5 winter health drinks to avoid catching a cold or flu

If you want to avoid catching the typical winter cold or flu, try out these 5 winter health drinks you can make in your blender.

We don’t see any need to add ice to the mix – it’s winter! But you can still add ice if you’re drinking these right after a sweaty trip to the gym.

1. Citrusy Vitamin C Booster

This version of the vitamin C boost includes a stack of powerful and delicious fruits. You can pick and choose from the ingredients if you only have some available. Be warned, with everything combined, it packs a citrusy punch!

• 1 cup cranberries
• 1/2 cup strawberries
• Oranges – as many as you can fit in your blender!
• 1/2 cup pineapple
• Lemon juice to taste
• Pomegranate powder to taste
• 1 tsp ginger
• 1 tsp vanilla extract for a sweeter flavour

If you’re worried about how much fructose you’re consuming, there are stacks of vegetables that have vitamin C in them that you can use as a substitute:

• Capsicum (aka bell pepper)
• Carrot

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2. Creamy Vitamin C Booster with Zinc and Potassium

This version of the vitamin C boost is great for the sweet tooth among us. It’s still healthy, but the sour blast is missing, replaced by healthy yoghurt or milk.

• 1 cup strawberries
• 1/2 a banana
• Oranges or orange juice
• 1/4 cup low fat yoghurt
• 1/2 cup almond milk
• 1 cup cauliflower

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3. Vitamin A Booster

There’s been some concern over the past few years about whether people can overdose on vitamin A and K from gulping down green smoothies. The fact is you can’t.

Fruits and vegetables contain a form of vitamin A that is simply not absorbed if a person already has enough vitamin A in their body.

As for vitamin K, it is perfectly safe in its natural, fruity/vegie form, although can overdose on synthetic forms of this vitamin supplement. So get it in ya!

• Mango – looots of yummy mango
• 1 cup carrot
• 1 cup pineapple
• 2 cups water (makes several servings so you can freeze some for later)

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4. Vitamin B, E and Folate Booster

Folate is great for more people than just pregnant women, and it’s another strong cold-and-flu fighter. For some extra energy when you’re trying to get over a cold or flu and feeling run down, get some B and E into you.

• 1 apple
• 2 kiwifruit
• 1 avocado
• 2 Tbsp chia seeds
• Baby spinach or kale as an iron-rich filler
• 1/4 cup almond milk

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5. Garlic, Iron and Magnesium Booster

It may not make you smell great, but eating garlic has been known for hundreds of years to be a surefire way to protect and strengthen your immune system.

• 1 or 2 tsp garlic
• 1 cup green peas
• 1 banana
• 1 cup strawberries – so you taste them instead of the garlic
• 1 cucumber or apple
• 1 cup low fat milk or yoghurt

For more information about how to prevent a winter cold or flu, take a look at our many articles about which multivitamins you should be taking and why.