How to eat your way to a healthier winter
THE Covid-19 pandemic has amplified the focus on immuneboosting foods, resulting in consumers making healthier lifestyle and food choices. With winter around the corner, now is the time to consider whether your daily food intake is providing the health benefits you require.
According to registered dietitian Megan Pentz-Kluyts: “At the core of science-based nutrition advice is to enjoy eating a variety of foods, every day. It’s this variety that exposes us to benefits from a wide range of foods.”
Pentz-Kluyts highlights some of the benefits offered by healthy foods with simple ways to incorporate them into your family’s daily diet: Rooibos tea
Start the day with a cup of caffeine-free rooibos tea. This delicious, proudly South African tea is abundant in polyphenols, which are antioxidants that are antiinflammatory and antiviral.
Pentz-Kluyts says: “Rooibos tea can help to fight colds and infections and support the immune system. Rooibos also contains aspalathin, an antidiabetic miracle worker that together with the correct food choices, can help balance glucose levels and improve insulin resistance.”
Garlic
Garlic can combat sickness, including the common cold, and is a broad-spectrum antimicrobial agent and immune booster. Heat deactivates a key active ingredient of garlic, so add it to foods just before serving.
One clove (3g) of raw garlic
contains: manganese, 2%; vitamin B6, 2%; vitamin C, 1%; and selenium, 1% of the recommended daily allowance respectively; as well as 0.06g of fibre and decent amounts of calcium, copper, potassium, phosphorus, iron and vitamin B1. Honey
Raw honey is an age-old remedy and is still commonly used to promote digestive health.
“Our digestive system is an integral part of our immune functioning,” Pentz-Kluyts says.
“‘Honey is known for its prebiotic qualities, which means it nourishes the good bacteria in our gut.” Mushrooms
Many families are including more plant-based meals in their diet, and mushrooms have an important role to play in this change. Mushrooms are a low-calorie, low-cholesterol, and low-sodium food with a lot of potential as a meat alternative and as a versatile star ingredient in many dishes.
“Mushrooms contain powerful
polysaccharides called beta-glucans,” says Pentz-Kluyts.
“Preliminary evidence suggests that mushrooms may support healthy immune and inflammatory responses through interaction with the gut microbiota, enhancing development of adaptive immunity and improved immune cell functionality. ”
Yoghurt
Look for yoghurts that have “live cultures” printed on the label, such as Greek yoghurt. These cultures may stimulate your immune system to help fight diseases.
Buy plain yoghurt rather than the kinds that are pre-flavoured and loaded with sugar. You can sweeten plain yoghurt yourself with fruit and a drizzle of honey.
It’s important to remember that no one food or food group can prevent sickness, but we can reduce our vulnerability to infections by following dietary guidelines and eating a variety of healthy foods in the correct amounts.