As we head into flu and cold season, most folks only focus on getting a flu shot and stocking up on medications.
There are a slew of natural health remedies – like Emergen–C or Zicam – that help you reduce the impact of a cold, but you don’t have to be at the mercy of pseudo drugs to stay healthy.
There are many foods that can boost your immune system and provide you with a strong and fortified body. None of these foods are complicated. Most can be found in a regular grocery store and are in fact main ingredients in cooking. These eight ingredients will help you keep your strong and healthy this winter:
Kelp is packed with calcium, magnesium, potassium and iodine, which boosts your thyroid. Having a healthy thyroid can help control weight gain, moodiness and give you more energy.
Other green vegetables that also contain iodine are bok choy, spinach, parsley, green beans and alfalfa.
Ginger is best known as a cooking ingredient, mostly in Asian foods, but it also has calming properties. Historically it’s been used to calm an upset stomach and can help reduce nausea, particularly post operative.
Ginger can be accessed in its fresh root form or in teas, extracts, capsules and oils.
Mushrooms aren’t just a fungus. The common edible ones like white button, shiitake, portabella and crimini promote healthy cardiovascular function and increase good cholesterol.
Some studies are investigating how shitake mushrooms work in fighting cancer and boost the immune system.
Not all fats are bad. They can contain stomach filling good fats found in nuts like almonds and walnuts, fatty fish, avocado and olive oil.
Good fats can help reduce your risk of heart disease and improve brain function. While many low fat diets are promoted as a weight loss benefit, make sure you discern between bad fat and good fats.
The purpose power boosters known as beets are chock full of great vitamins and minerals. Beets contain vitamin C, fiber and minerals like potassium and manganese. Beets help boost the immune system, maintain nerve and muscle function and keep bones strong and liver and kidneys working properly.
Live bacteria found in probiotics contained in yogurt and soy products are helpful with digestion and can help treat irritable bowel syndrome and skin infections.
This green vegetable is part of the beet family and contains lots of vitamins and minerals that help the body fight stress and boost the immune system. Swiss Chard is a wide green leaf and contains vitamins C, E and K as well as fiber, zinc and calcium. It’s considered a power vegetable because of its multipurpose functions.
Garlic is used in many dishes to add flavor, but it’s also a power herb. It contains manganese, vitamin C and B6 and is known to fortify the immune system. Studies show it can reduce the strength of a cold by 70 percent and regular consumption of garlic can reduce the number of colds by 63 percent.
Garlic is also know to reduce high blood pressure, and reduce the risk of heart attacks. If you can’t eat garlic daily, it’s also available as a supplement.