10 Feel Good Foods For Cold and Flu

10 Feel Good Foods For Cold and Flu

good foods for cold and flu


Got the sniffles or simply hanging onto your hats for ways that could help you avoid nippy and frosty moments? Well although you can easily pull a warm blanket off and wrap yourself around, but ‘flu-fighting foods’ definitely make their way when nothing else does the trick.

We have listed below the top 10 feel good foods that will not just help you feel better and perkier during your cold and flu times, but will also help you build up your overall immunity and stamina. Take a look!

 

Mushrooms


Although you wouldn’t really have heard of, but mushrooms can actually help you steer clear of cold and flu. How? Well, the food integrates beta glucan and selenium components which enable white blood cells to seamlessly generate cytokines and kill those ‘irksome’ infections.


Garlic


Pretty interestingly, certain strong-smelling foods like garlic can also play a significant role in treating your cold and flu. Integrated with an anti-microbial compound, it acts strong by stinking out sickness and fastening the recovery period. Hence, try to include some fresh garlic in your everyday meals for optimum health benefits.


Wild-Caught Salmon


People who catch cold and flu generally have a feeble immune system with low levels of vitamin D. Thus, ensure that your respiratory system is strong – for which, you can try and eat salmon on a regular basis.


Tea


Although it’s a hot beverage, but researchers believe that consuming a few cups of black tea a day can help you a lot in combating your cold and flu. Since tea embeds catechins, the beverage targets your weakened system and allows it to soothe down.


Yogurt


Alright, many people tend to believe that yogurt has a cooling effect and might actually adverse the consequences. However, the truth vows to stand at its variance. On the contrary, having one serving of yogurt each day can help your nippy episodes wipe out and improve your immune functioning in a significant way.


Dark Chocolate


Who says dark chocolate remains firmly seated only on those taste buds? Well, the amazingly scrumptious food could also be a great healthy choice. According to some studies, dark chocolate can increase your immunity and help you fight against those cold infections.


Oysters


Yes, you read that right! Oysters are equally effective and healthy when it comes to treating your cold and flu. The marine food basically benefits from its embedded zinc rich properties and enables your body to strengthen the overall immune system.


Almonds


Well apart from honing your cognitive skills, heart-healthy almonds act as a great natural medicinal and healthy food to beat the cold and flu out of your system. The vitamin E rich food provides more than sufficient immune boosting antioxidant and considerably trims down one’s chances of developing respiratory infections.


Strawberries


While many would slightly be doubtful of this one owing to its cooling essence, but strawberries make our list too for its amazing illness-preventing power. The tasteful yet super healthy food contributes greatly when it comes to lessening the duration and intensity of cold and flu. You can gobble down around one cup of fresh strawberries every day to witness life-long results.


Chicken Soup


Last but not the least, do not forget to have a hot bowl of chicken soup when down with cold and flu. Though it’s pretty well known, but having stirring chicken soul during nippy conditions can help emaciate mucus secretions while very much providing sufficient energy to your body.

Reviewed By:

Dr. Kaushal M. Bhavsar (MBBS, MD)

Assistant Professor in Pulmonary Medicine, GMERS Medical College, Ahmedabad