It doesn't take long for the flu to work its way through the house or the office and knock people out, but if we eat certain foods we'll stay healthy and and win the battle.  Citrus and berries are good, and dark chocolate will give us a boost too.

A college friend told me one time to try a combo of zinc, vitamin C and garlic pills the minute I felt a scratchy throat or flu-ish symptoms coming on, and I've kept those vitamin supplements handy ever since.  Many of these immune boosting foods have those vitamins in them, so it appears that college friend knew what he was talking about.

Flu season is off to a fast start, and it attacked my dad and niece over Christmas.  You too?  The Today Show is helping us out with some immune boosting foods so the rest of us can start off the new year on a healthy note.

The Best Immune-boosting Foods:

  • Ginger Tea
  • Oranges
  • Water
  • Greek Yogurt
  • Blueberries
  • Dark Chocolate
  • Tomatoes
  • Wild Salmon
  • Broccoli
  • Green Tea
  • Spinach
  • Eggs
  • Garlic

Ok, twist our arms.  Dark chocolate, dark chocolate, dark chocolate.  Some of those foods on the list are more fun than others.

The CDC says that Texas leads the nation in the number of flu cases so far this year, and we've got a long way to go.  Tyler and Longview have more flu cases than anywhere in the US right now.  Yuck!   And a flu outbreak in Dallas County has killed five people.  It's serious business.

Flu season runs through February or early March, so fighting it off for the next several weeks might feel like a bit of a marathon.  Citrus and green veggies (in addition to the flu shot) are good weapons to help avoid it.

Oh, and dark chocolate!  Instead of eating it until we make ourselves sick like we do on an ordinary Tuesday, we can pig out on it today and consider it the price to pay to stay healthy in 2018.  Happy New Year.

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