CDC – Flu-Fighting Remedies That Really Help

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Flu-Fighting Remedies That Really Help

If you have the flu or you want to prevent yourself from getting the flu, there are some common over-the-counter medications that are used. Cough syrup, lozenges, flu medicine, and lots of other stuff are used to relieve the symptoms of flu, while things like Airborne products or flu vaccines are used to keep you from getting the flu in the first place. But what if you do not want to go the medication route or get a flu vaccine?

What if you want to try something more natural? Luckily, there are foods that can help you to fight illnesses like the flu and make for an all-natural solution when you’re getting sick or when you’re trying to prevent becoming sick.  You should definitely add these to your diet if you want to avoid the flu virus.

Foods to eat:

  • Protein-rich foods such as lean meat, poultry, legumes, diary, nuts.
  • Iron-rich foods such as spinach, broccoli, beetroot.
  • Potassium-rich foods such as green vegetable juice, avocados, brussels sprouts, swiss chard and broccoli.
  • Consume more of antioxidant rich foods such as tomatoes, carrots, pumpkin seeds, sweet potatoes, pomegranates and strawberries.

Foods to avoid:

  • Caffeinated drinks such as coffee, aerated drinks.
  • Junk foods such as packed food

Self-care

  • Drink plenty of fluids
  • Take complete rest
  • Eat healthy foods
  • Practice good hygiene

5 flu-fighting foods

  1. Raw garlic. This pungent superfood is a powerful flu fighter. …
  2. Onions. Like garlic, onions also contain the antimicrobial compounds allion and allicin.
  3. Spices. Spices such as turmeric, cloves and cinnamon are packed with antioxidants, which help improve the function of the immune system.
  4. Berries. …
  5. Chicken soup

Vitamin C:

The first supplement that we will discuss is vitamin C. Vitamin C is simply amazing when it comes to fighting the flu. That’s because vitamin C is integral when it comes to immune system function. Adding a little bit of vitamin C to your diet will help to boost your white blood cells and improve your immune system overall. This not only helps you prevent getting the flu and helps you fight it when you do have it; it also helps to protect you against all kinds of other illnesses and diseases.

The more that you can boost your immune system the better off you will be and the healthier you will become. If you want to prevent getting the flu, a thousand milligrams a day of vitamin C is the recommended amount. If you already have flu symptoms, then you should bump that up to around 4000 mg a day.

Vitamin D:

Is also an important supplement when it comes to fighting the flu. You might be surprised just how much is affected by vitamin D within your body. The first thing you should know is that it is naturally produced by your body, but it is only triggered when you go out and get some sun.

In addition, vitamin D is responsible for regulating more than two thousand different genes within the body. Some of those genes belong to the immune system. There has been a great deal of research over the past two years that has shown without a doubt that those with lower vitamin D levels than they should have are prone to much higher rates of respiratory infections, flu, and more occurrences of the common cold. While many health experts believe that 2000 IU per day is the recommended amount, some physicians believe that you should double that dose.

Echinacea:

You should be taking around 1000 milligrams two or three times a day of this particular supplement if you have a cold or flu. In fact, this is one of the supplements that you want to take as soon as you notice that you have any symptoms whatsoever.Studies have found that Echinacea was able to treat respiratory tract infections in both over the long-term and over the short term without provoking the same resistance in the body as over-the-counter flu medication might.

Yeast: This is also an anti-inflammatory substance that can help with flu and cold symptoms, and you can find it anywhere that there is a decent selection of supplements. You can take this before you get sick at the very first sign and it can also be effective after you’ve already gotten sick.  One flu remedy that you may not have considered at all is brewer’s yeast; the reason that it works so well when it comes to protecting people against colds and flu is due to the vitamins and protein that contains.

Plus, this is one of the few remedies on this list that contains chromium. All of these ingredients together make it one of the fiercest fighting substances when it comes to colds, flu, and respiratory tract infections. One of the ways in which this happens is the individual battles against the symptoms of these infections.

For example, brewer’s yeast can stimulate enzymes within the intestines to help kill the bacteria present there and to relieve diarrhea symptoms. Brewer’s yeast can help with a variety of flu or cold symptoms, lessening their severity, and often getting them to disappear altogether. It also lowers your risk of getting that infection in the first place.

Water: Of course, water is known as the miracle cure among health experts. That’s because water is something that everyone needs, and no one gets enough of. Did you know most of your body is made up of water? No matter what health condition you are experiencing or what you’re trying to cure, water is going to be beneficial on several levels.

But specifically, when it comes to cold and flu, one of the things that happen is dehydration. Because vomiting and diarrhea can leave you dehydrated, and because you spend a lot of time sleeping and resting and probably are not getting enough fluids, making sure that you get plenty of water while you are recovering from a cold or flu is very important.

Water is helpful in so many ways and you will be surprised how much better you feel just by increasing your intake of water. So, plenty of fluids, rest, eat healthy or healthier choices of foods, green leafy vegetables, and a few vitamins that will improve your immune system.