What Foods Are Good to Eat During the Early Stages of a Cold?

Cold is a common disease in daily life. Although it has some impact on our bodies, the impact is not significant. Proper treatment or dietary adjustment can help us recover in about seven days. In the early stage of a cold, the symptoms may not be very obvious. It is recommended to increase the intake of vitamins in daily diet, especially vitamin C, and avoid eating stimulating foods.

1. Water or Juice: In the early stage of a cold, it is advisable to drink plenty of water to meet the increased metabolic needs of the body. Sufficient water intake can reduce symptoms such as sore throat and nasal congestion. Therefore, when a cold just starts, it is recommended to drink plenty of plain water or fruit juice. The nutrients in fruit juice can help relieve cold symptoms, but avoid drinking juice with added sugar or preservatives. Drinking some chicken soup during lunch can also help reduce cold symptoms.

2. Ginger Soup: Ginger soup is a commonly used folk remedy for dispelling cold and preventing colds. It is mainly made by boiling ginger with other ingredients. Drinking ginger and brown sugar soup in the early stage of a cold can effectively promote sweating and relieve symptoms. However, ginger soup is only suitable for external wind-cold invasion, and people with heatstroke should not drink it.

3. Ginger and Fermented Black Bean Soup: According to traditional Chinese medicine, illness is caused by weakness of the body's "vital qi" or excessive "external evil". If you find yourself showing mild symptoms of a cold, such as nasal congestion and runny nose, you can consider making a soup with ginger, fermented black beans, and a little scallion. This recipe is commonly used in traditional Chinese medicine to treat early-stage colds. However, a prerequisite for using this method is that there must be no sore throat. If there is sore throat, yellow mucus, and yellow nasal discharge, this method should not be used.

4. Hot Lemonade: Mix lemon juice with sugar or honey and add warm water. Lemons are rich in vitamin C, which has antibacterial and immune-boosting properties. Hot lemonade is especially suitable for treating colds in the early stage.