Whenever monsoons and winter seasons turn up across our country, we come down with a cold, a peaky feeling, a sore throat, and a head that hurts. Flu, coughs and sniffling take over most of the chilly days with us lying in bed, hoping to recoup as soon as possible.
It’s all because of our disturbed immune system which sometimes fails to defend us against germs, disease-causing bacteria and other microorganisms.
It has been reported that each year approximately 5 to 20% Americans suffer from colds two to three times per year.
Thus, it is imperative to include few superpower foods in your diet to protect your immune system from winters colds, fevers, flu and other diseases.
Garlic and Ginger
We frequently use garlic and ginger in many of our dishes. You’d be happy to know that both of these are quite beneficial for guarding and boosting our immune system. A study found that garlic plays an important role in lowering the blood cholesterol levels and helps in high blood pressure.
Besides, ginger aids in soothing our sore throats, nausea and mitigating inflammatory diseases. What’s more interesting is ginger remarkably helps in diabetes, reduces our chronic pain and even maintain our cholesterol levels. In addition, many other researches demonstrate that people who consume more ginger can fight efficiently the risks of colon cancer and various colds.
Chicken soup and green tea
According to Alissa Rumsey, MS, RD and speaker at Academy of Nutrition and Diabetes:
“Research has found that chicken soup helps to prevent inflammatory white cells from moving to other parts of your body, which can decrease your cold symptoms,”
Chicken soup is rich in collagen, a compound that enhances the immune system. It also contain many nutrients which helps in preventing inflammation. When it is cooked, chicken releases amino acids which helps to combat many sicknesses.
Green tea contains high levels of strong antioxidant called as EGCG that boasts our immunity. Also, it is a great source of amino acids which safeguards us from germ-caused illnesses.
Apples and citrus fruits
Apples are profuse with soluble fiber which improves our immune system. Many doctors and researchers have hugely favored to increase the apple intake in our diet to shield ourselves from many diseases.
Citric fruits like grapefruits, lemons, oranges and tangerines are enriched with Vitamin C that upsurges the production of white blood cells. They are very effective in preventing infections and bacteria.
Turmeric
Turmeric is used in almost every cuisine around the world. But it is interesting to know that turmeric engenders a number of benefits for our immune system. It acts as an anti-inflammatory to treat rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis.
As per the latest study, turmeric has high concentration of curcumin which hues turmeric with its distinctive yellow color. This element is very helpful in healing muscle damage especially during and after exercise.
We can obtain numerous health benefits from these superpower foods. So, if you integrate these foods in your diet plan, your immune system keeps working well and keeps you safe from infections caused by germs and bacteria.
Have a hale and hearty life!
References
https://nccih.nih.gov/health/garlic/ataglance.htm
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23901210
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4802396/