健康飲食:十大抗感冒食物

Chicken Soup
Why it’s a cold/flu fighter: When you have a cold or the flu, a major symptom includes congestion in the nose, chest, and throat. Chicken soup has specifically been shown in studies to thin mucus secretions. Broth and noodles provide carbohydrates for maintaining your energy levels, potentially helping you feel less lethargic. If you add vegetables, you’ll boost the level of nutrients in the soup, which will help support immune function. Slurp away on low- sodium soups that contain 30% less salt. You want the soup to contain some salt, though, because sodium helps regulate the amount of fluid in the body. Basically, the saltiness in soup may help encourage hydration, says Lawrence D. Rosen, MD, chair of the Integrative Pediatrics Council, and author of The Whole Child blog. This is important because fevers can contribute to dehydration.

雞湯
普通感冒和流感都有鼻塞、咽部不適的感覺，其實這是病毒引起上呼吸道炎症的表現。很多研究已經驗證了雞湯的抗感冒作用：雞湯能夠減少呼吸道分泌炎性液體；肉湯和麪條內含有碳水化合物，爲患者提供能量，患者纔不會總是昏昏欲睡；如果在雞湯里加點蔬菜，營養會更豐富，對提高自身免疫力很有幫助；雞湯裏含有少量的鹽，這對感冒病人也是有益的。因爲鹽裏的鈉離子可以促進水合作用，而感冒病人發燒時身體往往會脫水。

Garlic
Why it’s a cold/flu fighter: Garlic contains compounds, such as allicin—an oily substance, which gives it the characteristic odor and provide its antioxidant properties. Former research published in the journal Advances In Therapy found that taking a garlic allicin-containing supplement could help prevent colds as well as shorten their duration. The research shows that both consuming garlic in cooking and taking appropriate dosages of garlic supplements, as a dehydrated garlic powder, garlic oil, or aged garlic extract, may be effective and safe in adults. Because the safety of garlic supplements haven’t been tested on children, it’s safest to stick to incorporating just the whole food—one to two cloves or more, if you prefer the taste—into your kids diet.

大蒜
大蒜中含有大蒜素。這是一種油性的物質，大蒜的特殊味道就來自於這種物質。大蒜素有強大的抗氧化作用，已有醫學研究證實，服用大蒜素能夠預防感冒、縮短感冒病程。研究表明：無論是做飯的時候加入大蒜還是服用脫水大蒜粉、大蒜油、大蒜提取物等大蒜製劑，都能有效且安全地防治感冒。

Green Tea
Why it’s a cold/flu fighter: Green tea leaves contain antioxidants that can help to boost immune function. A recent study published in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition showed that subjects taking a special preparation of green tea as a capsule experienced 23% less bouts of colds and flu overall and 36% fewer sick days. Their immune systems also produced more cells that fought off illness-causing bacteria and viruses.

What does this mean for you? Sip on green tea any chance you get. However, keep in mind that green tea does contain caffeine—20 to 50 mg per 8 oz.-cup, depending on how long you steep the tea. (In comparison, a cup of coffee contains 100 to 120 mg per 8 oz.-cup.) For adults, a moderate amount of caffeine is 200 to 300 mg per day; more can be associated with side effects, which include restlessness and difficulty sleeping. For this reason, you should closely monitor how much green tea kids have. One cup per day for a gradeschooler or preschooler is fine (just don’t steep the green tea too long for young kids). Or just give them the decaf variety, especially if they’re drinking it when they have the cold or flu.

綠茶
綠茶含有抗氧化劑，可以幫助提高免疫功能。最近一項醫學研究表明：服用某種特製綠茶膠囊的受試者普通 感冒和流感的發病率降低23%，病程也縮短了36%。同時他們體內產生更多免疫細胞，可以更有效地對抗細菌和病毒。

對我們有什麼啓發呢？儘可能喝點綠茶。不過需要注意的是，綠茶含有咖啡因。一杯綠茶中含有20-50mg咖啡因，當然泡的越久含量越高。相比之下，同樣的一杯咖啡中含有100-120mg咖啡因。成年人每天攝入200- 300mg咖啡因是比較適量的，再多就會引起激動、失眠等副作用。所以，對喝茶的孩子應該特別關注。學齡前兒童或小學生每天喝一杯綠茶有益無害。或者在他們感冒的時候，給他們一杯低咖啡因的綠茶也是個好主意
。

Strawberries, Oranges, Sweet Red Peppers, Broccoli
Why they’re cold/flu fighters: Some studies in adults have shown that taking high doses of vitamin C daily may significantly reduce cold and flu symptoms. Other studies have seen a modest benefit in reducing the duration of a cold or flu symptoms, and a few studies in adults and children have shown that taking vitamin C might help prevent colds or flu, although the research is inconsistent.

It ultimately doesn’t matter whether vitamin C can or can’t prevent or ease cold and flu symptoms, because it offers numerous health benefits when consumed through eating enough fruits and vegetables (3 or more cups per day). Plus, vitamin C acts as a cell-protecting antioxidant and an immune booster, which means it’ll help keep you healthy anyway—even if it isn’t a magic elixir for colds and flu specifically. Just remember to sidestep the supplements and
stick to whole foods—especially vitamin C-rich foods such as strawberries, oranges, sweet red peppers, and broccoli—when you want to make sure your child gets enough of this powerful
nutrient.

草莓、桔子、甜椒、西蘭花
很多研究證實：成人每日攝入大量維生素C能夠明顯減輕感冒症狀。另外一些研究則發現維生素C能夠縮短感冒病程。另一些同時涉及成人和兒童的研究結果顯示：服用維生素C有助於預防普通感冒和流感。

維生素C能不能預防或減輕感冒症狀似乎並不重要，因爲通過水果、蔬菜補充維生素C對身體的好處遠不止這一點。此外，維生素C是一種天然的抗氧化細胞保護成分和免疫增強劑。所以，即使它不是抗感冒的良藥，同樣對您的健康非常重要。放棄那些維生素藥片吧，堅持食用全食材，特別是維生素C含量豐富的草莓、桔子、甜椒、花椰菜。

Lean Meats
Why they’re cold/flu fighters: Maintaining good iron levels is necessary for maintaining a healthy immune system, and eating lean red meat and poultry, as well as fish and shellfish, provides a type of iron that is easily absorbed by the body. Zinc is another important mineral that these food sources provide—it serves many functions, one of which includes activating a white blood cell that helps fight off infections.

In some studies, zinc nasal sprays and lozenges have been shown to reduce the duration of a cold and the severity of symptoms, but overall, the research is inconsistent. Some people have also reported that they lost their sense of smell after using zinc nasal sprays. In addition, ingesting too much zinc could be harmful.

瘦肉
保持鐵的攝入量對維持健康的免疫功能非常重要。瘦肉、家禽、魚類和貝類食物裏含有的鐵很容易被人體吸 收。這些食物裏也都含有另外一種重要的礦物質-鋅。鋅在人體內參與多項重要生理功能，如激活白細胞幫助抵抗感染等。

一些研究結果顯示：鋅的鼻腔噴霧劑和含片能縮短感冒病程、緩解感冒症狀。不過另有報道發現鋅鼻腔噴霧劑引起嗅覺喪失。而且鋅攝入過多是有害的。

Honey
Why it’s a cold/flu fighter: Grandmothers may not be surprised by this, but a study, published in the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, found that buckwheat honey may reduce cough by coating and soothing an irritated throat. Researchers compared the effects of giving children this dark-colored honey (1/2 teaspoon, ages 2 to 5; 1 teaspoon, ages 6 to 11; 2 teaspoons, ages 12 to 18), honey-flavored dextromethorphan (cough medicine), or nothing at
bedtime. Honey worked the best at reducing cough and helping their child sleep. How did the cough medicine fair? It didn’t work any better than using no treatment.

Note: Don’t give honey to children younger than age 1—it could lead to infant botulism, a rare but potentially fatal illness.

蜂蜜
很常見的一種食物。研究發現蜂蜜附着在咽部可以緩解咽部刺激引起的咳嗽。第一組兒童睡前服用蜂蜜，第二組兒童則服用蜂蜜口味的右美沙芬止咳藥，第三組兒童什麼也不用。結果表明：蜂蜜緩解咳嗽、幫助兒童入睡的效果最好。止咳藥呢？和什麼都不用的效果差不多。

特別提示：絕對不要給1歲以下的兒童餵食蜂蜜，因爲蜂蜜中的肉毒桿菌毒素會引起嬰兒中毒。這種情況很少見但很嚴重，甚至致命。

Hot Peppers
Why they’re cold/flu fighters: You don’t have to sip tea or broth to turn up the heat when you eat. If your nose starts to run whenever it catches a whiff of spicy fare, add some chili peppers to your dishes when you’re stuffed up. Capsaicin, the natural compound found in hot peppers that provides the heat and spiciness of the food, can thin mucus, giving you a runny nose to help you breathe better and allow your nasal passages to get rid of germs.

When cooking, add small amounts of less than a half teaspoon of fresh or 1/8 teaspoon of dried hot pepper if you’re not used to hot foods. Use as much as you or your child can handle.

辣椒
有的時候你是不是被辣得淚涕俱下呢？所以，感冒鼻塞的時候在菜里加一點點辣椒吧。辣椒中有一種天然的化合物 - 辣椒素，這種物質含熱量很高，當然，也非常辣。辣椒素能夠降低鼻粘膜分泌物的粘稠度，方便鼻涕流出，從而讓您呼吸更順暢，還能促進鼻腔內細菌的清除。

感冒的時候不妨在菜裏放一點幹辣椒。吃得越辣，康復得越快哦！