It’s best to get your vitamins and minerals from your food rather than in pill form. Vitamin C, vitamin D and zinc are three vitamins and minerals that you should aim to eat if your goal is to boost your immunity, especially in this pandemic.
In this video, we’ll recommend some of the best immunity-boosting foods that contain these nutrients for you to add to your diet today.
1. Chicken Noodle Soup
Chicken soup is a staple for surviving cold and flu season, and not just because the warm comfort food is a nostalgic throwback to mom taking care of you. This soup is a rich source of zinc and has an anti-inflammatory effect, calming down inflammation in the upper respiratory tract that takes place when you develop a cold. As an added bonus, chicken noodle soup also helps relieve nasal congestion.
2. Ginger Tea
When it comes to treating a common cold, ginger is one of the best foods for relief. Research has found that that ginger’s potent anti-inflammatory properties, thanks to its vitamin C and zinc content, were key in the root’s powers to combat a cold or flu. Because inflammation can affect your body’s immune response, anti-inflammatory ginger can play a key role in boosting your immunity.
3. Turmeric
Turmeric, the bright orange spice, is more than just a delicious kick to your next dinnertime meal. It’s high in vitamin C, and it also contains a powerful anti-inflammatory compound called curcumin. This compound activates the production of T-cells, which are the main cells fighting for your health in your immune system.
4. Oranges
When you think of vitamin C, your mind probably jumps to oranges first. The vitamin C found in oranges is helpful in preventing the common cold for people exposed to sickness-inducing environments, such as cold weather. It can also help lower the duration and severity of a cold.
5. Greek yogurt
Greek yogurt is an excellent source of zinc, as well as sickness-fighting probiotics and a much higher protein content than other yogurts. One study found that probiotics can help to prevent and treat the common cold. The researchers discovered that people who ate probiotics daily had a lower risk of catching a cold than those who didn’t eat any probiotic-rich food.
6. Blueberries
Blueberries are filled with potassium and immune-boosting vitamin C, as well as antioxidants that can help treat and prevent coughs and colds. According to recent research, consuming flavonoids—a class of antioxidants found in blueberries—made adults 33 percent less likely to catch a cold than those who didn’t eat flavonoid-rich foods or supplements daily.
7. Wild salmon
Wild salmon is filled with zinc, which has been proven to assist with reducing common cold symptoms. If you want your family, and especially your children, to avoid a cold this winter season, then you should be giving them zinc-rich foods. One study examining the effects of zinc on the common cold in children found that zinc, in comparison to a placebo, significantly reduced the severity and duration of symptoms when taken within 24 hours of the onset of cold symptoms.
8. Red peppers
Red peppers are another vitamin C-rich source for fighting colds. A recent review found that consuming 200 milligrams of vitamin C every day cut the risk of getting a cold in half for “extremely active” people. It also cut down the duration of symptoms by eight percent in adults and 14 percent in children.
9. Broccoli
If you don’t like broccoli, it’s about time you found a way to eat it, because it’s great for boosting the immune system. Researchers reported that broccoli can be a key addition to your diet if you’re trying to prevent a cold. Broccoli and other cruciferous vegetables were proven to help boost immunity, according to the study. As well as being high in zinc, broccoli also contains a chemical that turns on antioxidant genes and enzymes in specific immune cells, which combat free radicals in your body and prevent you from getting sick.
10. Green Tea
Green tea is not only one of the recommended best teas for weight loss, but it’s also one of the best sources for fighting off a cold. As well as being a rich source of vitamin C and zinc, it contains flavonoids, an antioxidant that boosts immunity, and it has anti-inflammatory properties.
11. Spinach
Spinach is a major superfood that is great for your overall health. It’s packed with digestion-regulating fibre and vitamin C.
Related Posts
