5 Healing Foods to Fight the Common Cold

There are many hot foods that can ease the symptoms of cold. When coming down with a cold, you should eat hot flavored foods. These foods comfort your body by easing the flu-like symptoms and shortening the length of time that your cold lasts. Having these foods during winter can also help to prevent the common cold.

Chicken Soup

Chicken soup is considered to be the most effective remedy for cold. The warmth of chicken soup not only sooths the nasal passages and throat, but it has anti-inflammatory effects as well. The ingredients of chicken soup mobilize neutrophils and make you feel better. Vegetable broth, herbs, and chicken nourish your body and allow your immune system to fight off the cold or flu.

Hot Tea

It’s a great choice to have a cup of hot tea when you feel sick. A cup of hot tea will warm the body from chills, ease a congested nose, and soothe a sore throat. The warmth of hot tea helps to thin out the mucous of the nose and throat which cause congestion during a cold. It is advisable to have green tea, since it contains antioxidants that give your immune system extra energy to fight off the cold or flu. Tea flavors suited to fight cold include ginger, chamomile, peppermint, cinnamon and yogi tea.

Garlic

Garlic is hot in temperature like chicken soup and tea. It derives a spicy flavor from its sulfur compounds. Garlic contains a decongestant called allin, which when crushed, acts as a mucolytic that liquefies thick mucus that accumulates in the sinuses. Garlic can also help to improve the functioning of your immune system. Garlic destroys free radicals by acting like an antioxidant. It has antifungal, antibacterial and antiviral properties, which makes it effective in fighting cold.

Ginger

Ginger, like garlic, is known for its hot and spicy flavor. Ginger is capable of treating conditions such as common cold and flu like symptoms. It is used to treat symptoms such as sore throat coughing, headache, runny nose, fever, aches, and white-coated tongue. Ginger becomes more effective when it is made into a tea. It helps to soothe a sore throat and reduces the need for coughing.

Spicy Foods

During cold, you can also eat foods such as chili peppers, hot sauce, wasabi, hot mustard, horseradishes, spicy sauces and chili. All these foods contain mucolytics and will naturally thin out the buildup of mucous in the breathing passages during a cold or flu.