Got the Cold or Flu? Eat These 4 Foods!

So you’re out with the cold or flu, and since lifting weights is your favourite thing in the whole wide world (better than watching American Idol!), you want to know how to get back to it as quickly as possible.

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Original source: here.

I talked about exercise during illness in another newsletter, but this will cover the nutrition side of things.

So what should you eat if you have a cold or the flu?

Garlic and onions are two of the best things you can eat. Not only will this speed up your recovery from the cold or flu, but it’ll also give you lots of extra space in crowded elevators, crowded rooms, etc. For that reason alone, it may be worth eating those on a regular basis. What do garlic and onions do? They are very powerful anti-bacterial, anti-fungal and anti-microbial foods. Garlic is particularly effective when it’s raw and minced, because it activates the production of something called “allicin.” This is a sulfur-based compound that gives garlic its properties. Cooking destroys that.
Mushrooms help stimulate the natural killer cells and killer T cells. These are two cells of the immune system that help kill the “bad” cells.
Spicy food. Spicy food helps to clear congestion. So if you feel like your nose is blocked, eating something spicy will cause your nose to run, which is a good thing.
Chicken soup. This traditional Jewish recipe is not just for the soul (get it? Chicken Soup for the Soul? See what I did there?), but also for colds. It’s been passed down through the generations, and there is indeed scientific evidence that shows that it’s effective for colds and flu (for my dear geeky readers, here is the evidence).

Besides putting in the “good stuff”, you also want to remove the “bad stuff.”

What’s the bad stuff? As I mentioned in my seminar, “Healthy Foods That Poison: Why You’re Getting Sicker and Fatter Despite Eating Healthier”, there are no universally good or bad foods. Rather, what’s good for you changes depends on your health status.

When you have a cold, you want to remove foods like bananas, dairy, caffeine, and flour. They are all mucus-producing foods that slow down your recovery.

Also, there is strong scientific evidence that listening to Modern Talking significantly cuts down on the duration of the common cold (disclaimer: I like cheesy European Pop from the 1980s. Listening to Modern Talking makes me feel good. I assume it’ll make you feel good too. Let’s not argue about that. That’s where my “strong scientific evidence” comes from).