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Natural Flu Fighting Tips

In the cold winter months, the chances of picking up cold and flu bugs increase significantly. Unfortunately, there are no quick fixes for these winter viruses and they need to run their course before we can start feeling like ourselves again.

Luckily there are several diet and lifestyle tips that can help to boost your immunity and speed up the duration of the bug to help get you back on your feet.

1. Eating sweet potato when you are coming down with the flu can help because they are rich in beta-carotene which converts to immune-boosting vitamin A. This is especially beneficial if you have a respiratory infection. Mashed or baked sweet potato and sweet potato soup are all comforting to eat when you are feeling under the weather. 

2. Hot liquids have been shown to ward off viruses by stimulating the immune system and stopping the proliferation of germs. They raise the body temperature and makes it an unwelcoming environment for bugs. Make sure to stay hydrated with plenty of warm tea and soup. Making ginger tea is useful because, when warmed up, the compound it contains called gingerol converts to zingerone, which is active against germs.

3. We know that warm liquids are great to ward of viruses, but homemade chicken soup and broth have extra benefits because they contain amino acids that have anti-viral properties. Make sure the soup is homemade though, because processed versions don’t have the same effect.

4. Spices like turmeric, cloves, nutmeg and cinnamon contain high levels of antioxidants which help to boost the immune system and also have anti-microbial properties. You can add these spices to curries, smoothies, teas, oats, baked goods etc.

5. Vitamin C is a wonderful anti-viral nutrient that can be used quite aggressively when you are in the throes of infection. You can start taking 500mg of Vitamin C (preferably in a buffered non acidic form) and build up to taking 2-5grams every 2 hours until you are symptom free. Children should have a slightly smaller dose of about 1-2grams every 2 hours. You can also stock up on Vitamin C through foods like oranges, broccoli, Kiwi fruit, and many others.

6. Vitamin D is a nutrient that has a large array of health benefits, but one of the biggest is it boosts immunity and produces hundreds of antimicrobial peptides in the body. The best way to obtain vitamin D is through direct contact between our skin and sunlight. As the sun is a lot weaker in winter and we shouldn’t spend too much time outdoors when we are ill, taking a vitamin D supplement and eating vitamin D rich foods like organic dairy, eggs and fish will provide us with plenty of vitamin D to fight off winter bugs.

Sources
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2014/01/06/flu-attack.aspx
http://wellnessmama.com/207/flu-remedies/