3 Foods that ACTUALLY make a difference to winter health

Mushrooms

It’s no secret that I love mushrooms! Wild, button, chestnut - it doesn’t matter the type, all these fungi are powerhouses when it comes to supporting immunity. Being beta-glucan rich, they super-charge certain white blood cells (who are basically the ninjas of our immune system) meaning the body is able to kick out bacteria and viruses way quicker.

Mushrooms also contain a little vitamin D (shiitakes, button and portobello when exposed to sunlight or UV light become supercharged with Vit D – hence the ones in supermarkets specifically branded vitamin D mushrooms). If you can get hold of chanterelles or morels, these will already have a good level of vitamin D without extra light exposure (around 500-600IU per 100g).

I personally love mushrooms oven baked at 160c till soft with a little oil, salt and fresh rosemary. Have with breakfast to top savoury pancakes or as a side for breakfast eggs.

Echinacea

Teas are a real winter pleasure for me. Through winter anything that makes me feel grounded and cosy – and echinacea has the added benefit of always ensuring I ward off pesky colds. Similar to mushrooms, echinacea arms the white blood cells of our immune system, whilst also soothing sore throats and helping to lower inflammation.

Buy as a loose leaf tea and make a cold infusion (take a 750ml sealable bottle, fill with cold water and leave overnight in the fridge). Drink throughout the next day as a shot in your smoothie or juice, heat as a traditional tea or go 50/50 with soda water and a little sweetener of your choice for a spritz.

Probiotic Foods

Around 70-80% of our immune system lives in the gut – so making sure our gut is firing on all cylinders is crucial to ensuring we stay well during winter. Probiotic foods parachute friendly bacteria into the gut; and eating different types ensures we get lots of different strains that help us in different ways.

Unsurprisingly, probiotic foods aren't necessarily the first thing we reach for at this time of year as they tend to be cold (think kefir, kombucha, natural yoghurt and ferments such as kimchi & saurkraut), but we can play with them to ensure they feature in our winter eats. Having a soup? Add aa spoonful of kimchi to liven it up. Apple crumble? Throw a generous spoonful or two of natural yoghurt to the side. Kombucha becomes our friend if we’re looking for non-alcoholic drinks at events and want something tasty and beneficial to our bodies (My fiancé can attest to this).