Doctors told what you can and can not eat during acute respiratory infections

During colds and acute respiratory viral infections, the body can be supported with a special diet, choosing foods that reduce inflammation and avoiding those that, on the contrary, increase it. To help weakened by a cold, experts advise following a few rules.

First, if during the disease you do not want to eat, it is better not to force yourself and certainly not overeat.

In addition, you should pay attention to drinking regimen: clean water, herbal teas, decoction of rose hips, etc. For the duration of the cold, doctors advise to increase the daily fluid intake by two glasses.

It is also necessary to observe the balance of carbohydrates, proteins and fats. In particular, you should not consume a lot of food with saturated fatty acids, that is, meat and dairy products. "When it's cold, we want to warm up and without thinking, we consume a huge amount of animal food and dairy products, but it is because of the skewed in favor of these categories of food, we actually have a non-infectious epidemic of cardiovascular disease, diabetes and obesity," - warned nutritionist Alexei Kabanov. The specialist noted that instead it is better to give preference to unsaturated fats, which are abundant in nuts, fish and avocados.

The rule is as follows: consume a sufficient amount of fruits and vegetables, because they are the ones that contain a lot of vitamins, antioxidants. "These substances help fight inflammation and infections," notes gastroenterologist Rustem Sadykov. In addition, the expert added, plant foods are poor in saturated fats, which helps reduce inflammation in the body.

As for proteins, it is also better to get them from plant foods. Excellent sources of plant protein are legumes, as well as whole grain products.

And the last thing to pay attention to. Strange as it may seem, but during a cold it is better not to abuse citrus fruits. "The fact is that grapefruit juice is incompatible with some medications," warns therapist Anna Ivashkevich. - If you want to avoid side effects, it is better to dilute the intake of pills and the use of grapefruit. The interval between them should be within 5-6 hours".