Eat Well to Help Reduce Your Risk of Cold and Flu by Dr Sangita Gaur

 

Can your diet really reduce your risk of catching a cold or influenza? Some Nutrition expert certainly thinks so. Let me explain you how diet and other smart lifestyle choices will help you to avoid the sniffles, stuffy nose and aches of the cold, as well as the outright misery of influenza.

According to them, food and healthy lifestyle choices boost your immune system, and that can prevent you from coming down with colds and flu. The key is not waiting until you get sick to make these changes, you need to revamp your diet and lifestyle before the cold and flu bugs get to you.

The best way to deal with a cold

The flu is of course not to get it in the first place. Besides taking the common sense precautions of getting proper rest and reducing stress, detoxifying your system by eating the proper foods will promote your immune system to function as it should. In addition by treating yourself well and following healthy diet guidelines you can successfully deal with the cold and flu season and avoid downtime and suffering. The experience of most people who avoid the intake of toxins and eat well is that they do not get sick very often, and if they do their symptoms are very mild to almost nonexistent. This is because their bodies simply do not have any toxins that need to be eliminated vicariously through their mucous membrane or other systems.

By simplifying your intake of food you greatly facilitate your body's primary detoxification organs, the liver and kidneys, and thus speed up the process.

 Eat More Fruits and Vegetables

 So now that you know you need to eat lots of fruits and vegetables to keep your immune system strong, the next step is to actually make it happen. People tend to eat fewer fruits and vegetables in the winter, which is the opposite of what you should be doing. Everyone needs at least five servings of fruits and vegetables every day to get adequate vitamins, minerals, fiber and antioxidants -- all things we need for a healthy immune system.

Make sure that fruits and vegetables are part of every meal. You can add berries or a sliced banana to your whole grain cereal at breakfast and drink a glass of 100% orange or grapefruit juice. Pack a bunch of grapes or an apple with your sandwich for lunch, and top that sandwich with tomato slices, avocado, sprouts and lettuce. Start dinner off with a salad or vegetable soup, or serve a big salad as a healthy dinner. Keep a bowl of oranges, apples and pears on your counter top to grab as quick snacks.

 Good nutrition is essential for resisting and recovering from a cold.

Take plenty of fluids to flush toxic by-products out of the body as quickly and efficiently as possible. The ideal liquids are water and fresh fruit juice. Avoid drinks that have diuretic (fluid-eliminating) properties, such as tea and coffee. 

• Avoid milk and other dairy products. At least one study has shown that a compound in milk triggers the release of histamine, a chemical that contributes to runny nose and nasal congestion which can make chest, sinus, and nasal congestion worse. 
• Avoid alcoholic drinks, as these are dehydrating. It depletes the body of vitamin C, and puts extra strain on the liver, which has to work extra hard to detoxify the body during illness.
• If your appetite is reduced don't feel obliged to eat, as long as you drink plenty. Foods should be as light and easily digestible as possible, with a strong emphasis on vegetable soups, broths, salads and lightly cooked fish or chicken. 
• Avoid high-fat, indigestible foods such as cheese, red meat and pastries.

Eat a balanced diet. Take supplements as needed to ensure you are receiving the recommended dietary allowances for vitamin A, the vitamin B complex (vitamins Bl, B2, Bs, B6, folic acid), and vitamin C, as well as the minerals zinc and copper.

Chicken Soup :- Chicken soup, also known as "Jewish penicillin," has been a mainstay of folk medicine for 800 years, ever since the Egyptian physician Moses Maimonides recommended it as a cold remedy: And it really works, as many modern studies have shown. Researchers suspect that the soup's cold-fighting powers come not from the chicken but from the vegetables that are usually part of the stock. Soup is found to reduce cold symptoms, especially congestion.

Incorporate more mushrooms into your diet :-  Oriental mushrooms such as shiitake, maitake, and reishi contain compounds that bolster your immune system. So by eating these types of mushrooms, you're better able to fight off a cold. 

Spicy Food :- Any food spicy enough to make your eyes watery will have the same effect on your nose, promoting drainage. If you feel like eating, a hot, spicy choice will help your body fight your cold. Break up congestion with a bowl of chili or other spicy foods containing horseradish, hot pepper sauce, hot mustard or curry. Hot Mexican or Indian foods are good congestion busters.

Drink lots of hot fluids :- Cold viruses grow and multiply fast when the temperature around them is around 90°F. However, they are far less comfortable-and less likely to replicate so quickly-when their environment heats up. Drink some hot fluids. This will warm your throat. That should impair viral replication. As a bonus, hot fluids have a mild decongestant effect, which helps relieve nasal stuffiness. Taking herbal drink such as ginger tea is doubly helpful because of their heating effect as well as the antiviral effect.

Avoid sweets :- Neutrophils are a special type of white blood cell that engulf and destroy cold viruses and other foreign invaders. Neutrophils become lethargic when you eat sweets. So, it is a good idea to stay away from sweets when you have cold as well as as a preventive strategy during the cold season.

Anything that contains any form of sugar-including sucrose, fructose, and corn syrup -- can impair neutrophil activity: The worst offenders are candy and sweets, which are almost pure sugar and have virtually no nutritional value.

Ginger: - Ginger and lemon hot tea is very beneficial especially at the beginning of a cold. It warms the body and acts as an antiviral and antibacterial.

Cinnamon:- Cinnamon has been used for centuries in traditional medicine. In traditional Indian medicine, Cassia cinnamon is used for colds and flu. It is also believed to improve energy, vitality, and circulation, particularly in people with cold feet.

Turmeric:- The curcumin found in turmeric has anti-bacterial and anti-viral qualities, which can help to treat coughs, colds and sore throats. The herb's anti-inflammatory properties help to relieve chest congestion from a chronic cough.

Basil leaves:- Basil and its strong anti-inflammatory properties can prove to be a cure to a variety of diseases and disorders. Consumption of basil could also soothe fever, headache, sore throat, cold, cough, flu. 

Zink reach food:- Foods high in zinc include oysters and other seafood, red meat, poultry,  beans, nuts, whole grains, and fortified cereals.

You can also take zinc supplements or multi-nutrient supplements that provide zinc.since our human body observes zinc in miniscule quantity.hece it is always recommend to take same natural food.

Nevertheless its role in immune function is very important. 

Rely on Real Food, Not Vitamins

Foods are better than dietary supplements for the prevention of colds and flu because you get the whole nutritional package. For example, eating an orange is better for you than just taking vitamin C because the orange offers you a combination of nutrients -- magnesium, potassium, folate, vitamin B6, and antioxidant-rich flavonoids. We do know that eating fruits and vegetables high in vitamin C will help to keep your immune system strong. Your immune system is what protects you from viral infections, and the foods you eat have a major impact on your immune system’s ability to fight off colds and flu. The reason that fruits and vegetables do a better job of keeping your immune system ready is because they also contain vitamins A and E, as well as the flavonoids that work along side vitamin C to keep your immune system and your whole body healthy.

 Dr. Sangita Gaur

Former Nutritionist of Indraprastha Apollo Hospital