Defeat the cold days with the right foods
How to defeat cold days and flu to face winter in the best way? Do not focus just on your clothes and heating, rather on what you eat. It is possible to reinforce your immune system and face the hardest months of the year, protect the organism and be full of energy with the right foods.
The coldest days are coming and it is better to think in advance to prepare the body to face this quick decrease of temperatures that will lead to the winter season. The best way to avoid and fight seasonal diseases is reinforcing the natural defences through the right diet: here you can find some tips and the right foods to face winter in the best way.
Citrus
The best thing to reinforce the immune system is to make a refill of Vitamin C and the food that is richer of this important vitamin is citrus. Thus, plenty of orange juices, warm lemonades, tangerines, grapefruit and kiwi as well.
A research carried out by the National Observatory of Grana Padano gives us good news: it shows how the Italians pay attention to eat this important micronutrient. Moreover, it highlights that women consume on average 143 mg of Vitamin C and 146 mg for men, quantities that the Italian Society of Human Nutrition considers suitable for a right diet and health.
Broccoli, cauliflowers and green vegetables
Seasonal vegetables are the best food in winter, in fact cruciferae are rich in Vitamin C. You can use broccoli, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts to season pasta or lasagna or as side dishes but also in soups and minestrone. Other vegetables rich in this vitamin are green vegetables like chards, sticks, spinaches and arugula.
Dried fruit
In winter the body needs a higher caloric count to face the cold days without get stressed. It doesn’t mean to prefer fat foods, but choose a variegated diet rich in foods with a suitable calorie count. Among them there is dried fruit, rich in calories and good fats such as Omega 3. So, you should choose walnuts, almonds, cashews and pistachio nuts: they are perfect for breakfast or snack (just a handful will be enough). They are better than pre-packaged snacks or cakes and they will give you the right power for the day. Almonds are perfect for breakfast with muesli, walnuts as a snack together with sultana and pistachios as a tasty snack.
Legumes soups
Nothing’s better than a steaming soup to heat up. Mixed legumes soups are perfect for the winter dinners: chickpeas, lentils and beans are able to give the right charge to the body because they are rich in calorie, fibers and iron. Legumes soups, mixing vegetables and cereals, are perfect so, thanks to the liquids they hydrate the body.
Ginger
Ginger is considered a real cure-all food against winter diseases, in fact its healing and disinfectant properties help to heal throat ache and flu, besides helping the digestion and having a revitalizing action on the organism. Consuming ginger daily, even in small doses, help to keep away throat and nose irritation, disinfect the mucous membrane and has a smoothing action on the digestive apparatus. Perfect in and infusion or to season vegetables and soups but also cakes and biscuits.
