Colds: The best foods

Autumn is here! Colourful leaves, cooler temperatures, long walks, warm socks and a good book. So it could be so nice. If it weren't for that annoying cold. For many people, regular ventilation, drinking and hand washing are already part of the routine to prevent a cold. However, some people underestimate this: A balanced diet is at least just as important.

In today's blog post, you can find out which foods can be used to prevent a cold and which foods you should eat if you have caught it despite this.

The ultimate protection: zinc

Wholemeal cereals, pumpkin seeds, Brazil nuts and soya beans are great if you want to protect yourself against a cold. This is because they are particularly rich in zinc and prevent you from catching a cold in the first place! Furthermore, this has been scientifically proven in several studies. It is therefore important to cover the daily requirement. Take about 10 mg of zinc a day for women and about 16 mg for men. Our Immune Essentials capsules already contain 10 mg of zinc per daily portion. Our Vegan Essentials are also suitable as a supplement to the daily zinc requirement, as they contain the same additional amount of the mineral. You can also cover your daily requirement with just one of our zinc tablets.

Ginger plants for a cold

Ginger

Some people love it and others don't like it at all - we're talking about ginger. However, the tuber can make a significant contribution to improving cold symptoms. This is because all ginger products, whether fresh or dried, act as natural anti-inflammatory agents. This is why dried red ginger (halia bara) has long been used in traditional Chinese medicine.

Turmeric for a cold

So far so good - let's move on from red ginger to yellow turmeric. This spice, which is usually found in curry powder, also belongs to the ginger family. Although it is also known as halia bara, the spice has an anti-inflammatory effect, particularly due to the high proportion of the colouring agent curcumin. An extra plus point: it promotes fat digestion and therefore prevents bloating and flatulence. This effect has been confirmed in various studies. Turmeric is contained both in our Brainfood capsules and in our deflating capsules.

Small tubers - big effects

Garlic to prevent the common cold

2 interesting tubers for colds: maca and garlic. Both strengthen the immune system. Although garlic has a stronger effect than maca, the positive effects of maca should not be underestimated, as the tuber also supports the immune system well thanks to the antioxidants it contains. You can read other interesting facts about maca in this blog post.

Garlic has strong antiviral and antibacterial properties that will help you get rid of your cold as quickly as possible. Provided you consume plenty of it before you catch a cold. Although its effectiveness has not yet been proven, there are some interesting studies that you should be aware of. Test subjects who took 180 mg of garlic a day for 3 months suffered much less from the annoying symptoms of a cold. They also infected each other less. Important to know: They consumed the garlic before the onset of the cold. Unfortunately, the effects did not materialise when the group only began regular consumption during the cold.

Onions

Another well-known food for colds is onions. The red variety in particular has the highest health-promoting potential. It also contains a particularly high amount of the essential oil alliin, which has a positive effect on the immune system. The flavonoid quercetin it contains also has an antiviral and antibacterial effect. Our recipe section also contains numerous delicious dishes with onions, e.g. in the protein-rich potato and pumpkin patties. In the case of the crispy protein patties, you can tick off two foods in one go thanks to the onions and garlic they contain.

It's tea time

Drink more green tea! Because: Green tea catechins (secondary plant substances) have a strong antiviral effect. If your cold was caused by viruses, green tea or green tea extract in food supplements can help. Have you ever gargled green tea? Give it a try! Over 100 residents of a retirement home gargled for three months. The exciting result: 10% of the participants in the water gargling group fell ill during or after the study, while this was only the case for around 1% of the green tea group. However, there is still a need for further research into this prevention method.

The little helpers in yoghurt for a cold

Did you know? Up to 80% of your entire immune system is influenced by your gut flora. It is therefore important to strive for a healthy balance of "good" bacteria in the gut. Lactic acid bacteria in particular support you in this, as they are able to displace unwanted bacteria from the gut. In other words, they improve your defence performance and have an immunomodulating effect. You can find lactic acid bacteria in soya yoghurt or soya quark, for example. So how about a delicious oatmeal breakfast pizza or a blueberry cheesecake?

Hot as chilli

You've probably used nasal spray before. But did you know that you're actually spraying chilli up your nose? Because capsaicin is a functional component of chilli and an ingredient in many nasal sprays. In its effect as an irritant, it can thin out the mucus and also leads to increased coughing. Of course, you shouldn't clear the nasal spray shelves in the pharmacy or stick chilli peppers up your nose straight away. Eating a spicy chilli dish can help. You will certainly be familiar with the hot feeling when eating chilli. This is caused by thermal flavour sensors and also relieves (throat) pain. Stuffy nose? A hot chilli dish can also help. This is because it is not uncommon for the nose to start running.

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