Let me just preface this post by saying that everyone at my place of employment has some kind of cold or upper respiratory illness. This means I am slathering on the hand sanitizer like nobody’s business and using bleach wipes to clean my desk every day. Germs!
This makes green smoothies packed with greens, fruit, and oats especially appropriate. I drank one on my way to work the other day, and I’m sure everyone was wondering what sort of green sludge was hanging out in my to-go tumbler.
One of my coworkers ate chicken noodle soup the other day, which I thought was pretty brilliant considering the cold weather and cold illness going around, so I decided to make my own version +/- a few ingredients.
anti-germ vegetable soup
- 1/4 cup onion, chopped
- 1/2 cup celery, chopped
- 1/2 cup carrots or sweet potatoes, chopped
- 1 T butter or oil
- 1 cup quinoa or noodles of your choice
- 1 cup kale
- 5-6 cups vegetable or chicken stock
Sauté onion and celery in butter until translucent, 3-4 minutes. Add carrots or sweet potatoes (or both) and cook for a few more minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients and heat until quinoa or noodles are cooked.
And when I feel a bug coming on, I usually do the following:
- drink tons of water or hot tea
- take vitamin C
- eat more fruit and vegetables (natural nutrients)
- get lots of sleep
- cut out sugar
What’s the theory on sugar and infection? This one is up for debate, but some experts think that sugar inhibits the body’s natural defense against invading pathogens and promotes an environment favorable to the growth of pathogenic organisms. Others say the similar structures of sugar and vitamin C create competition for uptake into the body’s cells. Whatever the proposed theories, I have certainly found this to be true.
What about zinc and vitamin C as immune boosters?
According to the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, oral zinc may help reduce the length and severity of colds, but it also has potential to cause side effects (GI effects) and participate in drug nutrient interaction. Intranasal zinc should not be used due to risk of severe side effects.
Vitamin C has not been proven to prevent colds but may slightly reduce their length and severity.
So, while everyone else is stocking up on puffs plus, I’m having another round of wheat grass [oh joy].
what are your go-to strategies for preventing the plague of death?
