Gillian McKeith's Food Bible (161 page)

Lack of ventilation indoors.

Action plan

If you really want to stop catching colds, you have to mean business and if you want the cold not to linger, you have to attack it, not just tickle it.

EAT/DRINK

Garlic. The compounds allicin and allium in garlic help to get rid of germs. Use garlic in soups, spreads, stews, and, if you are brave, add it to veggie juice.

Chicken, which contains selenium and zinc, both needed for immune function. Research shows that chicken soup has an anti-inflammatory effect. Get organic chicken for the soup and add lots of vegetables to provide antioxidants and vitamins. Sipping the hot soup and inhaling the steam may clear congestion. Soup also provides hydration, which is important for thinning mucus. Cook your soup with added garlic and onions for stronger effect.

Eat hearty vegetable soups, too, and blend them for easy digestion. You can pack them with onions, ginger, scallions, and garlic, as well as other herbs and vegetables that are full of nutrients. Onions contain virus-fighting compounds. Eat them raw, too.

Hot peppers can clear out your stuffy nose. You can use the fresh jalapeño type pepper or try a quarter teaspoon of ground pepper (the red one) in some water.

Use shiitake mushrooms in your cooking. They have been shown to improve immune response.

Add radishes to soups and salads.

Lots of liquids. Teas are great to sweat it out of you. Ginger, chamomile, peppermint, lemon and honey, elderflower, and linden teas are all good. Peppermint tea can help to bring relief to a stuffy nose. Add some cinnamon powder to ginger tea for extra effect.

AVOID

Dairy products and sugary foods. They are mucus-producing and clog your organs. You will just feel worse.

Sugar. When you overeat sugar, you decrease the white blood cells and that weakens your immune fighting ability. You need to have a strong immunity to keep colds at bay.

HERBS AND SUPPLEMENTS

Use pickled daikon in your stews or salads. You can get it from health-food stores. It has properties that help to reduce mucus.