When I said to eat right, your way, every day I meant it.

Folks, I am in the early stages of a cold (Thanks Husbandpants).

So how does one eat right for a cold?

What foods cure the common cold?

The reality is, you can’t cure a cold by eating right. But eating certain foods can ease the symptoms and help you feel better.

Here are some tips:

• Drink plenty of fluids, especially water. Water helps lubricate your mucous membranes but other fluids will do the trick too.
• Eat chicken noodle soup. The steam helps with congestion and ingredients in the soup may actually help with inflammation.
• Drink hot tea with ginger, honey, or lemon. Again, the steam is likely the primary advantage of these hot drinks.
• Include spicy foods. They’ll help clear your sinuses. As a bonus, they may also put hair on your chest according to my grandfather.
• Include foods high in vitamin C such as sweet potatoes, broccoli, strawberries, or bell pepper.

What does not help with the common cold?

• Avoid mega-doses of vitamin C. Most scientific evidence finds no benefit and in fact, many risks exist. Instead, stick to vitamin C rich foods.

What might help with the common cold?

• Zinc. However, studies are very mixed on the effects of zinc on colds and the overall benefit of zinc in preventing colds remains unproven. In addition, taking zinc in lozenge form comes with many nasty side effects that may make you thankful for the cold symptoms.

In the end, your best treatment is plenty of rest and fluids.

The reality of life is that you are going to get colds, but you can strengthen your immune system’s ability to fight infections by eating a balanced diet, being physically active, and getting enough sleep.

Have a great day – I’m off to blow my nose,

Diana

Do you have any favorite “sick” foods?