Diet tips for cold and flu season

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Staying fit and healthy is about more than exercise, and cold and flu season takes a toll on even the most active athletes.

Here are a few diet tips to stay healthy this winter.

• Fill your plate with orange. Carrots and sweet potatoes have beta carotene that will nix illness causing free radicals. Oranges and cantaloupe (and other colors of fruit, of course) will give you vitamin-C to boost your immune system.
• Eat your fish. Salmon is a well-known source of omega-3 fatty acids, which fight colds by reducing inflammation in the lungs. But you can also benefit from crabs and oysters, which contain Zinc. This mineral encourages the growth of white blood cells to boost immunity.
• Make mushrooms your favorite pizza topping. Mushrooms are high in selenium, which is thought to protect from severe flus.
• Drink lots of fluids. Water flushes cold and flu causing toxins out of your body as it rehydrates you.
• Eat yogurt. While researchers aren’t sure why yet, yogurt can drastically reduce your chances of getting a cold. The good bacteria in the yogurt may stimulate production of disease fighting agents.
• Have tea time. L-theanine in black, white and green tea is responsible for producing immune boosters.

What are YOUR tricks for staying healthy during cold and flu season?