When viruses and bacteria think they can come over and play in your body, don’t just stand by and wait for them to move on. Certain foods may help you keep them out of your internal neighborhood in the first place. That way, you can save your sick days for mental health days.
1. Bell Peppers: They’re chock-full of vitamin C, an antioxidant vitamin that helps your immune system fend off disease-causing invaders. Other good C options: oranges, strawberries, cantaloupe, and broccoli. Or take 400 milligrams (mg) of vitamin C three times daily (along with your mom’s chicken soup) at the first sign of invasion
2. Yogurt: Check labels for types that contain the live, active cultures of Lactobacillus acidophilus, a healthy bacterium that helps thwart fungus-related infections. Or take a 20-mg acidophilus or a bacillus coagulans supplement twice daily.
3. Tea: If freshly brewed, it’s full of flavonoids, powerful vitamin-like substances (they work like vitamins but aren’t essential for life) that reduce immune-system aging. You'll also find them in oats, onions, broccoli, cooked tomatoes, apples, and berries.
4. Kidney beans: These contain zinc, a nutrient that helps reduce the average length of the common cold (as well as a lot of other healthy nutrients). These red beans pack 2 mg per half cup. Also high in zinc: turkey, with 2.6 mg per 3 ounces; and sunflower seeds, with 1.7 mg per quarter cup. Still, since we recommend that you get 15 mg per day, you might need a supplement, too. Just know that more is not better.
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