With the imminent arrival of winter, folks have major health concerns about contracting colds and the flu, especially the H1N1 flu. Instead of waiting until a cold or the flu has already arrived and is causing illness, why not take preemptive measures before any respiratory infection occurs. It turns out that a number of common foods can provide an immune system boost. More than a dozen are included among the top immune system booster foods. For breakfast orange juice and oatmeal are first class contributors to a healthy immune system. The oats are a source of beta glucans an immunity system booster and orange juice supplies more than the daily requirement for vitamin C. Pouring milk fortified with vitamin D over the oatmeal will provided additional strength to the immune system to prevent upper respiratory infections. To provide further protection drink a cup of black tea and continue through the day, because black tea builds up your immune system’s T cells into super T cells that end up successfully fighting flu and cold infections.
Later in the day you can snack on yogurt that has been fortified with Lactobacillus acidophilus as well as Bifidus and L. rhamnosus, because they appear to stimulate the white-blood cells that fight infection. For lunch make sure that you include chicken soup several times a week, because it thins mucus and relieves the symptoms of a stuffy nose. By adding garlic and onions you can increase the immune boosting strength of the soup. The allicin in garlic is a strong bacteria fighter. For dinner a soup of clam chowder or oyster stew will provide selenium that helps the white blood cells fight viruses. For the main course make certain to include some fish like salmon, mackerel or herring in order to get the benefits of the omega-3 fatty acids that boost the activity of the cells that eat up the bacteria. For dessert a slice of pumpkin pie with black tea can round out the day. The pumpkin contains abundant vitamin A that will combine with zinc from the shellfish like oysters to fight infection.