Want to get better quickly from a cold? Nutritionist Su Yanchen urges: Don’t touch these 5 landmine foods

Cold is a common illness with symptoms including sore throat, cough, runny nose, fever, etc. When we catch a cold, we need to pay attention to our diet and avoid eating five major landmine foods such as "fried foods" and "alcohol" to speed up the body's recovery.

Beware of these five landmine foods that can aggravate cold symptoms

Nutritionist Su Yanchen said that flu is the abbreviation of influenza, a disease caused by cold virus infection that causes inflammation of the upper respiratory tract. Generally speaking, it takes about 7 to 10 days for this type of virus to activate and decline. Therefore, under normal circumstances, the course of a cold from onset to recovery should also be consistent with this period. However, if you do not exercise proper dietary restrictions during a cold and accidentally consume the following five food landmines, your symptoms may be aggravated and even the course of the disease may be prolonged.

If you want to avoid worsening cold symptoms, in addition to seeing a doctor and taking medicine, you should also avoid certain foods during a cold.

Landmine Food 1: Fried Food

During a cold, the human body will automatically activate its immune system to kill viruses that invade the body. However, once the patient eats fried foods containing large amounts of peroxides, the immune system will have to expend double the effort to fight the threats of peroxides and viruses, thereby prolonging the time it takes to recover from a cold.

Fried foods cause the immune system to have to expend double the effort to fight the threats of peroxides and viruses.

Landmine Food 2: Alcohol

Nutritionist Su Yanchen mentioned that clinical diagnosis has also found that many people are accustomed to drinking so-called "medicinal wine" to replenish their bodies whenever they catch a cold. However, medicinal liquor of unknown origin not only has concerns about unknown ingredients and toxic residues, but also has limited effect in relieving cold symptoms.

Although the body will briefly feel hot due to the dilation of blood vessels and accelerated blood circulation due to the effect of alcohol when drinking, the metabolism of alcohol also causes a sympathetic nerve reaction, leading to constriction of peripheral blood vessels, including the microvessels in the throat, making the symptoms of a cold more severe.

Especially after alcohol is metabolized, the previously dilated blood vessels will contract again, even more dramatically than before drinking. It may increase the burden on the cardiovascular system and the risk of stroke and myocardial infarction, so be careful!

Landmine Food 3: Ginseng

Although modern pharmacology has confirmed that moderate consumption of ginseng does help improve immunity and enhance physical strength. However, it is not recommended to take it during a cold. In fact, when you have a cold, the human body is in a state of severe inflammation. Once you eat ginseng, the inflammation may become more serious.

Landmine Food 4: Chocolate and other high-fat sweets

Although there have been previous reports that dark chocolate can reduce cold symptoms, this research is still in the animal experiment stage and human research has not yet confirmed it. Generally speaking, for example, a large amount of ghee and butter are often added during the production of chocolate, desserts and pastries; these saturated fatty acids will induce the production of more inflammatory substances when entering the human body, thereby aggravating cold symptoms.

Take chocolate, desserts and pastries as examples. A lot of ghee and butter are often added during the production process. These saturated fatty acids will induce the production of more inflammatory substances when entering the human body, thereby aggravating cold symptoms.

Landmine Food 5: Spicy Food

Although spicy foods such as chili, pepper, and wasabi are rich in antioxidants, they can easily irritate the mucous membranes of the mouth, stomach, and other organs before being eaten, making local inflammatory reactions worse. Therefore, it is not recommended to eat it during a cold.

[Nutritionist's Tips]:

In addition to reminding people to avoid eating the above five foods that are considered landmines during a cold so as not to aggravate cold symptoms and prolong recovery time, nutritionist Su Yanchen emphasized that if you want to recover from a cold as quickly as possible, you should drink more water and get enough sleep. In addition, studies have also pointed out that athletes can also supplement with an appropriate amount (about 200 mg) of vitamin C, which will naturally help the body activate recovery and get rid of the virus!