Many get a vaccinations against H1N1, or “swine flu,” special in the USA, but in Europe people are not running to get a flu shot, they are worried about the late side effects which is not documented yet.  Here I will give you a little info about what to eat to boost the immune system and what not to do.

Some Notes:

• Swine flu “H1N1″ is likely to be spread the same way as any flu, from person-to-person contact, through coughing and sneezing, the “best and easiest protection against flu”, including swine flu, is to “wash your hands often, for 15 to 20 seconds, with soap and water or with an alcohol-based hand cleaner,  until your hands are dry, you could sing the alphabet song .

• You can’t get swine flu from eating pork or from drinking bottled or tap water, two common myths about contagion.

• People with immunity problems, such as thyroiditis, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, and celiac disease, should talk to their doctors before upping their intake of immunity-boosting foods, because “their immune systems are already overstimulated.”

• Some reputed immunity-boosters, including garlic, foods high in zinc (such as oysters and peanuts), and foods rich in conjugated linoleic acid CLA (hard cheeses) have not been proven to fight the flu.

1. Quercetin : Apples, Onions, Broccoli, and Tomatoes

Quercetin is one of many thousands of flavonoids—substances that are responsible for plants’ colors, as well as many of their health benefits. La Puma says that in research performed on mice, stressful exercise increased flu susceptibility but quercetin canceled out the negative effects. The same illness-fighting results were found in a study on cyclists, La Puma says, citing a study from Appalachian State University in Boone, N.C. Quercetin is also believed to aid in disease prevention thanks to its anti-inflammatory properties (to learn more about inflammation, read our feature on the Anti-Inflammatory Diet). So load up on quercetin-packed produce, including apples, onions, broccoli, and tomatoes. Tip: When buying tomatoes, consider choosing organic which always a good thing.

Chicken Soup

Chicken soup really does have healing properties, to get the anti-inflammatory and other health benefits of do the chicken soup with vegetables rather than using store-bought condensed soup or cooking with chicken alone.

Grean Tee

Green tea is high in “anti-viral activity against influenza,” – white and green teas contain higher levels of catechins—the flavonoids thought to be responsible for tea’s antiviral properties—than oolong and black teas.

Yogurt

Many underestimate the power of Yogurt when it comes to boost the immune system - probiotics—the friendly bacteria found in yogurt and some other foods may reduce cold and flu symptoms.

Vitamin D–Rich Foods

experiments in the 1940s showed that mice that received diets low in vitamin D were more susceptible to experimental swine flu infection than those that received adequate vitamin D - getting sufficient vitamin D can offer protection against swine flu—the vitamin is believed to cause the production of antimicrobial substances in the body. “In winter, too little vitamin D is made in your skin, because the angle of the sun is too low,”

Hmm could be something to this, be cause of the lack of sun in Winter.

Here 2 Videos about Vitamin D :

Now I hope none of the readers get the flu, so enjoy the Winter.

A lot of info in this article is Provided from

John La Puma, MD
http://www.drjohnlapuma.com