Now that fall has arrived, it’s time to break out your favorite sweaters, take brisk walks in the park, enjoy the changing colors of the landscape–and prepare for the healthiest cold-and-flu season you’ve ever had.
It’s widely known that foods can play a major role in preventing colds and flus as well as shortening their duration. And as you’ll see here, many familiar herbs contain constituents that fight viral and bacterial infections.
Enlist these cold-and-flu-fighting recipes in your health regime for preventing those pesky bugs, or eat at the first sign of a sniffle.
Garlic Soup
Sesame Kale Stir-Fry
Ayurvedic Toast
Baked Grapefruit
Herbal teas
Herbal teas provide phytonutrients as well as cleansing fluids. Depending on the type of tea, you can soothe yourself to sleep with chamomile, open your airways with thyme and sage, or ease your digestion with a mild peppermint tea.
Making herbal teas is easy. Steep about a tablespoon of dried herb or 2 tablespoons fresh herb in a cup of boiling water (half as much if using thyme). You may need to experiment–the potency of your herbal tea will vary depending not only on your taste, but also on how the herb was grown, dried, and, especially, how long it has been stored.
Debbie Whittaker lives in Denver, Colorado, where she demonstrates her healthy cooking style as the “Herb Gourmet.”
