What I Eat to Stay Healthy During Cold and Flu Season

During colds and flu season, even healthcare professionals are susceptible to falling ill.

These three healthcare workers tell GoodRx that what they eat plays a significant role in supporting their immune health and potentially reducing symptoms.

Whether it’s chicken soup or ginger tea, vitamin-dense foods or simply a balanced diet, here’s how they stay well — even when those around them are sick.

Keeping garlic, vitamins, and ginger on hand

Nirvana Tari, who is 23 and works at a healthcare tech startup and research lab in Durham, North Carolina, says she protects herself during cold season for personal and professional reasons.

“If you get sick, then the people that you’re caring for will not have somebody to take care of them, either. So it’s kind of a domino effect,” Nirvana says. “It’s even more important to take care of yourself because there are people that are relying on you.”

These are some of the precautions she takes:

• She disinfects to get rid of germs. Nirvana remembers when she was in college and her boyfriend caught the flu while visiting her. At the time, she lived in a small apartment with a roommate, so her boyfriend quarantined in her bedroom. If he needed to do something around the apartment, Nirvana and her roommate would go into another room. Then, she would disinfect any areas and doorknobs he had touched, while wearing gloves and a mask. She left meals in front of his door, ventilated the apartment, and cleaned up after him if he got sick. Thanks to these steps, she and her roommate stayed healthy. 

• She pays attention to nutrition. As part of her nutritional eating plan, Nirvana adds garlic to her dishes to reap its health benefits. She takes vitamin D to keep her bones, heart, and immune system healthy. And she’s a fan of ginger tea, which she makes with hot water, the juice of half a lemon, 1 tbsp of honey, and 1 tsp of freshly ground ginger.

• She practices good hand hygiene. Nirvana makes sure to practice thorough hand-washing, cleaning her hands with soap for at least 30 seconds each time. When she can’t wash her hands, she makes sure to use hand sanitizer.

Don’t discount the benefits of chicken soup 

Zain Hasan, MD, is also a strong proponent of hand-washing as a safeguard against illness. The 36-year-old anesthesiologist and his wife have caught some illnesses their son has brought home from day care. 

“Day cares or preschools are a petri dish of infections,” Zain says. “Kids transmit viruses to each other because of toys they share. It’s absolutely common and normal for parents to get sick every 2 to 3 months because of the novel viruses the children bring back into the household.” 

Zain makes sure to maintain proper nutrition to combat the illnesses his son brings home. He eats plenty of protein and makes sure to consume electrolytes. And while chicken soup won’t cure a cold, it can ease symptoms and open up the nasal passages, he says. If he thinks he is getting sick, he’ll also take zinc and vitamin C.

Herbal tea ‘has some good things in there’

Paola Acevedo, PharmD, is a 33-year-old clinical pharmacist who lives in Maryland and is a certified diabetes care and education specialist. She takes the same precautions when it comes to disinfecting that Nirvana and Zain do. And she’s sure to take recommended vaccines, like the flu shot.

When it comes to what she eats to stay well, one of Paola’s go-tos is elderberry gummies that contain vitamin C, zinc, and vitamin D. She also eats foods that contain the same vitamins, like peppers, tomatoes, and leafy greens.

When she’s getting sick, Paola likes to drink tea inspired by her Dominican roots. 

To make the tea, Paola combines water with dried lemongrass, orange tea leaves, and avocado tea leaves in a pot. She also adds fresh turmeric, fresh ginger, lemon, a handful of cranberries, and honey. She sometimes also includes fresh onion and then lets the mixture simmer for 8 to 10 minutes. Finally, she serves the tea with more lemon and honey.

“I don’t know if it has any actual curative properties,” she says. “But it has some good things in there.”

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Written by:

India Kushner

India Kushner is a consultant with 6 years of experience in the writing and editing fields and 3 years of experience in marketing and social media. After graduating from college, she interned with HyperVocal, where she wrote articles with a focus on pop culture, news, and politics.

Edited by:

Tanya Bricking Leach

Tanya Bricking Leach is an award-winning journalist who has worked in both breaking news and hospital communications. She has been a writer and editor for more than 20 years.

Reviewed by:

Patricia Pinto-Garcia, MD, MPH

Patricia Pinto-Garcia, MD, MPH, is a medical editor at GoodRx. She is a licensed, board-certified pediatrician with more than a decade of experience in academic medicine.

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