7 Superfoods To Boost Your Immunity During Cold/Flu Season
Winter means opportunities to spend quality time with your loved ones and enjoy the festive season along with the delicious food. But alas! It also means a higher chance of getting sick.
According to the report of CDC (Centers For Disease Control And Prevention), millions of Americans get affected with rhinovirus every year. Although it has mild cold-like symptoms, without proper care, it can lead to severe illnesses such as pneumonia and bronchitis.
Therefore, it is essential that you stay warm and eat the following superfoods to boost your immunity.
Citrus Fruits
Vitamin C is great for improving the immune system. It increases the white blood cells, which helps in fighting infection and viruses. Almost all citrus fruits are a great source of vitamin C. You can select any of the following fruits and squeeze them over your meal. In addition to enhancing the taste, it will help the body’s healing process.
Popular citrus fruits include:
- Oranges
- Grapefruit
- Tangerines
- Lemons
- Limes
- Clementines
Nonetheless, keep in mind that the human body is not designed to produce or store vitamin C. Therefore, for your better health, it is advised to consume citrus fruits on a daily basis.
The daily amount recommended for adults is:
- 90 mg for men
- 75 mg for women
Note: In case you are taking vitamin C supplements, do not take more than 2,000 mg of vitamin per day.
Broccoli
Broccoli is one of the healthiest vegetables that you can add to your meal. It is enriched with vitamins, minerals, vitamin A, C, and E, as well as antioxidants and fiber. Yes, all these nutrients are in just one vegetable.
Many people like to cook broccoli. However, that’s not the correct way to eat broccoli. Instead, to make sure that your body gets all the nutrients from this veggie, it is recommended to eat it uncooked.
However, if you don’t like that taste, you can steam it. It will make broccoli juicier, along with keeping all the nutrients intact.
Medicinal Mushroom
Medicinal mushrooms have been in use in eastern medicine for thousands of years. And now, it is making its place in the house as well. One of the well-known medicinal mushrooms is Agaricus Blazei Murill. It is known for its antimicrobial, anti-tumor, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and hypoglycemic properties.
But, in case you don’t like to eat mushrooms, you can try out Agaricus mushroom tea. It will help in fighting against a range of diseases, infections, and allergies.
Even so, make sure to read the directions given on the product labels. And, also ask your pharmacist or physician before adding it to your diet plan.
Garlic
Garlic is a must-have vegetable in your food. It adds a little zing to the dish and also helps in fighting infections. Perhaps, that’s the reason why you can find garlic in almost every cuisine in the world.
There are countless health benefits of garlic. It helps reduce high blood pressure, slow down the hardening of arteries, and help lower cholesterol levels.
Tip: If you don’t like to peel the garlic with your hands, or in general, an easy hack is to use hot water. Place the garlic clove in a bowl and add hot water to it (be careful while pouring the water). Let the garlic soak in for 1 minute. It will make it easy for you to remove the peels.
Spinach
How often have you heard your parents say, “Eat your greens; they are good for your health.” Probably countless times, right? Well, they are absolutely correct!
Greens, especially spinach, are packed with goodness. It has vitamin C, beta carotene, and numerous antioxidants. All these help in boosting your immune system’s infection-fighting ability.
Similar to broccoli, it is best to consume spinach when it’s cooked as little as possible. Moreover, light cooking ensures that the spinach absorbs vitamin A, which is essential for your health.
Hack: If you wish to keep this green veggie fresh throughout the week, store it using paper towels. Get an airtight container and put some paper towels in it. Above that, put your spinach (make sure to remove the rotten leaves). Add another layer of paper towel, and you are all done! It will help lock the moisture in, so your spinach will stay fresher.
Almond
Vitamin E protects cell membranes from getting damaged. Thus, it assists vitamin C in increasing the white blood cells. In simple terms, if you wish to stay protected from the flu, you should include vitamin E in your diet.
And what is the best source of vitamin E?
Yes, you guessed it right! It’s almond. This nut is rich in vitamins and has healthy fat and antioxidants that help the immune system fight viruses. However, make sure that you do not consume a lot of almonds.
According to studies, adults only require 15 mg of vitamin E. Eating too many almonds can lead to unhealthy weight gain and gastrointestinal problems.
Yogurt
Last but not least, you should eat greek yogurt. It is proven to stimulate the immune system, thus helping fight the cold.
Nevertheless, make sure you pick plain yogurt instead of a flavored one. It is because plain yogurt has less sugar and is also low in fat. Thus, it is more beneficial for your health. However, if you don’t like its taste, you can make it flavorful with honey and fresh fruits.
Also, while selecting yogurt, get the one that has a high amount of vitamin D. It will help boost your body’s natural defense system.
In fact, if you are trying to maintain your weight, you can still consume greek yogurt as it will provide your body with every nutrient, improve appetite and help in weight control. You can get all these benefits in just one cup of yogurt. Isn’t it great?
Wrapping it up!
All these foods are great for boosting your immune system and protecting you from getting sick. Moreover, these are delicious as well. You can create numerous cuisines with these superfoods. Nevertheless, make sure you take proper rest and follow all the preventive measures along with eating nutritious foods.
