We're at that rotten time of year again when the weather can't seem to make its mind up and we hover between warm and freezing days. And whilst it's lovely to cling on to the warmer weather the constant swapping between hot and cold always seems to play havoc with peoples health and even the chief executive of NHS England is warning that Britain could be facing a possible flu epidemic this year.
It's really important therefore that we are taking simple measures to stay well. It can be a costly business to have to turn to cold and flu remedies from the pharmacy but with a few preventative measures you hopefully won't need to, and even if a cough or cold does rear its ugly head then there are some very effective natural remedies available from health food stores too.
Eat a Wide Variety of Foods
One of the easiest ways to stay well is to ensure you are eating a wide variety of foods to give you enough vitamins and other key nutrients, this helps to ensure that your immune system stays fighting fit. Some of the key vitamins and nutrients your want to ensure your body is getting are -
Vitamin C - If you drink a 150ml glass of orange juice per day (can be fresh or from concentrate, nutritionally they are exactly the same), this can be counted as one of your five-a-day and it gives the full daily quota of vitamin C that your body needs. Sian Porter, Registered Dietitian says “Conveniently, pure orange juice is also a source of the B-vitamin folate, needed for white blood cells (that protect the body against infectious disease) to rapidly reproduce.” So this small, easy to drink and delicious glass of orange juice is a real winner.
Iron - If you start to feel tired and worn out then your iron levels might be low and you should be eating more leafy green vegetables like spinach, red meat, liver, beans and pulses, fortified breakfast cereals and sardine. Oh and I bet you didn't know that raisins and pistachios are also a great source of iron, so it doesn't have to be unpleasant to get your recommended quota.