Every monsoon, the whole office gets the flu. Every monsoon, we crib and we sniffle and then when the rains end, it’s back to business. Unless we’ve caught a particularly life-threatening virus like dengue or chikungunya, doctors tell us the same thing every year, “Let it runs its course. Here are some vitamins to boost your immune system.”
What is it about the body’s immune system that cannot hold up when it comes to the flu? With our busy lifestyles, we’re not paying enough attention to what we eat. Most of the time, we’re ordering food from Swiggy while dreaming of ghar ka khana. So, we’ve made a list of foods that you can start incorporating into your diet, which will keep your stronger, healthier, and hopefully, more resistant to the flu.
1. Citrus Fruits
We’ve heard it all before, citrus fruits are the best source of vitamin C. We all stock up on it once we’ve already caught a cold, but we should be fortifying ourselves with this miracle vitamin all your through the year. The best part is, citrus fruits are available all year round–limes, oranges, lemons, kinnow… there a vitamin-C rich fruit for all seasons. Drink it as juice in the morning or toss it up in a salad, these fruits usually taste really good.
2. Garlic
My mum wakes up and eats shredded garlic first thing in the morning. I still run away from her until she brushes her teeth but, to be fair to her, she has the immunity of a horse. She rarely comes down with a cold or the flu. This is probably because garlic contains strong immunity boosters which have been known to lower high blood pressure and prevent the thickening of artery walls (no wonder the Italians put copious amounts of garlic in everything!) The reason garlic has such a distinct odor is also why it is great for your health–allicin, the compound responsible for the terrible smell is also one of the best antioxidants. Forget apples, garlic really keeps the doctor away (as well as vampires).
3. Green Tea
You know the memes about how the only way you can lose weight by drinking green tea is when you go and pluck it yourself? Well, that’s because you’re looking at it the wrong way. Green tea is not just great for weight loss–provided you couple it with a balanced diet–it’s also one of the best sources of immunity-boosting antioxidants. Green tea has high concentrations of epigallocatechin gallate, or EGCG, which is a known immune system enhancer. The fermentation process that regular black tea goes through robs it of EGCG. Since green tea is steamed and not fermented, it retains all of the good stuff.
4. Sunflower seeds
We’ve all sat around shelling and eating sunflower seeds on lazy winter afternoons as kids. It turns out, what we took to be an enjoyable but not very important snack is so much more. Sunflower seeds are packed with phosphorus, magnesium, and vitamin B-6–all essential micronutrients our body may need in very small amounts but would be disastrous if we didn’t have them at all. Sunflower seeds also contain that magic component that seems to be cropping up in each of these immune-boosting foods–antioxidants. The antioxidant here is Vitamin E. So, the next time you are craving a snack, pop open a pack of sunflower seeds.
5. Turmeric
Before Starbucks came up with the turmeric latte, there was haldi doodh. It looks like the world is just waking up to the benefits of this gorgeous spice. Curcumin, the component that gives turmeric its distinct yellow colour, is known for decreasing exercise-induced muscle damage. It’s also a power anti-inflammatory.
Our ancestors knew what they were doing when they applied turmeric paste on wounds. It’s also been used to treat inflammatory conditions like arthritis.
What are you waiting for? Time to stock up your kitchen!
