Activewear designer Lorna Jane Clarkson on the five foods you need to eat to fight off cold and flu

You wouldn’t be alone if you’re spending your office days trying to avoid catching a cold from a sniffing colleague.

But aside from early bedtimes, keeping your desk and bedroom clean and staying away from the source of the cold, there are foods you can eat to fight off the symptoms.

Activewear designer and wellness star Lorna Jane Clarkson recently shared with FEMAIL the five foods she swears by to kick the cold and flu bugs to the curb.  

It’s not all about the old wives’ tale of chicken soup… 

‘Wholegrains are loaded with zinc, which is vital for maintaining a healthy immune system,’ Lorna explained (stock image)

WHOLEGRAINS

First up, Lorna Jane Clarkson recommends you load your diet up with wholegrains – which is something countless health professionals advocate in autumn and winter.

‘Wholegrains are loaded with zinc, which is vital for maintaining a healthy immune system,’ Lorna explained.

Great sources of wholegrains include wholegrain or brown pasta with tomato sauce or brown rice with vegetables.

Wholegrains also contain B-group vitamins necessary for optimal energy production, which can also help with flailing concentration levels when you’re feeling under the weather.

‘Bananas contain vitamin B6, which helps your body to fight infection,’ Lorna Jane (pictured) said

BANANAS

When you feel like curling up in a little ball with a blanket and hot water bottle, you should instead be heading for the fruit bowl – which could give your beleaguered cold a huge boost.

‘Bananas contain vitamin B6, which helps your body to fight infection,’ Lorna Jane said.

‘Eat a banana sliced over wholegrain bread to double your germ-boosting power.’

Long touted as a food for good health, sweet potatoes are something to add more of into your diet when you’re looking for something to help your flu (stock image)

SWEET POTATOES

Long touted as a food for good health, sweet potatoes are something to add more of into your diet when you’re looking for something to help your flu.

‘Sweet potatoes are one of the best sources of beta-carotene, which your body needs to make enough white blood cells to fight infection,’ Lorna Jane said.

Whether you prefer your sweet potato baked, mashed or even in wedges form, add it to your weeknight dinners and notice that the cold going around the office skips you when it gets there.

‘The active ingredient in this spice [Cayenne pepper] beats congestion by thinning the mucus in the nasal passages so you can breathe freely,’ Lorna Jane explained (stock image)

CAYENNE PEPPER

Supermodels including the likes of Naomi Campbell have long sworn by Cayenne pepper’s metabolism-boosting properties.

But it’s great for colds, too.

‘The active ingredient in this spice beats congestion by thinning the mucus in the nasal passages so you can breathe freely,’ Lorna Jane explained.

If you’re struggling for inspiration as to how to use it, either sprinkle some on soup or stews for additional flavour.

Alternatively, make like the models and swig it back with lemon juice and water. 

Last but not least, it’s a traditional flu saver – and for a reason. Garlic is a huge immune ‘superfood’ (stock image)

GARLIC

Last but not least, it’s a traditional flu saver – and for a reason. Garlic is a huge immune ‘superfood’.

‘Allicin, one of the active components in fresh crushed garlic, can zap viruses by blocking the enzymes that lead to infection,’ Lorna Jane said. 

It is believed that the organosulfides (naturally-occurring chemicals found in garlic and onions), along with vitamin D help to stimulate the production of the immune cells, macrophages.

Use garlic in your salad dressings, pesto sauce, guacamole and stirfry. You’ll kick your cold to the curb in no time.

To read more from Lorna Jane Clarkson, you can visit her blog here.