Nutrition: how to boost your immunity for winter?

How to boost your immunity for winter?

With autumn well underway, it's high time to boost our immunity and adapt our nutrition for winter by stocking up on superfoods and other natural ingredients that can easily be added to any dish.

Garlic, for example, is one of nature's most powerful antiseptics. It acts primarily on the respiratory and digestive systems, destroying all bacteria in its path. Raw, it is most effective. So remember to add it to your grated carrot salad, or add it at the end of cooking to encourage light cooking. If you're brave enough to chew on a clove of garlic (even if it's only for a few seconds) when you've got a sore throat, you'll find that your sore throat improves or even disappears within hours! It's like magic.

Lemon is another essential ingredient in your kitchen (in any season, but especially in winter). This magical fruit, rich in vitamin C, boosts our immune system and helps us fight off winter ailments. It goes with everything: fish, lentils, steamed vegetables, water... Just a few drops and you're all set.

For good iron assimilation, it is necessary to consume it with foods rich in vitamin C. But life has a way of working out. Parsley is rich in iron AND vitamin C. Add this aromatic herb to your soups, ready-made meals and salads to keep your spirits up and fight bacteria and viruses that want to keep you in bed.

With the hours of daylight getting shorter and shorter, and the return of rain and clouds, we see less of the sun. Yet vitamin D is essential for a strong immune system! Add eggs, small oily fish and button mushrooms to your daily menu.

Children, the elderly and pregnant women need to double their efforts during cold spells to fill up on vitamins. Fruits and vegetables rich in vitamin C(kiwi, oranges, lemons, frozen red fruit, parsley, peppers - preferably raw; they go very well as an aperitif with hummus).

Think also of (healthy) winter dishes: lentils, soups, porridge, broths, herbal teas... There are a thousand ways to add seasonal vegetables and fill up on vitamins as well as warming our bodies.

Mothers-to-be, don't forget to sprinkle brewer' s yeast on your lentils, soups and salads. This miracle food, rich in B vitamins, alleviates the discomforts of pregnancy (nausea, cramps, constipation). Yeast is also beneficial for the development of the baby's nervous system. And after giving birth, continue to consume yeast. Yeast is a galactogen, helping milk production during breastfeeding. It's also good for the health of our hair, essential during the "hair loss" period that follows childbirth.

And finally, take advantage of this gloomy weather to take a hot bath with Epsom salts. These magnesium salts will help you relax, relieve fatigue and boost your immune system.

Remember, prevention is easier than cure!