Summer has come to an end here in Portland, Oregon, and I feel the rain and cold slowly starting to creep in. My mindset is…keep your body balanced nutritionally through this change in weather; it will be helpful to staying healthy! Getting sick is a fitness enthusiast’s nightmare. Your body feels so worn down but your mind still wants to keep moving.
I have my own top 5 immune boosting superfoods that I personally stick to during cold and flu season, and pretty much all year round as well. As I write this, I feel that dreaded tickle in my throat…so I will be utilizing this first hand this week!
1. Kale is one of my favorite dark green leafy vegetables because it contains Vitamin C, K and A. I just recently came across an amazing very simple Italian Kale salad recipe (which I had for my mid morning snack today), but that will be for another post.
2. Whenever I was sick growing up, my grandmother used to always feed me foods cooked with garlic, as they contain an ingredient called allicin, which is thought to fight infection and bacteria. Even today, if I feel a sniffle…my dinner is packed full of it!
3. Coconut Oil is an anti-inflammatory and I’ve been told is healing for your stomach. And for me, originally being from Hawaii…I love everything coconut. The smell and the taste brings me home! I cook a wide variety of my foods with coconut oil and I think you should try it sometime if you haven’t.
4. Both my sister and I have celiac disease (mild versions of it), so my body cannot tolerate gluten. It took awhile to diagnose that, but for years, when I was younger I was nauseous often and suffered digestive problems. I always turn to ginger if I feel any stomach upset or nausea. Ginger not only helps stomach upset, I’ve even heard that it kills bacteria, is an antioxidant and can help eliminate mild congestion. Go ginger!
5. Lastly, cinnamon. Beyond the point that I put cinnamon in everything…smoothies, chia pudding, and sweet potato mashed potatoes to be exact, cinnamon is thought to be an antibacterial and anti-inflammatory!
I hope a little insight to my top 5 immune boosting foods is helpful to you!
In good health,
Kara Hamada
This article has been provided to you by Natural factors blog.
