Read on for some nutritional choices that help the immune system fight off infections and alleviate symptoms of the cold or flu.
Winter seems to be the season when nasty viruses and cold bugs are circulating throughout the air. When the congestion blocks nasal passages and the aches and pains start, there are some all-natural nutrition basics that can help ease symptoms and enable the immune system to fight those nasty germs more efficiently.
Spicy Foods
For anyone who has eaten a taco with extra jalapenos, the results of eating spicy foods are pretty evident. The heat within spicy foods helps to thin the mucus and clear out nasal congestion. During cold season, this can be especially helpful.
In addition, the capsaicin is thought to have such health benefits as prevention of bacterial infections, strengthening lung tissues and acting as an antioxidant.
Other foods that are spicy enough to help drain the sinuses include horseradish, curry or hot mustard.
Garlic
As for garlic, studies have shown that it contains allicin, which may be effective in not only shortening the length of a cold, but also helping the immune system fight infections. Chop some fresh garlic into a salad or add to a bowlful of soup when you start to feel bad.
Liquids
- Some hot liquids are thought to be better than others, although practically any hot liquids can provide benefits. The hot liquids can provide the same benefits as spicy food – namely loosening congestion and assisting with drainage. As the nose starts to clog up, holding the hot steaming liquid close to the face can slow down the congestion process.Not all hot liquids are created the same. Your grandma always touted chicken noodle soup and hot green tea for the sniffles and cold symptoms. The benefits of picking hot liquids that tout germ-fighting properties should not be ignored.
- The common doctor’s cure for a cold is “time, sleep and liquids”. The fact is that any liquid helps to flush the toxins from the body. The more liquids one takes in, the more any little bugs will be eliminated through bodily wastes. So – even if you don’t like tea or soup, stock up on the orange juice and water and gain the benefits anyway.
Nutritious Foods
The key point here is to avoid junk food. Any food that has unnecessarily fats or chemicals is harder for the body to digest. When the body has to work harder to digest unnatural foods, the body’s resources are taken away from immunological functions.
Also – nutritious foods bring extra vitamins and minerals to the body for use in fighting off the cold bugs.
