Instead of popping vitamins or using immune-boosters, eat your veggies. Here’s our guide to the best tastes of winter. Not only are they delicious, they’ll boost your immunity and help ward off viruses. A health boost is just a bite away.
1. Artichoke
A great source of vitamin C, fiber and assorted minerals, artichokes may aid digestion. Try them with a drizzle of olive oil.
2. Arugula
Arugula is a cruciferous (along with broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower and most winter vegs) and may help prevent diseases such as macular degeneration and cancer. Cooked arugula allows the body to absorb more nutrients from the food you eat.
3. Broccoli
Broccoli is a good source for omega-3 fatty acids. Don’t skip the stems, they’re rich in fiber.
4. Brussels Sprouts
Brussels Sprouts is an excellent source of vitamin C, vitamin K and other minerals and vitamins. It also has disease-fighting phytochemicals.
5. Cabbage
With a wide range available – red cabbage, cone cabbage, and standard cabbage – this herbaceous flowering plant has high anti-inflammatory properties and may help prevent or reduce swelling as well as possibly contain cancer fighting properties. It has also been used as a remedy for headaches, ulcers, and skin illnesses.
6. Cauliflower
Cauliflower is another surprisingly good source of omega-3 fatty acids.
7. Kale
A descendant of wild cabbage, kale – all its varieties including Curly, Dinosaur, Ornamental and Russian – may help strengthen the immune system.
8. Turnip Greens
Turnip greens are filled with vitamin A and may help fight rheumatoid arthritis, colorectal cancer and atherosclerosis.
9. Winter Squash
Winter squash, a group of richly colored vegetables, has high levels of carotenes, vitamin B1, vitamin C, pantothenic acid, folic acid, potassium and fiber. They include pumpkin, butternut, spaghetti and acorn squash. As a rule of thumb: the more colorful the veggie, the richer nutrient content. They may help protect from heart disease, cancer and diabetes.
If you have a thyroid condition, make sure to cook your vegetables! Eaten raw, high intake of cruciferous veggies can wreak havoc on normal thyroid function.