With flu season upon us people will be scheduling their flu shots and stocking up on vitamins. Taking supplements is a particularly common way to try and beat back impending illness but there are other preventative steps you can take to build your immune system in the long term; hopefully making seasonal cold and flu symptoms weaker and more susceptible to immune-boosting treatments.
So before you fill your cart with pills, it is important to know that going to the vitamin food source doesn’t only provide better protection, it’s also better for your overall health. Eating vitamin-rich fruits and vegetables provides greater defense against the flu than supplements while providing benefits like fiber, antioxidants and nutrients not usually found in supplements.
Get Regular Doses of Vitamin C
The perennial weapon of choice against the flu, Vitamin C, hasn’t been shown to improve health when taken in large doses, but getting the recommended daily allowance (RDA) is important for maintaining your immune system.
Although it’s had mixed results in scientific tests, zinc may combat cold and flu symptoms if supplements are taken within the first 24 hours. Like vitamin C, it is a critical part of keeping your immune system healthy, so adding it to your diet may help prevent the kind of immunity breakdowns that allow bugs to gain a foothold.
Red Meat, Oysters and Fish Contain Zinc
Zinc is difficult to get from vegetables because it is often cooked out of them. Oysters, red-meat and fish, however, provide another way of getting zinc into your diet. Spices like chili powder, pepper and ginger are also zinc-rich.
Echinacea is one of those supplements which seem to wax an wane in perceived effectiveness and thus popularity. Both anecdotal and scientific evidence show it’s a mixed bag as far as relief and prevention, but new evidence suggests that echinacea is most consistently effective in its flower rather than chemical form.
Probiotics for Immune System Health
Probiotics, another popular supplement, is also at least as effective and certainly more nutritious when consumed in its more natural form. The “good bacteria” in yogurt not only improves digestive and immune system health, it shortens the duration and strength of the common cold.
Going to the source for your vitamins is no more expensive than getting vitamins from pills but the foods provide other important nutrients over the counter vitamins often don't. For example, in addition to getting probiotics from yogurt, people also get calcium. Oranges have Vitamin C as well as fiber and the meats and fish from which people get zinc also provide the body with much needed protein. For overall health, going to the source whenever possible is the best way to get the nutrients you need to get and stay healthy.
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