Contents
General description of the disease
Influenza is an acute viral respiratory infection that affects the respiratory tract and is caused by the influenza virus.
Varieties:
The flu virus is characterized by constant mutation. Each new mutated strain is more resistant to known antibiotics, and requires the development of newer types of drugs. Now in the world there are about 2000 varieties of the influenza virus. There are three main groups of the virus – A, B and C: the virus of group A usually leads to epidemics and pandemics; group B affects only humans, usually children first, group C is poorly understood, the virus also spreads only in the human environment, does not differ in particular severity.
Causes:
The most common cause of infection with the influenza virus is contact with a sick person. The route of infection is airborne.
Symptoms:
Several days of the incubation period pass into the period of the acute course of the disease. A sick person has a fever, chills, headaches and muscles. Severe dryness in the nasopharynx accompanied by a dry, very painful cough. Of particular danger are complications that are possible with a severe course of the disease: pneumonia, meningitis, otitis media, myocarditis, in the elderly and children under two years of age, the complication can be fatal.
Useful foods for the flu
- chicken broth: inhibits the development of neutrophil cells, which cause inflammation and nasopharyngeal congestion;
- garlic: contains allicin, which is harmful to bacteria, fungi and viruses;
- spices (ginger, cinnamon, mustard, coriander): increase perspiration, which is good at high temperatures, and lead to narrowing of blood vessels, making it easier to swallow and breathe;
- foods containing zinc (meat, eggs, seafood, nuts);
- fruits and vegetables with high levels of beta-carotene, folic acid, magnesium (for example: cantaloupe, spinach, apricots, asparagus, beets, cauliflower, carrots, mango, pumpkin, pink grapefruit, tomato, tangerine, peaches, watermelon, kiwi) ;
- Vitamin C foods (papaya, citrus fruits, orange juice, yellow or red peppers, strawberries, tomatoes, and sweet potatoes);
- Foods high in vitamin E (corn oil, almonds, fish oil, lobster, hazelnuts, safflower oil, peanut oil, sunflower seeds, and salmon steak)
- foods containing flavonoids (raspberry syrup, lemons, green peppers, cherries and grapes, lingonberries);
- Foods with quercetin, a highly concentrated form of bioflavonoids (broccoli, red and yellow onions).
Early breakfast: semolina porridge with milk, green tea with lemon.
Lunch: one soft-boiled egg, cinnamon rosehip decoction.
Dinner: vegetable puree soup in meat broth, steamed meatballs, rice porridge, mashed compote.
Afternoon snack: baked apple with honey.
Dinner: steamed fish, mashed potatoes, fruit juice diluted with water.
Before bedtime: kefir or other fermented milk drinks.
Traditional medicine for the treatment of influenza:
- fruits of black currant (brew with hot boiled water with honey) – take up to four glasses a day;
- a decoction of blackcurrant sprigs with honey (break the sprigs, add water and boil for five minutes, keep on steam for several hours) – use two glasses at night;
- a couple of onions and garlic (grate an onion and two or three cloves of garlic and inhale deeply several times) – two to four times a day;
- infusion of dried raspberries (pour a tablespoon of berries with one glass of boiled water, leave for twenty minutes) – take 250 ml twice a day;
- a mixture of linden flowers and dried raspberries (pour a tablespoon of the mixture with boiling water, leave for twenty minutes) – take 250 ml twice a day;
- decoction of sickle and licorice root (licorice) (brew a tablespoon of the mixture with three hundred ml of boiling water, leave for fifteen minutes) – take 250 ml twice a day;
- infusion of lingonberry twigs and leaves (pour a tablespoon of the mixture with boiling water, leave for thirty minutes) – take two tablespoons five times a day.
Dangerous and harmful foods for influenza
Prohibited product names include alcohol and coffee. It’s all about the dehydration effect that they have.
Sugar in sweet dishes also negatively affects the healing process, reducing the activity of leukocytes, the main fighters against the virus. For this reason, you should not drink sweet fruit juices. Also, you should exclude: fresh and rye bread, pastries, cakes and pastries, fatty cabbage soup, broths, soups, borscht, fatty meats (goose, duck, pork, lamb), sausages, canned food.
Attention!
The administration is not responsible for any attempt to use the information provided, and does not guarantee that it will not harm you personally. The materials cannot be used to prescribe treatment and make a diagnosis. Always consult your specialist doctor!