Many people think that it’s normal to come down with an illness each year and, for some, two or three times a year. Yet researchers have proven that nutrition and lifestyle factors can boost your immune system.
Learn how to build a kitchen pharmacy of whole foods, superfoods and nutrients to provide a stable foundation for your health. And when you’re at an increased risk of infection, know what to do to derail a virus before it takes hold.
Follow this immune-boosting roadmap to a healthier diet, making you less prone to viral infections and more resilient after an illness.
Marie Ruggles is a clinical nutritionist with a Master's Degree from Columbia University in Nutrition and Public Health where she started her career in research. She is also a Certified Diabetes Educator, is certified in essential oil safety and has 40 years of experience in the wellness arena.
Her teaching focus is on coaching others to take back their power by developing a home inventory of natural wellness solutions. She is also obsessed with searching for the healthiest and tastiest foods, kitchen and natural wellness products, which can be found at Products Marie Loves at www.marieruggles.com. She aims to bring nutrition science (eating for prevention) into the kitchen by sharing easy hacks for getting real food on the table with minimal effort.
After working in public health, translating the wisdom of science into simple action steps, Marie became concerned about people's lack of reliable information regarding options for being proactive in their own self-care. She decided to write a book that could serve as a home reference guide for her students who were eager to learn about natural options for preventive health and everyday wellness challenges.
Marie is the recipient of national awards for her nutrition education publications and lectures internationally on the safe use of essential oils for everyday wellness challenges.
She hopes to inspire others to take responsibility for their personal wellness by applying the findings of cutting-edge nutrition research. Marie also advises medical practitioners who are looking to transform their eating habits to align better with the philosophy of their integrative clinical practices.
Her Whole Foods Quick Start Guide is used by nutritionists around the country for educating their clients to move towards a healthier way of eating. It's available on her website: marieruggles.com
When Marie isn't teaching, she enjoys spending time with her family, working in healing prayer ministry, and baking. If you're interested in having Marie speak to your group or organization about nutritional support for your immune system, you can contact her at eraldlakebooks.com/ruggles.
This is a relatively short and easy to read book that gives you good information about what foods, vitamins and minerals best support your immune system, both to keep you healthy and to help get better fast when you do get sick. In all honesty, there was nothing new here for me, but I read quite a lot on the topic. She also covers very basic info on things like getting sleep and avoiding stress.
It is kind of hard to review this book since it is basically a reference book, a tool to keep in your library. It contains all types of recipes focusing on different vitamin combos and what you should and shouldn’t take together.
The part that was the actual writing where the author talks to the reader was nice but there just wasn’t enough of it.
All the health info and recipes are top rate and deserve a place on your reference shelf. I was happy to know these things but will have to re-read and then take notes on the parts that I think relate to me specifically. Glad to have read it.
If you like to read books focusing on your health, definitely check this one out. You won’t be disappointed.
I received this as an ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) in return for an honest review. I thank NetGalley, the publisher and the author for allowing me to read this title.
As an Integrative and Functional Eco-Dietitian, I always appreciate books rooted in a food as medicine philosophy that incorporates lifestyle approaches and offers both practical and evidence-based information and tools for supporting health. This book scores on all fronts! I so appreciated the variety of ways Ruggles found to offer options for individuals to optimize their immune function, which is proving to be more and more important during these times when food quality is low, stress is high and chronic health issues are increasing susceptibility to illness. She focuses on foods in their whole form, offers helpful ideas on specific products she loves and provides thoughts on potentially beneficial supplementation. While all these strategies may not necessarily be accessible to everyone, there are numerous ways for anyone reading this book to strengthen their resilience. This includes her "immunity on a budget" section and even just the recommendations around improving sleep, stress levels, and gut health, all of which we know can play a huge role in wellness. If you are seeking that immune tome, this is a terrific option!
“Optimize Your Immune System”—Marie Ruggles [5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️] This book was quite the informative read, especially nowadays where we definitely want that extra boost of our immune system to try and keep us healthy. The author provides us a roadmap with tips and tricks for a healthier diet, how to build a kitchen pharmacy with whole foods and super foods, and how to build a stable foundation for our health. This book provided a lot of helpful information to try and make us less prone to viral infections and how to be more resilient after an illness. I really like that she provided us many different resources throughout the book so that we can read up on some more of these topics after. I would definitely recommend checking this one out, I got a lot of good information from this book for sure 👍🏼 *Thank you to NetGalley for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!* 📚
Benjamin Franklin said that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. If you’re looking for your ounce of prevention, this book will give you that and more. Marie Ruggles has written a wonderful guidebook and resource for anyone seeking convenient and sensible ways to boost their immune system. Her book is timely because we are currently living through a global pandemic. Understanding how a healthy lifestyle can affect your immune system and increase your defenses against infection is an important way for us to care for ourselves.
I’ve read a lot of self-help books featuring information on how to eat, exercise and think. Too many are written with a tone of, ‘this is the right way.’ I appreciated Marie’s disclaimer that her information, and suggestions must ultimately fit the reader. She repeats this several times throughout the book and states that it is up to us to see what does work and what does not because one size does not fit all. And what fits at once life stage may need to be shifted or changed over time.
Her lists of ‘add these’ and ‘avoid those’ is very helpful. I’ve copied those pages and take them with me to the supermarket. They are handy guides, especially when moving down aisles featuring the impulse items like cookies and candy.
She recommends selecting one or two things to add or change depending upon where you are in your health and wellness journey. My recommendation is to give the book a cover-to-cover read and then depending on your interests and needs, zero in on one or two of her suggestions that interest you. I found this a good way to start and I’ve already made a couple of changes to my pantry based on her recommendations.
I really enjoyed reading Optimizing Your Immune System. The author states many times that the book and advice in it is intended for prevention of illnesses, not treatment of illnesses. That made the book just a bit irrelevant for me personally as someone living with a chronic illness. However, it’s a great overview of nutrition and specifically what foods can be utilized as medicine in keeping your body healthy and bugs at bay. The food lists and suggestions of her favorite products to get people started were a great resource.
People who had not given these concepts much thought before the covid-19 pandemic began would definitely find this book helpful.
That being said, I found the book to be more general than I would have preferred. Instead of a recommendation of a particular healing good, I would have loved to learn more of the science behind why that food does what it does. The author certainly includes resources for finding research studies, and does sometimes dive into the science of why, but I would have loved to see much more of this.
Don’t let the introduction scare you off, the book is an easy and informative read. I found the intro to be difficult to get through as the author just talks about what she is going to talk about and then tells you why you need to know it, as if trying to convince you to read the book you are already reading. I’d prefer to just dive into the “meat”.
If you want to learn more about food as medicine, I definitely recommend this book as a starting point! I received an advance review copy of this book for free, and I am leaving this fair review voluntarily.
What a helpful and informative book! I thought I knew a lot about eating right for my immune system, but wow, I had a lot to learn! I love that the book is full of information about so many different foods and what is in them and appreciated the few recommendations of products that Ruggles lists. Chapter and section titles are the golden bonanza of this book, making it a constant reference in the kitchen because it is so easy to find what I need for a meal or a shopping list.
I do love the organization of the book—with the concrete section titles, it is something easy to consult rather than a long ramble of text as others often are. Focusing on one section at a time, Breakfast, for example, makes it easy to incorporate changes in my diet. It is like having my own personal guidance cook at my side!
The author also shares exactly what to do when we may start feeling under the weather. It’s all about prevention and getting ahead of a virus. During these times of amplified health concerns, this clear, easy to follow guide is invaluable! The resources and reference sections are also very user friendly.
So many new ideas, like turmeric in salad dressing for just one, enhance my diet, which was already fruit-and-vegetable heavy. What I learned here rounds out my overall eating regime. I have added veggies to breakfast and found this to be delicious, which I wasn’t expecting.
I was distracted by her use of “Whole Foods,” often in capital letters, because I kept thinking of the grocery store chain. This is minor because answers to immune system booster questions are what I need and I’m able to quickly find them because of Ruggles’ organization being so clear.
I won a copy of this book from Library Thing with no strings attached and this is my honest review.
I read a well rounded amount of cookbooks, diet, plant based, and superfood books that I felt the author did a great job at handing you a regimen that could improve your overall health. She divided up foods that could help your health by giving you vitamins you need to fight off infection. Given that we used to get most of our vitamins straight from the soil and the need now to supplement those with a multivitamin.
What did I like? I enjoyed the overall look of the book and the information on what plants give us as far as vitamins. I’d also always wondered why chicken soup helps a cold. The subject matter in the book is very knowledgeable and I thought it did a great job on how to optimize your immune system. What a great read for a pandemic. I also like how it explained fat soluble versus water soluble as far as vitamins go. Interesting read for sure.
Would I recommend or buy? I recommend the mobi version over the pdf. It did not download in a great manner versus the kindle edition. I think I’d rather have a paper copy so I can put notes in the margins. The book is not to be read in place of consulting a doctor and all regimens should go through your doctor first. I still think it was very helpful and had some great information.
I received a copy to read and voluntarily left an review.
Optimize Your Immune System is a guide to what makes our immune system work better, especially the vitamins and minerals we consume. The author talks in length about what foods are know to stimulate good health, which can be really helpful when deciding on your grocery shopping. However, what worries me, is that the book promotes taking lots of supplements with no good reason. Instead of "these foods are a good source, but if you're allergic, you can use the following supplements", in many cases we just get "here's some good supplement brands". Another thing that worried me is the recommended dosages - I am vitamin D deficient (diagnosed with a test ordered by a doctor) and my dosage has never been so high (I'm doing well with what was calculated by my doctor for me specifically). So in turn I'm worried that the recommended doses for other things might not be accurate as well and might even end up hurting someone, who should have just visited the doctor instead. Overall, I'd say that to read this, you should be ready to not trust the author blindly.
*Thanks to NetGalley and Emerald Lake Books for providing me with an ARC of this title in exchange for an honest review.*
Thank you to NetGalley and Emerald Lake Books for kindly providing me with a digital copy of this book for review. This book’s publication is very aptly timed as we are in the middle of a pandemic and we all need to be taking our immunity seriously at this time. I also have health conditions that make me more vulnerable so it something that I am forever trying to educate myself better on and improve my ability to fight infection and illness. I therefore have read quite a few books similar in nature to this one, so I also found that a lot of what is covered in this book I was already familiar with. That doesn’t mean it isn’t useful though- like I say, we all need to be trying to protect ourselves currently. Someone who has had the good fortune to not get ill regularly, may never have had to analyse their lifestyle to see where they can improve their immunity- so this could be the book for them. It’s also quite short but the author does continually provide links and resources you can go to to expand your research into particular areas, Worth a read at this current time definitely.
Marie Ruggles has written an easy to understand book helping people understand how to improve their health and build a strong immune system through the foods you eat. The book has a good format that makes it simple to refer back to for reference, and Ruggles also includes recommendations on the products or stores she uses, which helps you find some of the items.
One of the most beneficial things she discusses is processed foods. Processed food is something that has surfaced in the last sixty years or so and has had a significant impact on our health. Ruggles discusses how whole foods can improve already damaged cells and improve your health.
Her book includes chapters with meal ideas, ways to change up boring or repetitive dishes, vitamins, and minerals, to name a few. This book has so much beneficial information that I highly recommend this as a must-read for health improvement and making real-life changes.
I found this book to be very helpful, for people just starting to explore ways to improve your immune systems. The author thoroughly describes and explains in detail how all the foods and supplements will improve your health and her writing is very easy to understand, so it should be easy to start. I enjoyed the section about reducing stress and talking about mediation and how exercise is very important too, to not only strengthen the body, but to reduce stress. Although the book is a quick read and finishes quickly go all the way back to Appendix and footnotes for more helpful information. The only flaw I had with the book was its continued explanation about what was in the book before I got to the main point of the book.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
I highly recommend the book Optimize Your Immune System by Marie Ruggles, RD, CN. The author provides thorough and loving instructions, I was able to readily understand the detailed information throughout the chapters and apply it to help myself and my family strengthen our immune systems. I particularly appreciate chapter 6 wherein the author addresses what to do when we are exposed to an unhealthy person or environment. The author also shares exactly what to do when we may start feeling under the weather. It’s all about prevention and getting ahead of a virus. During these times of amplified health concerns, this clear, easy to follow resource is invaluable! The resources and reference sections are also very user friendly. This book covers the gamut, from aging, food, medicine, vitamins and more! I recommend keeping this book close by so it can be repeatedly accessed.
I really enjoyed this book. I have Crohn’s and Celiac disease and many food allergies. My immune system is definitely not what it should be. It’s a challenge to find foods that agree with my system while still having some form of flavor. There are a lot of good suggestions and food recommendations in this book that I will be able to put into practice. I like the idea of the “juice bath”. No it’s not time to go to the bathtub and fill it with grapes and kale. The author recommends introducing smaller amounts of juice throughout the day so your body is getting a constant supply of nutrients it can use more efficiently, or “bathing” your digestive system with juice over the period of a day or two. That is just one of many tips and tricks that I found helpful. It’s filled with good information that anyone can use.
If you want to know anything about nutrition, your immune system and what is beneficial to your body, look no further than Marie Ruggles, "Optimize Your Immune System". Not only informative but a very interesting read, I have learned so much from Ms. Ruggles. I have tried her kitchen pharmacy recipes and always feel better for doing so. I am a firm believer in her books and know that she writes these to help all of us! I have managed to keep Covid 19 away and truly believe it is because my immune system is so much healthier for reading and following "Optimize Your Immune System". Do yourself a favor and read Marie Ruggle's book, you will be so glad you did and your body will thank you in so many ways. Thank you Marie, for an incredible book. Looking forward to your next one! With gratitude, Robin Emura Flowery Branch, GA
For a long time, the use of food as medicine has been considered a way to achieve optimal health. Also, in recent days, a strong immune system has become even more of a necessity. While there is a lot of information available, often the reader may have challenges with understanding the technical terms used in many books. In this case, the author has written an evidence-based book in plain language that is also reader-friendly. This makes it a wonderful choice for personal use and as a gift for people who may be looking for a way to improve their wellness state.
I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book provided by the publisher and Net Galley. However, the thoughts expressed are my own.
I received a copy of this book from LibraryThing.com.
This is an easy read book that can be finished rather soon. Though short, it packs a punch as it contains quite a lot of information on how food can help you lead a healthier life. It mentions all the minerals and vitamins present in foods and how they impact us.
I have read a few other books on healthy eating. But interestingly, this is the first book that talked about Indian ingredients like tulsi, ghee and turmeric (curcumin). Kudos to the author to go outside her geographic boundaries. Also compliments to her for providing some simple recipes to make healthy food interesting. I've become a little more conscious of my eating after reading the book.
This book covers super foods, vitamins, and lifestyle in a simple, easy to understand way. There wasn’t too much new information for me – but that's likely because this is a topic of interest for me. The amount of things that is ultimately recommended by this book feels seemingly impossible to do all, but its definitely possible to pick those that suit you best and keep building from there.
Two cons for me is – Religion was mentioned right at the beginning and it turned me off – I was worried it would be less scientific/factual and more opinionated/pseudoscience. Luckily it did not turn out that way, but another me might not have continued it. Also, a lot of the products recommended were (I assume) American products – which isn’t very helpful for readers outside of America.
A great overlook about what we should eat, written by a doctor. I knew most of it since I pretty much follow these rules already, but there were a few things I’ll add to my routine. I find this book to be essential reading for Westerners, because of obesity, diabetes, and all the other horrible things people have due to them eating junk food or other unhealthy foods.
The book is not preachy, but gives great advice to anyone interested in a healthier life. The least you can do is read and listen to a person who has dedicated several decades to studying and researching nutrition. Just try it out and see for yourself. All it takes it that first step!
Easy, tasty and do-able steps to improve your diet. The author is clearly very knowledgeable about the science, but also about kitchen prep, and offers lots of easy tips and ways to make changes to your diet. It's written in an almost stepwise manner - you can these few changes, or if you are more committed, go to the next level. The book makes very helpful recommendations on products for different budgets. If you're not US based, don't worry, the author gives you enough information to work out equivalent options in your home country. I'm a dietitian in a different domain, but found that the book inspired me to make changes to our diet, one or two per week.
Good book, condensing a lot of information about the immune system and how to bolster it. Instead of going down a rabbit hole chasing all this info online, find it here in this book. One thing I didn't appreciate, though, was the no-mention of actual immune cells (like T-cells, etc.) There was a generalization of immunity here when I was expecting it to delve into the actual nitty gritty, for example this cell does that and you strengthen it this way, and that cell does this and here's how to optimize it as opposed to the first one, that sort of thing. But aside from that, it is a good primer and general idea book that can and will definitely help
This book is an amazing and comprehensive resource for anyone who desires to be pro-active with their health and immune function. The information it contains is detailed and easy to implement. No overwhelmingly high cost health goals and standards. A step by step, go at your own pace and budget guide to better immunity and overall health. Whether you’ve been health conscious for a long time or just beginning the journey this book gives you everything you need to know. A resource that will serve your health needs through all the times and seasons of your life.
I regret that I did not read this when It first became available to me on my kindle. Now that I have stopped ignoring my health issues and started to read it I am impressed with the variety of researched information it presents. I have already highlighted a number of sections on my kindle but think I need to actually buy a hard copy so that I can refer to it more easily using tabs that direct me to the section I need at any given time.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
I am currently suffering from long covid so looking to change my diet and work on my immune system. My inflammation markers are well up. So when netgalley offered me this book for a fair and independent review, I wanted the chance.
To start off with it was a bit wordy but perserved and got there. I liked the fact that there were lists. It made me look at certain foods differently. The lists were good for my shopping. Another good idea was the juice bathing, okay so I scoffed at that at first but then thought about it. If taking small slips every hour twice a week works I am up for it.
Disclaimer: I was provided with a digital copy of this book from NetGalley, in exchange for a fair and honest review.
While this contained great information on the subject, there was nothing that made it stand out from other publications on this material.
I guess I found myself puzzled on why the author is so big on taking supplements. Shouldn't eating the whole foods she suggested eliminate the need for OTC vitamins and supplements?
Optimize Your Immune System is an interesting and helpful read. I was nervous about reading this as someone with a not-great immune system. Many books like this seem to promote steps that I don't feel like I can follow. This book was not only easy to read, but I think I could actually take the advice in it. I can't say if it works or not as of writing this, but I'm hopeful that it will!
Very informative book about foods that improves the immune system. it's easy to follow and organized. I received a free digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review
If 2020 has taught us anything, it’s that we have to take care of ourselves. This is an amazing book and definitely helps to keep things in perspective. Highly recommend this.
deserves a prominent place on your reference shelf. it is good to find practical remedies for our ills that enable us to treat ourselves without pharmaceuticals