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5 All Natural Flu Fighting Foods

5 super healthy foods that help promote stronger immune
systems which in return can help fight the flu. We like to include these in our natural flu fighting remedies! Eat well!

Citrus Fruits

How They Help
Oranges, grapefruit, and other citrus fruits are loaded with vitamin C, which is essential for forming virus-thwarting white blood cells.
Getting Enough
For women, the recommended daily allowance (RDA) is 75 milligrams - about one cup of orange juice or one grapefruit. You don't need a megadose; it wont increase your protection. Vitamin C is water soluble and what your body doesn't use is filtered out through waste.
Sources
Strawberries, papayas, kiwifruit, red peppers, and broccoli.

Beef, dark-meat Poultry, and Pork

How They Help
These meats are packed with zinc, which boosts the number of infection - fighting T cells and also kicks them into action. Even a small zinc shortage may impede your body's defense.
Getting Enough
A woman's zinc RDA is 8 mg. Just three ounces of lean beef provides at least half that. )if you take zinc supplements, keep your intake below 40 mg daily. Too much can suppress your immunity.
Sources
Oysters and dairy products.

Orange Veggies

How They Help
The orange color comes from a family of pigments called carotenes. The body converts these into vitamin A, which helps maintain the mucous membranes that act as a barrier against germs.
Getting Enough
The new USDA food pyramid recommends eating at least two cups a week of orange vegetables such as carrots, sweet potatoes, and butternut squash.
Other Sources
Dark leafy greens like kale, spinach, and collars (their orange color is obscured by chlorophyll).

Almonds and Sunflower Seeds

How They Help
Their vitamin E improve immune function, especially that of T cells, the body's main defense against viruses. Vitamin E also protects cell membranes from damage.
Getting Enough
One ounce will provide half of your RDA of 15mg a day. If you are on a diet, don't cut out nuts; just watch your portions. One ounce of almonds - about 22 nuts - has approximately 170 calories.
Other Sources
Vegetable oils and other nuts.

Tea

How They Help
Tea contains high concentrations of an amino acid called L-theanine, which may trigger T cells to produce interferon, a protein that battles viruses.
Getting Enough
Every day drink 20 oz - five or six small cups - of regular, non herbal tea. Your choices: black, green, and oolong, all of which come from a plant that is rich in L-theanine.

Written By
www.AlternativeMedicineDirect.com