Five foods help you to keep fit in this flu season

With the new strain of bird flu, your daily diet plays a big part in keeping fit. What works well for fighting against sickness? Here are five foods that can help you to stay healthy.

1. Mushrooms. Mushrooms used to get overlooked as a healthy food, but they possess two big weapons you need this flu season: selenium which helps white blood cells produce cytokines that can wipe out the diseases, and β-glucan, an antimicrobial fiber, which helps activate“superhero” cells that find and destroy infections.

2. Fresh garlic. Foods like garlic that smell strong can drive sickness away thanks to the phytochemical allicin, an antimicrobial compound. A British study confirmed that those taking allicin supplements suffered from 46% lower risk of catching a cold and recovered faster from the ones they did get than the ordinary.

3. Tea. Researchers at Harvard University found that drinking five cups of black tea a day quadrupled the body’s immune defense system after two weeks thanks to theanine in tea. Tea also contains catechins, including EGCG, which act like a clean up crew against free radicals. In addition, it works well for decomposing fats, keeping in shape and controlling appetite. So it is great for the dieters to drink slimming tea regularly.

4. Yogurt. The digestive tract is one of your biggest immune organs, so proper intake of naturally fermented foods like yogurt can help you to keep disease-causing germs out due to probiotics and prebiotics in it.

5. Wild salmon. Recently, participants with the lowest levels of vitamin D were about 40% more likely to have a respiratory infection than those with higher levels of vitamin D. Increase your intake of salmon, a 3.5-ounce serving can offer you 360 IU vitamin D.