I just returned from a trip to California and can you hear what came with me? A chest cold along with laryngitis. Did you know that according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) up to 20% of Americans will likely get the flu every year? When you feel achy all over and feverish, your food selections can help fortify your immune system and ramp down some of your cold and flu symptoms. Healthy food, which provides needed nutrients to your body such as vitamins and minerals, is essential for optimum function of the immune response.

Try these flu and cold fighters:

Hot Tea: all types of tea including green, black, white and red offer health benefits in the form of antioxidants. Besides feeling really good on 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 gives you a slight energy boost when you feel so bad you don’t want to lift your head off the pillow.

When you feel chilled and achy, try this simple Spiced Orange Green Tea from the Florida Department of Citrus.

Here’s what you need:

4 ounces Florida Orange Juice

1 cinnamon stick

3 ounces green tea

Here’s what you do:

Combine the three ingredients in a saucepan and heat until steaming. You could also heat the ingredients together in a microwaveable cup until hot.

Blueberries, , potatoes, red peppers, kiwi and other vitamin C-rich foods: I bet you didn’t think about red peppers or potatoes for their Vitamin C but they are a very nice source of both vitamin C and potassium. Bake a potato quickly in the microwave when you don’t have much of an appetite. Other vitamin C-rich foods include blackberries, cherries, tomatoes, broccoli and the traditional sources you think of such as tangerines, oranges, grapefruit, pineapple and strawberries.

I much prefer the whole food over a vitamin C supplement since you get the benefit of the hydrating water content as well as other vitamins and minerals in the fruit. Research has not proven that vitamin C prevents colds but it does have a role in overall immune function that in turn helps you fight off a cold and flu. By the way, 100% fruit juices provide hydration plus the benefits of vitamin C and antioxidants.

Nuts and Seeds: Surprise…your body can benefit from the nutritional star power of nuts and seeds such as pumpkin and sunflower seeds, pistachios and pecans or peanuts or walnuts to provide your body with fiber and a roll call of nutrients including folate, magnesium, calcium, potassium, riboflavin and vitamin E. Nuts and seeds make an easy energy and nutrient-packed snack when you don’t feel like preparing food.

Spicy foods such as hot sauce, wasabi, chili or spicy sauces help to temporarily open sinuses, relieve some congestion and perhaps help you taste the food. 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.

 Want more information? Listen to this week’s podcast below.

Listen to this week’s podcast