The Best Vitamins and Minerals for Cold & Flu Season

Sometimes my travel schedule makes it hard for me to get all of the vitamins and minerals that I need to stay healthy. Getting enough nutrients throughout the day not only helps you to prevent getting the cold and flu by boosting your immune system, it also allows you to treat it as well. Here are some important vitamins and minerals for that help you boost your immune system.

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Zinc

When you have the cold or flu, you need to be sure you get proper vitamins. This isn’t always easy because you aren’t hungry and may even have nausea or vomiting. If that is the case, try to take an additional supplement to get the nutrients you need. To start with, it includes zinc. Zinc is great for many illnesses and general health, but especially if you have a cold. It can help keep your immune system get all the nutrients it needs, plus zinc works great in a lozenge when you have a sore throat from a cold or a flu. Some great food sources of zinc are lean meats, seafood, legumes (beans, chickpeas, etc.), nuts and seeds.

Vitamin C

Treating a cold and getting more vitamin C seem to go hand-in-hand. A lot of over-the-counter treatments boast about having vitamin C, because this is one of the best nutrients for your immune system. With a stronger immune system, you are able to prevent illnesses like colds and flus, but you can also treat a cold even after you already have it. Getting more vitamin C into your body can help reduce how long you have the cold, and keep it from worsening. Try to get natural sources of vitamin C first, such as from citrus fruit, bananas, veggies like broccoli and brussel sprouts, and juice without added sugar in it.

Vitamin D

Another important nutrient to have when you get a chest or head cold is vitamin D. If you are outdoors often, you probably already get enough vitamin D, as its most natural source is from the sun’s UV rays. However, when you are sick, you spend a lot of time indoors. Plus, the cold is more common in fall and winter seasons when you tend to have colder days without a lot of sunshine. For this reason, you should focus on getting more vitamin D in other ways. This might be with a supplement you take every day, a multi-vitamin, or with food sources like yogurt, cheese, milk, tofu, or fortified cereal.

As you can see, something as simple as eating a healthy, well-balanced diet can help you get all the vitamins and minerals you need to help treat a cold and boost your immune system in general.