My girlfriend called last night and she has the swine flu. She thinks she picked it up on a flight home last week. Do you have a cold? Even worse, the flu? Did you know that according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) up to 20% of Americans will likely get a rotten case of the flu this year? Along with the H1N1 flu, that percentage will likely be much greater.  When you are feeling absolutely rotten, what you eat can help fortify your immune system and even help ease your cold and flu symptoms.

1. Tea: all types of tea including green, black, white and red offer health benefits in the form of antioxidants. Besides feeling good to your throat and warming your body when you have the chills, hot liquids temporarily thin out the mucus in the nose and throat. Here’s a little unexpected tip. Regular tea (not decaf) contains enough caffeine to give you a slight energy boost when you feel so bad you don’t want to lift your head off the pillow. Remember, in addition to tea, continue to drink a lot of water to keep your body well hydrated and to help thin out mucus buildup.
2. Potatoes and other vitamin C-rich foods: Surprise, most people don’t think about potatoes but they are a very nice source of vitamin C and potassium. Add them to your chicken soup or baked one quickly in the microwave when you don’t have much of an appetite. Other vitamin C-rich foods include kiwi, blueberries and blackberries, cherries, tomatoes, and the traditional tangerines, oranges, grapefruit, pineapple and strawberries. Choose the whole food over a vitamin C supplement since you get the benefit of the water content as well as other vitamins and minerals in the fruit. Research has not proven that vitamin C prevents colds but it does aid your immune system which in turn helps you fight off the cold and flu. By the way, 100% fruit juices provide hydration plus the benefits of vitamin C and antioxidants, particularly the deeply colored juices such as pomegranate, cherry, blueberry and blackberry.
3. Chicken Soup: The zinc found in chicken is good for your immunity. Enhance your soup with garlic, onions, potatoes and lots of broth.  The garlic and onion loaded broth nourishes you and helps ease congestion and thin out mucous. If Mom isn’t around to make that chicken soup for you, there are some good canned versions on the market.  Be sure and check the Nutrition Facts label for the sodium content as canned soups can be over the top when it comes to added salt and sodium.
4. Yogurt. This is probably a food you never would have thought about to fight flu and colds but here’s the deal. You want yogurt that contains active cultures so check the label. Yogurt with active cultures such as acidophilus (also called probiotics) replenishes healthy bacteria in the body, especially your gastrointestinal tract where a lot of your immune function happens. Active cultures are particularly important if you are taking antibiotics which tend to strip out the bad bacteria and take the good along with it. The active cultures help replenish those healthy bacteria. Probiotics are strain specific meaning that you need a certain strain of probiotic bacteria if you are taking antibiotics so be sure to discuss this with your doctor, dietitian or pharmacist. You can also find these active cultures added to other products such as cereal bars, cereal, yogurt smoothies or kefir.
5. Spicy foods such as hot sauce, wasabi, chili or spicy sauces help to temporarily open sinuses and help with congestion. A bowl of chili or spicy tortilla soup with a dash of hot sauce may cause your nose to run and eyes to tear but right now, that could be a good thing. This relief helps you to breathe easier for a little while so if you’re up for it, try a little spicy food.

Now that you’ve given your body food to fight that flu or cold, it’s time for some much needed sleep. Rest and feel better.