This time of year is a real sucker for people catching colds, flu, and other horrid bugs.
Over the past weeks several clients have had to cancel their workout because they were unwell, or had to stay home to look after their poorly little ones.
The big rule for trying to avoid the winter bug is to WASH YOUR HANDS. Hands are the superhighway on which infections travel, and handwashing with soap is the roadblock.
Additionally, diet wise, there are particular foods that have an abundance of nutrients that help to fight off bacteria, virus, and other infections. Here’s a list for you:
1- Iron Rich Foods – Iron helps improve immune function. Therefore, eating meat, shellfish, poultry, fish, nuts, seeds, broccoli and other cruciferous veg and fruit will be advantageous. Not all on the same plate.
2- Probiotic Rich Foods – also improve the ecology of your gut, and it’s in your gut where a large portion of your immunity is stimulated. So, go for sauerkraut, naturally fermented pickles, Greek yoghurt, kimchi, kefir, miso, tempeh.
3- Citrus Fruit – ‘but doesn’t eating too much fruit make your fat?’. NO, NADA, NEIN!! Unless you eat about 20 portions per day. Fruit are high in Vitamin C, which is a very well-known immunity booster.
4- Ginger and Garlic – These taste boosters contain active compounds, which can help reduce your risk of infection. Garlic seems particularly helpful at reducing the symptoms and duration of colds and flu. And it keeps vampires away.
5- Nuts and Seeds – I’m so addictive to nuts at the moment! These all contain good sources of selenium, copper, vitamin E and Zinc, which play an important role in immune health. One little word of advice – because they’re a fat, they are highly calorific and if you scoff lots of them, you could be scuppering your chances of losing those love handles. So eat sparingly – a handful is a good measure.
Other foods that could be added to the list are coconut oil, berries, sweet potatoes and ………wine……….just kidding! – stick to the good old H20 (aka water).
Making sure you eat these foods will not 100% guarantee you’ll never get ill, but it will help boost your immunity and give you a better chance at avoiding the winter bugs.
By Daniel Wellard, Nutritionist and Personal Trainer
You can contact Daniel to discuss your diet, weight loss, or personal fitness goals by clicking here, or by telephone on: 020 8704 5998.