As a mother, we always worry about our children’s health. Especially during those unpredictable weather where it is raining, and hot climates hit simultaneously, which can dramatically affect the immune system.
Moreover, when the pandemic Covid-19 hit early this year, it caused a lot of worries as many people fell ill due to the outbreak. This adds more worries to us, mothers.
Unpredictable weather and a pandemic make another good reason to prepare our family with healthy food. Cooking a healthy food can help to improve and maintain the immune system so there will be fewer sick moments.
In the market, the most popular food supplement that can help with the immune system is, of course, vitamin C. Everybody would stock up on vitamin C like there is no day! But is it only vitamin C that we can rely on?
Hey mummies, there are plenty of food ingredients that are categorised as a superfood in our kitchen that can be used in our healthy cooking.
Superfood is super beneficial for our immune system! They are everyday ingredients that we used in our cooking. Interesting isn’t it?
Get to Know Our Superfoods
You might not notice this, but in our kitchen, we might already have stocked up anti-inflammatory ingredients that can help to strengthen the body. I can promise you they are what we commonly used in our Malaysian dishes.
Great! Let’s move on to our anti-inflammatory ingredients. Be prepared, you may be surprised!
Lemongrass
Lemongrass is great in “rendang”, tom yum, and steamed fish. Lemongrass makes an incredible remedy for colds, flu, stress, anxiety and many more. This is because lemongrass has a chemical compound called citral that is powerful to treat inflammation.
Not only that, but lemongrass also contains active compounds that can help to treat microbial infections such as fever and colds, also stomach cramps, arthritis, and maintain blood pressure. This is why lemongrass is so versatile!
Other than including lemongrass as our cooking ingredients, we can make a lemongrass tea. Make one cup for yourself or any of your family members when the flu season hits or when you are stressed out due to workloads.
Ginger
Remember the moment that we put a lot of ginger into our steamed fish, or ginger chicken or chicken soup? Yes, we are doing a favour for our body!
Plus, ginger is also very popular among confined mothers who just gave birth to warm their body. But the benefits of ginger are not limited to warming up the body alone.
Ginger contains strong chemical compounds called gingerol and shogaol that are highly anti-inflammatory!
Ginger is widely known to be able to remedy gastric, sore throat, arthritis, nausea, morning sickness and many more!
On a day when our children are unwell, we may want to put more ginger into their soups or porridge.
Garlic
Cooking will not taste good without garlic. Garlic is just so tasty that it also enhances the taste of the food and it can be taken both raw or cooked.
Garlic contains an active compound called diallyl disulfide. This active compound is what makes it anti-inflammatory.
Mummies, do you know that garlic can act as an antibiotic to treat symptoms such as fever and cough. Other than that, garlic can also help to lower blood pressure, reduce cancer risk, promote heart health and promote intestinal health.
Olive Oil
Olive oil is popular in the Mediterranean diet. However, I believe nowadays we can find olive oil in almost all households in Malaysia, well at least in the urban areas.
Olive oil is rich in antioxidants that are good to help strengthen the immune systems. Olive oils also contain good fat which is called unsaturated fatty acids that is highly beneficial for heart health, improving blood circulation, reducing cholesterol.
Not only that, but olive oil is also good for the brain. Therefore if you wish to help your children with learning, you may want to start incorporating olive oil into their diets.
Lemon
Delicious! Well, I guess all mothers are well aware of how good the lemon is. Lemon contains powerful antioxidants that can help to reduce inflammation within our body.
Lemon is useful for treating colds and flu. Other than that, antioxidants in lemon can help in the cell healing process. Thus, help to promote a stronger body. Other than that, vitamin C in lemon also helps in strengthening bones and teeth.
Turmeric
Turmeric contains curcumin. It is an anti-inflammatory compound called curcuminoids or known as curcumin.
Curcumin is a powerful ingredient that can help to fight cancers, and able to fight against infections and diseases. By including turmeric into our food can help us to maintain our general health.
Isn’t it amazing to learn about the goodness in each of the ingredients that we use every day? Next time when someone is unwell, think of these ingredients and you know what to do. Good luck!
Disclaimer: The information provided in this article is for informational purposes only and should not be considered as medical advice from Motherhood. For any health-related concerns, it is advisable to consult with a qualified healthcare professional or medical practitioner.
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