Wash your hands!

Staying Healthy This Flu Season

It’s that time of year- time to avoid getting sick. Food plays a major role in our every-day health. Here are a few tips to help keep your immune system in tip-top shape!

Vitamin C

If you’re not eating veggies and fruits high in vitamin C, be sure to take supplements. Vitamin C is water-soluble vitamin that helps boost your immune system. A normal dose of Vitamin C is between 500 and 1,000 MG’s. Fruits that are high in vitamin C are: kiwis, papayas, oranges and strawberries. Vegetables with high levels of vitamin C are: red and green hot chili peppers, fresh herbs (thyme and parsley), broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, and dark leafy greens (Kale, Mustard Greens, Garden Cress).

Hydration

Make sure to drink enough water! A hydrated body runs more efficiently, and helps flush toxins and viruses from body tissues. Men should drink 3 liters (about 13 cups) and women need 2.2 liters (or 9 cups) of liquid a day. Diet Coke doesn’t count! Another recommended daily allowance of water that is easier to remember is eight by eight. Drink at least 8, eight-ounce glasses of water per day.

Wash Everything

The last time I was in my local market I saw a woman sneezing on the oranges. Gross. All of the exposed fruit and vegetables that you take home from the market should to be washed and dried- this will lessen your chances of contracting a virus. All uncooked poultry should be washed before cooking as well.

In addition to washing your food, wash your hands with hot soapy water at least six times a day. Run your hands under hot water, add a liberal amount of soap, and lather for at least 60 seconds. Rinse with hot water and dry thoroughly.

If you’re not able to wash your hands during the day, apply antibacterial hand gel.

Chicken Soup

Chicken is a great source of protein and amino acids- it also contains nutrient-filled vegetables and stock, which helps keep your body hydrated. Carrots have antiseptic properties, and vitamin A.

Go to Bed

During the flu and cold season make sure to get enough rest- a minimum of eight hours is recommended. If your body is tired, it will have a difficult time keeping viruses and bacterial infections at bay.

Go Away!

If you have friends and family that are sick, keep your distance.

Exercise

Exercise boosts your immune system. Those really good, sweaty work-outs flush contaminants from your body.

Drink Tea

Jump-start your immune system each morning with a fresh pot of black tea. While the healthy properties in black tea have been known for centuries, a recent Harvard University study confirmed its healing effects. The study found that people who drank five cups of black tea a day for two weeks had 10 times higher levels of the cold- and virus-fighting chemical interferon than those who did not drink tea. Researchers suspect that green tea has the same effect. *Source naturalnews.com

Avoid the flu shot

According to Dr. J. Anthony Morris, the former Chief Vaccine Control Officer at the FDA, “There is no evidence that any influenza vaccine, thus far developed, is effective in preventing or mitigating any attack of influenza.” When you also consider the toxic mixture of chemicals found in the flu vaccine, the decision becomes a no-brainer. Among the vaccine’s ingredients are such toxins as ethylene glycol (a.k.a. antifreeze), formaldehyde (a known carcinogen), aluminum (linked to Alzheimer’s disease and known to produce cancer in mice) and thimerosol (a form of mercury, the most toxic of all heavy metals). Thimerosol has had so much scrutiny in the past decade that it has been banned in all childhood vaccinations in the United States, yet it still remains in the influenza vaccine today. *Source naturalnews.com

In Health,

Chef Chuck Kerber

chuck@cooksandeats.com

cooksandeats.com