2020 is here! And, unfortunately, along with it comes cold and flu season.
For a brief time between the months of December and February, the common cold and flu viruses gain a substantial upper hand during the times of chilly weather and weakened immune systems. It’s a rough time of year for everybody, particularly for those with weaker immune systems like the elderly and small children.
Everybody has a heightened risk of catching the flu or a cold during this time of year, and the one thing everybody is wondering is how they can put up a few defenses against the yearly workplace plague.
While cleanliness and avoiding germs are the first thing that come to mind, one other highly important health factor that might not immediately pop into your head is diet.
We know that the food we eat has an impact on our weight, heart health, and overall wellbeing, but it does, in fact, have an effect on our immune system as well. Do you remember he old saying, “An apple a day can keep the doctor away,”? Well there may some truth to it after all, and eating nourishing foods rich in certain vitamins and minerals can help your immune system strong and able to help fight off illness.
We at Nutrasal are here today to give you a few seasonal dietary tips that can help increase and strengthen your immunity to help avoid getting sick this cold and flu season.
FOODS TO AVOID:
- Greasy, fatty, and dairy-based foods
Ever get that sluggish feeling after you eat fast food? That’s something you absolutely want to avoid during the sicker times of the year. Excessive amounts of grease and fat, as well as large amounts of dairy, are particularly difficult for your body to digest, and can have a negative affect on your immune system. Best to save the fast food and ice cream for the warmer times of the year.
- Alcohol and Caffeine
One thing your body depends on to stay healthy is hydration. Keeping your body hydrated can have a huge impact on immune system health and keeping yourself from getting sick; and alcoholic and caffeinated drinks work directly against that. Alcohol and caffeine can dehydrate your body, not good for the ol’ immune system. Better stick to one cocktail and keep the coffee to a minimum.
- Processed Foods
Packaged and processed foods have the OPPOSITE effect on your body that you want during cold and flu season. Avoid these. You probably shouldn’t be eating them anyway.
FOODS TO LOAD UP ON:
- Soups and broths
The wintery months of the year often demand a hot bowl of soup on your regular menu, especially when you’re already sick. How convenient that those steaming bowls also contain a lovely mixture of healthy immune system boosters that are excellent for your bodily health! Any kind of broth made from meat or vegetables contains vitamins and minerals your immune system will love, and delicious soups contain ingredients like chicken, carrots, and herbs that are rich with iron, protein, and nutrients.
- Leaf vegetables and broccoli
These are some of the best foods you can consume during cold and flu season. Leafy greens like kale and spinach are packed with vitamins like Vitamin C and Vitamin E that go straight into fortifying your system. Eat as much of this stuff as you want, it’ll only make you healthier.
Broccoli is another vitamin-rich vegetable that also contains high amounts of fiber and calcium, so tell the kids to suck it up and eat their vegetables. It’s good for them. No, they can’t put cheese on it, just eat it.
- Vitamin-rich fruits
Some fruits you want to be careful with due to their high sugar content, but there are definitely some that can load you up with the vitamins you want in your body to ward off germs. Fruits like oranges in particular are chocked full of Vitamin C.
4. Daily vitamins and supplements
The food you eat is very important to your immune system health during this hard time of year, but vitamins and supplements can give you that extra boost your body needs to keep cold and flu at bay. Here are a few supplements that can help keep you healthy:
- Vitamin D3 is specifically made to help support and maintain the health of your immune system, which is invaluable during cold and flu season. It also supports brain health and cognitive function.
- Liposome B-12 Shot with Adenosine Monophosphate (AMPs)and L-carnitine is not only great for energy production and weight loss but AMPs are also evolutionarily ancient molecules acting as key components of innate immunity against invading pathogens. AMP’s can be an essential component to fortifying immune function across the board and keeping our bodies Host Defenses High!
Taking these supplements on daily can help you avoid succumbing to that nasty cough that Sharon from accounting came down with last week. Sharon is now taking Vitamin B, Vitamin C, Vitamin D and is thankfully doing much better! Better late than Never
Keeping healthy is extremely important during this time of year, and making sure you have a healthy diet that supports immune system health will help ward off cold and flu germs, guaranteed.
Stay safe and healthy with Nutrasal this cold and flu season!
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