Well, the weather! Dampness, slush, dripping from the sky, squelching underfoot. And now itching in the nose, itching in the throat, and the immune system treacherously fails. Stop! But he just needs support. Nutritionist Lyudmila Seledtsova advises what you need to eat in order to strengthen the body’s defenses and defeat the common cold.
Include fish and seafood on your menu at least twice a week. They are an important component of strong immunity in autumn days, and also supply protein, iodine and polyunsaturated fatty acids to the body.
Healthy recipe: fish baked in foil
Peel and rinse the fish. Season a little with salt and pepper, add a little basil (or other spices to taste). Put a layer of chopped onion and chopped carrots on a sheet of foil. On top of the fish, inside which you can put a couple of lemon slices. Pour sour cream sauce into the middle, to which a little salt, sugar and mustard are added, and then a couple of tablespoons of olive oil. Spread the remaining onions and carrots on top in an even layer. Wrap the foil so that the fish and vegetables are in a well-closed envelope and bake in the oven.
Fermented milk products, which contain live microorganisms, are no less important for the body. Fermented milk products support normal intestinal microflora and stimulate the immune system.
Healthy recipe: delicate fermented milk dessert
Add half a glass of yogurt to a glass of sour cream. Pre-soaked gelatin (1 teaspoon in half a glass of water) heat until dissolved, but do not boil. Cool, pour into the sour cream mixture, add half a glass of sugar there. Place in a saucepan with ice and beat well. Arrange strawberries or other berries, thin slices of orange without the skin in vases. Pour cream over – carefully so that the whipped mixture does not settle. Refrigerate for 2-3 hours. Garnish with mint leaves before serving.
Fiber-rich foods will also help strengthen the immune system in the fall: rye bread, bran bread (containing vitamin B), pumpkin and sunflower seeds, and nuts. Be sure to use vegetable fats in your food. Season vegetable salads with olive oil and lemon juice. This dressing is much healthier than mayonnaise!
Healthy Recipe: Warm Five Vegetables Salad with Nuts
Bake 5 vegetables in the oven or grill: bell pepper, small eggplant, tomato, young zucchini and onion. Cut into slices or strips, mix gently and fold. Sprinkle with nuts – chopped walnuts and toasted pine nuts. Drizzle with olive oil dressing, chopped garlic and herbs. The set of vegetables can be varied (taking, for example, 2-3 components out of five – to your taste), with a set of nuts – experiment.
Cereals are also important for strengthening the natural defenses of our body against colds and other diseases: buckwheat, oatmeal, wheat, as well as eggs, especially quail.
Healthy recipe: buckwheat porridge with salmon
Rinse the buckwheat, dry it in a frying pan slightly oiled with vegetable oil (some people like to fry the cereal). Add water at the rate of 2 cups of boiling water to 1 cup of cereal. Reduce heat and simmer under the lid without stirring until the cereal absorbs all the water and becomes soft. In the meantime, steam the salmon slices. Cut the onion as you like – finely or in half rings. Fry lightly in vegetable oil, add the fish cut into pieces and stir. Remove from heat almost immediately so that the salmon does not fry, but only takes on the light aroma of golden onion with butter. Add buckwheat, mix gently again and leave to sweat a little on the cooling plate.
Rosehip, rich in vitamins, also strengthens the immune system quite well on autumn days. Rose hips can be brewed like tea, made into an infusion, and honey can be added to it instead of sugar. Honey protects against colds, and in combination with warm milk soothes and helps to feel better in case of autumn depression.
Healthy recipe: rosehip tea with honey and sea buckthorn
Chop two tablespoons of dried rose hips, pour a liter of boiling water and let it set in a thermos for 20 minutes. Rinse a handful of sea buckthorn and rub through a sieve. Add the resulting gruel to the rosehip broth, and pour the bones and the skin of the berries remaining inside the sieve with half a glass of boiling water and let stand for a while. Then drain and add to the tea, and discard the extracts. Add honey to taste, drink warm and treat to those you want health.