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articles > Surviving winter with Immune Boosting Foods

Now that winter months are here, it's time to increase foods which are going to help ward-off colds and flu. The best way of doing this is by including immune strengthening foods into your daily diet wherever you can.

Important immune boosting foods include:

Garlic – fresh in cooking, on bruschetta, in hummus or as a supplement.
Shiitake, Reishi & Maitake mushrooms – soups, sauces, stir frys.
Miso – soups, sauces, stir frys.
Spirulina & Chlorella – as a supplement, in juices.
Seaweeds (kombu, Wakame, Nori, Arame) – soups, salads, stir frys.
Green tea, Echinacea tea
Yoghurt (acidophilus / bifidus) – on breakfast cereal, with fruit, used as a creamy sauce for salads, curries or mixed through soups.

Important immune boosting nutrients include:

Vitamin C – blackcurrants, broccoli, citrus fruits, parsley, strawberries, pineapple, peppers, raw cabbage.
Zinc – red meat, ginger, milk, oyster, shell fish, fish, nuts, sunflower and pumpkin seeds, whole grains.
B vitamins – avocado, currents, eggs, dairy, legumes, nuts (almonds, walnuts), fish (salmon, tuna, sardines, organic chicken, lean meat, sunflower seeds, green leafy vegetables and whole grains.

Article written by naturopath Lisa Guy. Fitness First Newsletter 2005