They say you are what you eat, so it makes sense that eating healthy foods can help you stay, er, healthy.
"You can't underestimate the importance of good nutrition when it comes to...your immune system," says Karen Ansel, RD, a spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. "Vitamins, minerals, antioxidants—these are what keeps your body strong, and without them you're not giving your body the edge it needs to ward off infection."
And we're not talking just fruits and vegetables: Foods from every food group are represented here. Make them a part of your diet for your best defense against colds and flu.
Garlic
These pungent cloves do more than just flavor your food. Garlic also contains allicin, a sulfuric compound that produces potent antioxidants when it decomposes.
A 2001 study in the journal Advances in Therapy found that people who took garlic supplements for 12 weeks between November and February got fewer colds than those who took a placebo. And of those who did get sick, those who took the garlic supplement felt better faster.
Garlic packs the biggest antioxidant punch when eaten raw. Flavor too strong for you? Consider taking aged-garlic extract capsules.
Citrus fruits
Recent research suggests that vitamin C
