Starve a cold, feed a fever?

Do you starve a cold and feed a fever when you're feeling under the weather? Or is it the other way around? Well, here’s the good news, starving is never the correct answer!

When you eat a nutritional, well-balanced diet, many other factors fall into place that keep your body functioning at its best. Foods that are rich in nutrients help maintain health. Because a wide array of nutrients in foods -- some of which we may not even know about -- are essential for well being, relying on dietary supplements (vitamins and minerals) for good nutrition may limit your intake to just the known nutritional compounds rather than letting you get the full benefit of all nutrients available in food.

Let's look at some of the top recommendations for feeding a cold.

Foods high in antioxidants

Eating foods high in antioxidants -- beta-carotene and vitamins C and E -- may be a helpful cold remedy. Antioxidants are vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients that studies suggest protect and repair cells from damage caused by free radicals. However, research is inconclusive and it’s not clear yet if antioxidants have a health benefit in people.

Including more raw fruit and vegetables in your diet is the best way to ensure a high intake of antioxidants. And when you cook these nutrients, be sure you cook them using as little liquid as possible to prevent nutrient loss.

If you follow the guidelines issued by most health organisations and eat five to nine servings of fruits and vegetables daily, you can easily get enough antioxidants. For example, one quarter of a cantaloupe melon gives you nearly half the recommended daily requirement of beta-carotene and is a rich source of vitamin C. Spinach is not only full of beta-carotene, but also contains vitamin C, folic acid, and magnesium.

Foods rich in beta-carotene and other carotenoids include: apricots, asparagus, beef liver, beetroot, broccoli, cantaloupe melon, carrots, sweetcorn, guava, kale, mangoes, spring greens, nectarines, peaches, pink grapefruit, pumpkin, squash (yellow and butternut), sweet potato, tangerines, tomatoes, and watermelon.

Foods rich in vitamin C include: broccoli, cantaloupe melon, cauliflower, kale, kiwi fruit, orange juice, papaya, red, green or yellow pepper, sweet potato, strawberries, and tomatoes.

Foods rich in vitamin E include: almonds, corn oil, cod-liver oil, hazelnuts, lobster, peanut butter, safflower oil, salmon steak, and sunflower seeds.

Foods high in bioflavonoids

It’s possible but not proven that foods high in bioflavonoids may also help speed up healing from a cold. Some research on bioflavonoids have suggested that these key nutrients increase immune system activation. These biochemically active substances accompany vitamin C in plants and act as an antioxidant. You can find bioflavonoids in the pulp and white core that runs through the centre of citrus fruits, green peppers, lemons, limes, oranges, cherries, and grapes. Quercetin is a highly concentrated form of bioflavonoids found in broccoli, citrus fruits, and red and yellow onions.