A well-functioning immune system is crucial for maintaining good health and protection against winter nasties. A strong immune system is dependent on many factors, including getting adequate sleep and regular exercise, managing stress through meditation and yoga, and most importantly, eating a wholesome, well-balanced diet. Including immune-boosting foods in your daily diet is one of the best ways to bolster your immune defences to ward off colds and flu. Here are seven of the best flufighting super foods Mother Nature has to offer.
Medicinal mushrooms
Medicinal mushrooms like shiitake have been used for centuries in Asia as a food and traditional Chinese medicine for the treatment of respiratory tract infections and as an immune tonic. Mushrooms like shiitake, reishi, maitake, turkey tail, chaga and cordyceps contain incredibly powerful immune-strengthening compounds that help enhance the immune system to improve the body's ability to fight off infections.
Medicinal mushrooms contain active compounds called betaglucans that improve the efficiency of the immune system. They are also a rich source of un-digestible fibres called polysaccharides that act as a prebiotic. These prebiotics help support gut immunity by feeding beneficial gut bacteria so they can grow and flourish. Studies I have shown that shiitake mushrooms are an effective natural antibiotic, killing off pathogenic microbes while leaving beneficial bacteria unharmed.
Esta historia es de la edición Issue #43 de Eat Well.
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Esta historia es de la edición Issue #43 de Eat Well.
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ARE YOU TO FU enough?
Love it or hate it, everyone has an opinion about tofu. Tofu is a very popular plant-based protein for vegans and vegetarians, but now this humble bean curd is starting to shine for meat lovers too as an alternative source of protein.
Sweet TRAYBAKES
Whether you want to feed a group of people or make a batch of treats for the week, traybaking is a no-fuss way to cook up something sweet and easy that will please everyone. Your family and friends will love you when you offer them some of our: cinnamon scrolls; fruity chocolate; espresso brownies; lemon & coconut slice; or ginger cake with brown butter frosting.
ROLL UP
When you roll food, whether in Lebanese bread, a thin pancake or whatever you choose, you can create a parcel of nutrition that is perfectly suited to your own tastes and needs. Here are some roll-up recipes that will suit every occasion including: mango, snow pea, & sprout rice paper rolls; oat crepes with coconut yoghurt & mixed berries; or beef meatball & tzatziki flatbreads.
RICE BOWL Lunches
If you are working from home, or even enjoying your weekend, and lunchtime rolls around but you have no plans for lunch, then a rice bowl is an ideal saviour.
PLANT-BASED PIES
Pies are a piece of gastronomic brilliance: a filling with a case and lid you can eat is food genius. The first pies date back to Egyptian times and there is a recipe for chicken pie that was carved into stone more than 4000 years ago. For millennia, however, the pie casing was mostly used to cook the filling, but for around 500 years or more we have been eating the pie crust too.
20 FOOD CRAVING HACKS
Decipher the deeper causes of your cravings and discover tricks to curtail them.
Eggplant (Solanum melongena L)
Eggplant is a wonderful option for vegans and vegetarians, extremely nutritious and highly versatile in the kitchen.
5 PANTRY SAVIOURS
Whether you're cooking a simple breakfast or something more exotic, here are five pantry food staples you should have on hand to cook plenty of delicious meals in the comfort of your own home.
Cucumber (Cucumis sativus)
Cucumbers are delicious fresh but they also offer plenty more options in the kitchen.
Our Chefs
Meet the chefs who bring this issue's recipes to you: Lisa Guy, Georgia Harding, Lee Holmes, Sammy Jones, Raquel Neofit, Naomi Sherman and Ames Starr.