Fight Cold and Flu with Zinc

Winter is nearly here and it is the time to make sure you have enough zinc in your system, because it’s required for good immune function. It helps you to fight all the coughs and colds that are around at this time of the year.

Good sources of Zinc are meat and seafood, especially shellfish, and pumpkin seeds for vegetarians. So I’ve been adding pumpkin seeds to our smoothies for breakfast. 

And to balance out the omega 6 fatty acids that are high in pumpkin seeds, I also add chia. 

This makes sure that everyone in the family is getting enough zinc, as well as balancing the fatty acids. The recipe is below.

1/4 cup Chia seeds

1/4 cup Pumpkin seeds

1 tbsp Maca powder

1 tbsp Cacao

1 cup kale or spinach or other greens

2 cups water

1 frozen banana

1 cup frozen berries

This makes enough for 2 and is a very “flexible” recipe; feel free to adjust the quantities to suit your taste. I like it with a ratio of about 1 cup greens to 2 cups of fruit and 2 cups of water

We may have already recommended a product to you which contain zinc to boost immunity. It also contains other herbs and vitamins and is called Defence Support. We regularly recommend it to reduce the duration of a cold or to help prevent catching a cold in situations such as plane travel, contact with someone who has a cold or just being overworked and run down.

We currently have a test in the pharmacy which gives us an indication of your zinc levels. It is a quick and easy test which we can do over the counter for you anytime. If your levels are low, we can recommend a supplement and give you a list of foods to help you get back to normal and keep fighting fit over winter.