to spread that protein out because immune cells need a steady supply as opposed to one big dump. But when you're feeling run down, prioritise easy protein foods like yoghurt and fruit, smoothies with whey, eggs on toast, maybe soups with some other chicken, but make sure it's high quality, not just a soup from the supermarket which has six grams of chicken and it's crazy. I would probably make your own with some broth as opposed to getting it from a supermarket, so you're probably not going to do that, it's going take ages. But I would just make sure that we're having at least 20 to 30 grams of protein every time you eat as a non negotiable.
@paulthenutritionist:And that goes throughout the whole year, not just now. Probiotics. Did we go into probiotics? The gut immune connection is quite significant. The problem is it's so trendy right now that sometimes I don't want to jump on those trends because people get it twisted.
@paulthenutritionist:But 70% of your immune system will sit in your gut, so your gut lining is like the front line for your immune defence. So probiotics can help keep that lining healthy, they can also support the bacteria that communicate with your immune cells. And probiotics, but you need to make sure you get the right ones, have been shown to reduce how often people get colds and how long they last. So some practical things you can do is just ideally have one probiotic food a day, probiotic yogurts, watch the sugar, kefir, sauerkraut, kimchi, miso soup, those sorts of things. But ideally take them with meals, not on an empty stomach because it improves the survival of the bacteria.
@paulthenutritionist:If you're going to supplement, look for those with about 10,000,000,000 to 20,000,000,000 CFU with multiple strains of bacteria. But food sources are absolutely fine if you can get it in. I think fear, yoghurt is probably the easiest way to do it. Yeah, hopefully that helps with those bits and pieces. Now what not to do this winter and what to do instead?
@paulthenutritionist:I don't want you to completely rely on supplements alone because they will not override a poor diet. Sleep is so important. Don't mega dose vitamin C because it just hits your gut and probably causes an expensive whee. Don't starve yourself when you run down because illness increases the calorie need because you need to repair and your body craves because you need nutrients. And ideally, don't train hard through illness, so heavy workouts will weaken your immune system, period.
@paulthenutritionist:The rule is usually if your symptoms are neck up, you're fine to train neck down, just drop intensity forty eight, seventy two hours and feel consistently. Hydration is really, really, really important. Get some electrolytes and make sure you're hydrating and getting enough water in because that's really important. But it is some kind of lifestyle things that matter more than taking supplements. Sleeping for less than six hours makes you four times more likely to catch cold according to a study from 2015.
@paulthenutritionist:So you want to aim for seven to eight hours, put your phone away thirty minutes before bed, listen to the sleep podcast a few episodes back for tips on that. Hydration is absolutely essential because hydrating mucous membranes trap viruses better, so aim strength two to three litres a day. Listen to the first or second podcast on this feed. Add electrolytes ideally, tap water doesn't have enough minerals in, so it's worth it, or just get some pink sea salt, throw that in your water. And then chronic stress suppresses your immune system, and that is why everyone gets aside from not enough vitamin D, but everyone gets more ill during winter because the stress is up, we're not getting enough vitamin D.
@paulthenutritionist:Obviously, viruses breed in the humid conditions in our homes. So be mindful of your stress recovery, say ten minute walks, deep breaths before meals, one low stress evening per week, really, really helpful. So things you can do when you feel run down, things that I guess when you feel that something's coming, I would go for oats, berries and whey, chicken or tofu with some veggies, Greek yoghurt, kiwi, yoghurt, honey, eggs on toast with maybe a vitamin C and zinc drink, salmon rice and spinach, warm tea, broth, soups for throat comfort if you're really going downhill. Just try and avoid heavy greasy foods, obviously alcohol, which increase inflammation and so digestion. So an immunity checklist for you, vitamin D daily, one to two vitamin C foods or vitamin C and zinc supplement, protein every time you eat for the rest of your life, omegas, tablets taken daily with food, two to three litres of water per day, seven to eight hours sleep, maybe a probiotic food daily and avoid long gaps between eating.
@paulthenutritionist:Just remember there is no magic pill, you just need to stay consistent, smart, nutrition. But if you do those things, I will be amazed if your illness timing doesn't reduce, if you don't feel a bit better, and if you also have a much better immune system. I can guarantee if you improve your nutrition, then your immune system will improve as well. And there we go. That was the podcast on looking to improve your immune system.
@paulthenutritionist:I hope you found it super helpful and hopefully by you doing this, you will not get ill this year. A lot of these things you can apply to your kids as well. We want a healthy home where people aren't getting ill. I remember when I was younger, I used to have this weird thing where every year, usually about December 23, I'd just get violently ill, which can hopefully be tackled with maximising our immune system. Anyway, last week, I gave a little challenge.
@paulthenutritionist:I gave a little secret, secret buzzword for you lot listening now, who listen to the end of a podcast. And I was surprised because six of you sent me the secret buzzword, so we're going to do it again. If you're listening to this now let me bring this music down if you're listening to this now, then I've got something for you. If you'd like to have a conversation with me, your favourite, leading, award winning registered nutritionist, the host of this podcast, the second most listened to nutrition podcast in The United Kingdom. A person who has worked with hundreds of people just like you, hundreds of professional athletes, who knows nutrition inside out.
@paulthenutritionist:If you would like me to have a chat with you about your nutrition, then I would like you to send me the emoji of the dancing lady. You know the one with the red dress? No words, I don't want any words. I just want you to send me the emoji of the dancing lady. Do that and I will find time to have a call with you for up to an hour, where we will unpick things and you can ask me anything.
@paulthenutritionist:You are welcome. Chat to you Wednesday.