We’ve all experienced that dreaded sensation when you begin to feel a cold take over your body. Small symptoms start to pop up like a runny nose, slight cough, or sinus headache. You know at that point it’s only a matter of time before you’re in for a full-on fight for your health. Next time this happens consider taking the fight to the cold early and hopefully stave it off by eating some of these foods below.
Water
Making sure you stay hydrated is the first step you should take whenever you feel a cold coming on. When your body is hydrated it keeps all your bodily functions working properly. You will also get a better sense of how sick you actually are. Drinking water will moreover help you to flush out the mucus that is developing due to your cold. Sips of warm water from an insulated water bottle might help ease out the throat pain.
Bell Peppers
We all know that vitamin C is one of the keys to fighting colds. Vitamin C acts as a natural immune booster which is exactly what you want when you’re sick. Most people associate vitamin C with orange juice, but the real king of vitamin C is the bell pepper. It has more than three times as much vitamin C as an orange.
Garlic
Garlic has allicin, an ingredient particular to it, that your body utilizes to stave off infection and bacteria. If you feel a cold coming on, try eating some raw garlic cloves. The garlic breath is worth not having to stay in bed for a week.
Chicken soup
The broth from chicken soup is the key to fighting off sickness. It has borderline magical properties when fighting off cold symptoms. It can reduce inflammation, thin out mucus, and provide respiratory relief due to an amino acid found in chicken broth called cysteine.
Tea
Tea is a classic cold remedy. It has antioxidants which can help to alleviate your cold symptoms and it has the ability to soothe your throat. Tea also contains a protein that can actually boost your immune system.