Here are some immune-boosting drinks you can enjoy to prepare your body for the winter season - and help fight off colds and flu.
Of course, a healthy overall lifestyle that ensures plenty of high-quality sleep is essential for strong immunity, but drinking beneficial beverages can also help bolster your body's immune system. Here are six liquid recommendations...
Water: Since our bodies are around two thirds water by weight, and every single bodily function requires water, drinking adequate amounts of H20 is a good place to start to keep your body (and brain) functioning optimally. When your body is dehydrated, it can lead to growth of bacteria and viruses. That's why it's so important to make sure you drink the optimal amount of water for your body's needs every single day.
The U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine determined that an adequate daily fluid intake is about 3.7 liters for men, and about 2.7 liters of fluids a day for women. These recommendations cover fluids from water, other beverages and food. About 20 percent of daily fluid intake usually comes from food and the rest from drinks.
Green Tea: Another great beverage to enjoy to bolster your immune system. Green tea is rich in beneficial polyphenol flavonoids that provide myriad health benefits, from reducing the risk of heart disease and certain cancers to managing systemic inflammation. Here are five evidence-based health benefits of green tea.
Lemon Ginger Tea: It's made by combining freshly grated ginger and lemon juice in hot water. If you don't want to make it yourself, there are several brands you can buy off the shelf. Some even have added probiotics for more immune-boosting benefits.
Lemon is rich in vitamin C, a well known antioxidant. Vitamin C also provides anti-inflammatory properties and helps turn down negative immune responses, according to research published in the journal Antioxidants. (Also, why not consider having a glass of lemon water in the morning? For something that hardly takes any effort, it’s amazing just how many ways a glass of lemon water in the morning can make you healthier.
For centuries, scientists have proclaimed ginger's healing properties. It has been found to do everything from promoting healthy ageing and weight loss to boosting immunity and fighting cancer. Discover more about the health benefits of ginger.
Fruit Juice: Both orange and grapefruit juice are nutrient-rich and provide more than 100 percent of the total vitamin C you need a day in one serving. These fruit juices also provide vitamin A and folate. When buying orange juice, you can even find options that are fortified with vitamin D, a nutrient long known to be essential for healthy immunity.
Tomato Juice: Like citrus fruit, tomatoes are rich in vitamin C as well as lycopene, a beneficial antioxidant carotenoid that possesses many health-promoting properties and is known to help tamp down systemic inflammation. Tomato soup is often recommended when you have a cold or flu for it's vitamin C, but refreshing tomato juice will provide similar amounts of vitamin C.
Kefir: This is a fermented, yogurt-like drink made from different types of milk, such as cow, sheep, and goat. Like yogurt, kefir is rich in different beneficial probiotics. A review article published in the journal Nutrients reported that kefir provides antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, wound healing, and many other health benefits.