The Age-Well Project

Change the way you age

Get our posts direct to your inbox

  • About The Age-Well Project
  • Books
    • Our Books
    • Reviews
    • References
  • Blog
  • Recipes
    • Recipes By Ingredient
    • Breakfast
    • Dessert
    • Dinner
    • Drinks
    • Family
    • On The Go
    • Soups and Salads
    • Treats and Snacks
  • Contact
  • Events
  • Press

BUSTING COLDS AND BUILDING IMMUNITY

October 19, 2014 1 Comment

smoothie-ingredients

There are a lot of colds around at the moment, aren’t there? Virtually everyone I know has had the sniffles in recent weeks, including me.

I’ve always been very prone to colds: in my teens and twenties I considered it a good month if I didn’t get one. Since I started eating more healthily (thank you, Kale and Cocoa!) the number of colds I succumb to each year has definitely decreased, but I still get them.

After a particularly bad cold/flu bug a couple of years ago, I read Super Immunity by Dr Joel Furhmann. His basic proposition is that our immune systems are wrecked by a typical Western diet of refined carbs, too much meat, dairy and sugar and that healthy eating can boost our immunity immeasurably. Diet-wise, it’s pretty hardcore (veg, fruit, pulses, nuts, seeds, er, that’s pretty much it) but the research behind it is interesting. Two things really struck me:

1)      The same immune function that works to fight colds also fights the biggies – cancer, diabetes, dementia. So, supporting the immune system and helping it to function the best it can is another way in which a healthy diet reduces the risk of degenerative disease.

2)      70% of the immune system is located in the gastro-intestinal tract. It needs healthy bacteria to perform its work – so that means plenty of pro- and pre-biotics and very limited anti-biotics. Colds are viral, not bacterial, and anti-biotics won’t help them. (There’s lots more on pre- and pro-biotics in Annabel’s post here)

But even Dr Fuhrmann accepts we all get colds at some point. He recommends: zinc supplements and Vitamin D (but not Echinacea and Vitamin C, interestingly), berries and elderberry extract (I buy the Sambucol brand from our local health food shop, they do a version fortified with zinc) and reducing food intake, consuming juices and vegetables, especially greens, either raw or in a soup.

To that list, I would add my own – honed by many a cold:

1)      Get some rest. What’s more important than your health? I accept some things are – the big work presentation, attendance at the school nativity – but clear the diary as much as you can and hunker down under the duvet. Soldiering on, and being ill for weeks, helps no one.

2)      Drink lots of fluid. Your body is fighting an invader, it needs to flush out that lurgy. My cold-busting smoothie and flu-fighting turmeric tea (recipes below) really help. Or just a  couple of slices of fresh ginger in a mug of hot water.

3)      Eat lightly and cleanly. Apparently ‘feed a cold’ is an old wives tale. Your body doesn’t want to be overloaded – it needs maximum nutrition, not empty calories. The cold-busting smoothie is a meal in a glass, and I also make myself an ‘immunity soup’ – see below.

4)      Hot steam inhalation – a towel over your head and a basin of hot water – is soothing. If I have any Karval’s capsules, I’ll add one of those too.

5)      Keep warm – an extra blanket on the bed will help you sweat out that cold. (As will a hot toddy with plenty of whisky, but you didn’t hear that from me…)

 

RECIPE: COLD-BUSTING SMOOTHIE

1 -2 oranges (depending on size) juiced

½ – 1 banana (again, depending on size)

120g frozen berries – pick a brand that includes blackcurrants

1 tsp Sambucol (optional)

1 tbs almond butter

1 handful of greens like spinach or kale, washed and roughly chopped.

In a blender blitz the orange juice and greens first to break down the fibres, then add the rest of the ingredients. Add more orange to make it more liquid, or more banana to make it thicker.

RECIPE: FLU-FIGHTING TURMERIC TEA

2 tsp ground turmeric

2 tbs runny honey

½ tsp ground black pepper

2 tsp ginger pulp (I buy it ready made)

Lemon juice

Stir together the first four ingredients and keep in a jar by the kettle. When you want a hot drink, stir one tsp into a mug of hot (not boiling) water. Add a good squeeze of lemon juice

RECIPE: IMMUNITY SOUP

50g rice noodles or brown rice

Handful of fresh greens – kale or spinach – washed and chopped

Handful of frozen edamame beans

2 tsp miso paste

1 tsp ginger pulp

Cook the rice or rice noodles according to packet instructions. Bring two mugs of water to the boil in a small saucepan. Cook the greens and beans, add the rice or noodles to warm through. Take off the heat and stir in miso and ginger.

 

Susan

  • Meal Types: Drinks, Soups and Salads
  • Conditions: Brain and Dementia, Cancer, Diabetes, Immunity
  • Ingredients: Greens, Kale, Oranges, Rice, Soybeans, Spices
« REPLENISHING YOUR GUT BACTERIA – LEEK, BLACK BEAN AND BACON SOUP
WHY EATING WELL NEEDN’T COST A FORTUNE – SARDINE AND WATERCRESS PÂTÉ »

Trackbacks

  1. HEALTHY HALLOWEEN: PUMPKIN AND POMEGRANATE HUMMUS - Kale & cocoa says:
    October 31, 2014 at 10:29 am

    […] – ‘Super Immunity’ author Dr Joel Fuhrmann is a big fan (read more on immunity in our post here). They have been shown to inhibit some cancers, lower blood pressure, build bone mass, help kidney […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter

Welcome to The Age-Well Project

Welcome to The Age-Well Project!
Here you’ll find easy changes for a longer, happier life. We’ve immersed ourselves in the science of longevity and distilled the research to make it work in our everyday lives. You can change the way you age: here’s how.

Favourite Posts

WHY I’VE THROWN OUT ALL MY BEAUTY PRODUCTS (nearly…)

Why Alzheimer’s Is A Women’s Issue

HOW HAVING A DOG CHANGED MY LIFE

GREEN SPACE IS GOOD FOR YOUR HEALTH

SUGAR, CHOCOLATE, SADNESS AND BRAIN-BOOSTING BISCUITS

WHY ‘INFLAMM-AGEING’ COULD START IN THE GUT AND HARISSA-ROASTED VEGETABLE SALAD

POLYAMINES – THE NEW SECRET WEAPON FOR AGEING WELL & MOROCCAN SPINACH AND CHICKPEAS.

THINNING AGEING HAIR – WARM CHICKEN LIVER SALAD

About The Age Well Project

This site is for anyone who wants to make the second half of their life as healthy, happy and disease-free as possible. Sign up to get the latest research on ageing – and delicious recipes to match – direct to your inbox.

agewellproject

⭐️Change the way you age
📚The Age-Well Project + Age-Well Plan ⭐️Get tips & recipes on our blog - sign up ⬇️

The Age-Well Project blog
Everything we’ve learnt about ageing well points Everything we’ve learnt about ageing well points to a time (for women at least) in their mid-60s when the chronic conditions of ageing, like diabetes, heart disease and dementia, are - statistically - more likely to kick in. 

And we know that our reproductive hormones do so much more than prepare us to have periods and babies, we have receptors for them throughout our bodies and brains. 

Oestrogen, in particular, helps keep bones strong, blood vessels flexible, brains firing and inflammation levels low. Essentially, it wraps us up in a cosy protective cloak to keep us safe and healthy while we're able to reproduce, but once the eggs have run out - we're on our own! 

Between the average age of menopause at 51, and that time in our 60s when the chronic conditions of ageing are more likely to kick in, we have a decade or so in which it’s vital to focus on our health.

And how to do that? It’s on the blog - link in bio

#longevity #womenover50 #agewell #ageingwell #agingwell #longevityblog #healthblog #agewellblog #over50bloggers #womenover50 #healthspan #womenover60 #menopause #menopausehealth #postmenopause #postmenopausefitness #postmenopausal #oestrogen #hormonalhealth
If you’re lucky enough to have good metabolic he If you’re lucky enough to have good metabolic health you might want to thank your Mum today. Recent studies have found that women who move around during their reproductive years and during pregnancy and then breastfeed for a bit pass on a compound in their milk called 3SL which provides lifelong protection against poor metabolic health. The offspring of moving, breastfeeding Mums appear to have a lower lifetime risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes and other chronic metabolic disease. Even gentle strolling during pregnancy and while nursing can produce this compound. So today we thank our Mums for that - as well as everything else.  Susan’s mum in the hat. Annabel’s mum in the pony tail. 

#mothersday #mothers #move #agewell #goodhealth #longevitylifestyle #longevity #walk
There’s been lots of good news for walkers recen There’s been lots of good news for walkers recently. A study published last month found that over-60s who walked between 6000 and 9000 steps a day cut their risk of heart disease (including strokes and heart attacks) by 40-50 percent, when compared to a more typical 2000 steps a day. In fact this study found that for every additional 1000 steps walked, the risk fell still further. 

How far are you walking to age well? Let us know in the comments and there’s more on the power of walking on the blog - link in bio

#longevity #womenover50 #agewell #ageingwell #agingwell #longevityblog #healthblog #agewellblog #over50bloggers #womenover50 #healthspan #womenover60 #walking #womenwhowalk #womenwhohike #reversewalking #backwardswalking #walkingbackwards
A big hug from us to you to mark International Wom A big hug from us to you to mark International Women’s Day! 

The campaign this year reminds us to embrace equity as a way to recognise that each of us has different circumstances, and we need different resources and opportunities to reach an equal outcome. Of course, this is as vital in ageing and health outcomes as in every other field.  

So we’re embracing our age and hoping to grow older in a more equitable society ❤️

#internationalwomensday #embraceequity #embracequity2023 ##longevity #womenover50 #agewell #ageingwell #agingwell #longevityblog #healthblog #agewellblog #over50bloggers #womenover50 #healthspan #womenover60 #iwd2023 #madformidlife
We’ve learned to love walking backwards! So many We’ve learned to love walking backwards! So many benefits when it comes to ageing well. 

If you’re not sure how to start or are worried about looking silly (we were) - there are lots of tips on the blog, link in bio. 

If you’re a backwards walker, let us know in comments below! 

If you’re planning to start, save this post for when you’re ready for some reverse walking 

#longevity #womenover50 #agewell #ageingwell #agingwell #longevityblog #healthblog #agewellblog #over50bloggers #womenover50 #healthspan #womenover60 #walking #womenwhowalk #womenwhohike #reversewalking #backwardswalking #walkingbackwards
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Contact Us

For any enquiries please email theagewellproject@gmail.com.

Copyright © 2023 The Age-Well Project