Foods to Help Relieve Cold Symptoms
By Sara Butler
Cold and flu season is here. Chances are you’ll end up with a cold before it’s over. If that happens, there are some natural ways you can help to relieve your symptoms – a few of them might be surprising! These foods can help to relieve coughing, sneezing, stuffiness, and fever. Here are a few tasty treats to help you manage your cold symptoms this winter.
Oysters
Oysters are high in zinc and several studies have found zinc to help relieve cold symptoms or even shorten the length of time you’re sick. As soon as you notice symptoms of a cold coming on, reach for some oysters. These bad boys have 74 milligrams of zinc in just three ounces, about as much as you’ll find in those yucky tasting lozenges.
Chicken Soup
There’s a reason your mom makes you chicken soup when you’re feeling under the weather, which is that it can really help to ease the symptoms of a cold! A compound found in chicken, called carnosine, helps the body’s immune system to fight back again symptoms by inhibiting the release of inflammatory cells. But those benefits end pretty much as soon as the soup is digested.
Chicken soup also has the added bonus of a placebo effect. Hot fluids do help to relieve stuffy noses, but people who drank chicken broth in studies comparing hot water and hot soup feel as if the broth did a better job.
Kiwi
Go for a tropical getaway when you’re feeling crummy by adding some kiwi fruit into your diet. Kiwi is naturally nutrient-dense and some of those nutrients can help you find relief from symptoms of a cold. It’s believed that the micronutrients in kiwi fruit enhance immunity-boosting cells in the body.
Yogurt
Probiotics can help how the symptoms of a cold impact your daily life. In studies, people who ate a diet with probiotics recovered faster than people who don’t. And the symptoms were found to be less severe in probiotic lovers than those who didn’t get enough. So, when in doubt, go for some nice Greek yogurt with a handful of fresh berries for a punch of Vitamin C, too. Just make sure to look for brands with active, live cultures in them. It should be clearly printed on the label.
When you feel cold symptoms coming on, make sure to eat your way to wellness!
To learn more about your health, wellness, and fitness, see your local chiropractor at The Joint Chiropractic in Brookfield, Wis.
