Raise your body’s natural defences with this eating plan, and stop almost any sickness before it starts



Nobody plans to get ill. On the contrary, your efforts to avoid it sometimes seem borderline OCD: don’t sneeze into your hands, always cook your chicken to exactly 170°C, hose down every germ-carrying preschooler in sight with soap and water. And yet, no matter how many times you gargle with salt before bed or coat yourself in antibacterial hand cleanser, now and again the inevitable rumble in your tummy or tickle in your throat hits. Hard. Suddenly, you’re down for the count and up to date on the daytime soaps. What are you doing wrong? Probably nothing. But you can do a few more things right. Certain foods and drinks have natural immune-boosting properties; to tap their benefits, just open up and say “Ahh”


Tea off against colds
Not just any tea, though. Chamomile, according to researchers from London’s Imperial College, is the one that’ll help put the kibosh on your cold. They found people who drank five cups of the brew a day for two weeks had increased blood levels of plant-based compounds called polyphenols, some of which have been associated with increased antibacterial activity. Levels remained high for two weeks after subjects stopped drinking the tea, says lead researcher Dr Elaine Holmes. (Bonus: chamomile tea also raised levels of glycine, a mild nerve relaxant and sedative.)


Knock ‘em dead
There’s an assassin living in all of us. Known as a macrophage and produced deep in your bone marrow, it’s a white blood cell that roams the body, picking fights with bacteria, viruses, or any other intruders. But it only works if you help it. These killer cells are activated by beta-glucans, a component of fibre. The best source? Oats, says dietitian David Grotto. So eat your porridge. Steel-cut oats – also known as Scotch or Irish oats have double the amount found in the rolled, quick-cooking kind. They’re hard to get hold of in Australia (unlike, say Scotland or Ireland) but try your local health food store.


Dressing for success
Eating a salad for lunch is smart. Drowning it in fat-free dressing isn’t. A recent study from Iowa State University found that without dietary fat, your body doesn’t absorb some of the disease-fighting nutrients in vegetables. Researchers fed seven people salad for 12 weeks and tested their blood after each meal. Those who topped their salads with fat-free dressing consistently failed to absorb carotenoids, antioxidants that have been linked to improved immunity. Fat is necessary for the carotenoids to reach the absorptive intestinal cells, says lead researcher Dr Wendy White. Choose dressings with healthy fats from olive or nut oils, such as Praise Extra Virgin Olive Oil dressings. Or make your own: for a Mediterranean dressing, try 2 or 3 parts extra virgin olive oil to 1 part balsamic vinegar; for something with an Asian influence, go 3 parts sesame oil to 1 part rice wine vinegar.


Fight bugs this whey
A shot of whiskey might be one way to feel better, but whey protein is a much more effective immune-boosting cocktail. Whey is rich in an amino acid called cysteine, which converts to glutathione in the body. Glutathione is a potent antioxidant that fortifies cells against bacterial or viral infection. For the highest concentration of protein, try something called powdered whey protein isolate, which is more pure and more expensive than concentrate. Fortify your morning smoothie with whey protein powder or try another source: yoghurt. The clear liquid that forms on top of most tubs of yoghurt is pure whey protein so don’t drain it off, just stir it back into the yoghurt.


Tomato trumps chicken
To beat back a cold, you slurp chicken noodle soup. To avoid getting sick in the first place, ladle out some tomato. In a study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 10 subjects ate a tomato-rich diet for three weeks, followed by a tomato-free diet for three more weeks. While subjects were on the tomato diet, their infection-fighting white blood cells sustained 38 per cent less damage from free radicals – atoms in the body that damage and destabilise cells than when they ate no tomato products. Researchers speculate that the lycopene in tomatoes acts as an antioxidant, helping white blood cells resist the damaging effects of free radicals.


Down a sports drink
Not only will guzzling Gatorade help your body recover from a tough workout, but it may also protect you from the latest strain of the flu. According to a study published in the International Journal of Sport Nutrition, when 10 triathletes drank more than 1 cup of sports drink every 15 minutes during intense exercise, they had significantly better immune response than they did when they drank a placebo.


Wine, then dine
Drinking wine with your meal, in addition to being good for your heart, may help ward off food poisoning before it happens. Scientists at Oregon State University found that wine can put the kibosh on three common food pathogens: E. coli, listeria, and salmonella. In lab studies, the wine’s combination of ethanol, organic acids, and low pH appeared to scramble the bugs’ genetic material. All wines have some effect, say researchers, but reds are the most potent.


Feel the burn
Several studies have shown that capsaicin – the compound that gives chilli peppers their fire – can help stop sickness before it starts. Mice in one study were given a daily dose of capsaicin and had nearly three times more antibody-producing cells after three weeks than those given no capsaicin. More antibodies mean fewer colds and infections. Results of other studies suggest that eating food containing hot components such as capsaicin may improve immune status, says Rina Yu, Ph.D., of the University of Ulsan in South Korea, the lead researcher. The point is, it can’t hurt. At the very least, a dash or two of Tabasco might help flush out some toxins.


Hold the fries
Losing a little extra baggage will not only reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes, it’ll also help shape up your immune system. Researchers at Tufts University asked a group of slightly overweight people to cut 420kJ to 840kJ from their daily food intake. The result, in addition to weight loss and a drop in cholesterol counts? Participants boosted their immune system response to disease-causing micro-organisms. Researchers aren’t exactly sure why, but speculate that the benefit comes from a combination of effects. One thing is certain: Cutting 420 kilojoules out of your daily diet is easy. Swap a glass of OJ for water, or hold the sour cream next time you order wedges, and you’re there.