Healthy Eating Over Winter

Heading into winter, you'll become familiar with the sounds of a cough and a runny nose

. Each winter, the common cold accounts for more time lost from work and school than any other complaint.

When it's cold outside and the tissue box is your best friend, a nice mug of hot chocolate and sugary comfort foods are often on the menu. But these foods could be hindering your recovery!

If you want to stay healthy throughout winter, choosing foods that are based on vegetables, fruits, wholegrain breads and cereals will head you in the right direction. Read on for the top super foods that can help you push through the cold and flu season.

6 super foods for winter

Citrus

(oranges, mandarins, grapefruit and lemons) These nutrition-packed fruits are a great source of vitamin C, which has been shown to help fight infection by enhancing immune system function.

Pumpkin and sweet potato

Both are an excellent source of the antioxidant beta-carotene (responsible for their yellow-orange colour) that helps to reduce oxygen's damage to body cells. In addition, sweet potato has a low GI which is great for your blood sugars and keeps you feeling fuller for longer. Both are great in soups too!

Soup

It's hot, tasty and it's nutritious. Soup is perfect for those wintery days. Not only do most soups provide a number of vegetables, they also provide water which is often forgotten about during winter. Hot liquid helps break up congestion and liquefy mucus.

Tea

For 5000 years the Chinese have used tea to treat many aliments including colds and coughs, and body aches and pains. Tea is a natural source of antioxidants called flavonoids, which help strengthen the body's immune system. Perfect for winter!

Garlic

Garlic's very distinct smell can be attributed to allicin. Allicin has been shown to have an antibacterial and antiviral power. In its raw form, eating garlic regularly can help to prevent a cold taking hold.

Ginger

Like garlic, ginger has been shown to improve the immune system's ability to fight infections. Its warming effect on circulation helps to reduce fever.

If you catch a cold

If you do catch a cold:

go to bed and rest

stay warm

drink plenty of hot fluid that can liquefy the mucus (like clear soup, tea with lemon and honey)

have a steam inhalation over a sink or bowl of hot water or vaporiser, two to three times a day, with a few drops of tea tree or eucalyptus oil

take paracetamol every four hours

a warm salt water gargle can help with phlegm and sore throat

stay away from others to avoid spreading the virus.

If you're not better in 2 or 3 days

If you haven't improved after a couple of days:

don't 'soldier on'

see your doctor

think about having a flu vaccine.

by: Catherine Saxelby

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