Old man winter is here and he’s brought along his nefarious friend, the Jack Frost of holiday merriment, influenza, who does a lot more than just nip at your nose. Yes, along with snowball fights, powder dusted trees and snowcapped mountains, Korea’s winter wonderland spells trouble – it’s flu season.

Contrary to popular belief (and every parent’s rationale behind commanding children to “bring a jacket”) cold weather itself does not beget the flu, or as its name implies, the cold. You can only get the flu if you are in contact with the influenza virus. However, the cold weather can put stress on your immune system by increasing the likelihood that people spend time indoors, person to person contact in close quarters, and inactivity. These factors weaken the immune system, making the body more susceptible to illnesses.

To make matters worse, virologists have found that colder temperatures allow for easier transmission of the flu virus. Cold dry air extracts moisture, meaning viruses dispelled by sneezes and coughs are able to linger in air longer. Low humidity in the crisp winter air also wreaks havoc on our nasal passages, drying them out and leaving us with little protection from airborne pathogens.

Let’s not throw in the towel just yet. Here are 4 quick tips to protect yourself from getting sick.

1. Get up and get out — winter weather conditions drive us to stay indoors, where air quality is significantly poorer with dirty ventilation and a circulation of germs. Pry yourself from under the blankets this winter season and get some fresh air. No, that does not mean huddling closer to the humidifier; it means getting up and going outside. The extra exercise and lungs full of clean O2 will go a long way in keeping you healthy and flu-free.
2. Take a chill pill — this might be your best medication, and guess what! You didn’t even need to drive to the pharmacy to get it. “Relax.” It’s a piece of advice we should lap up willingly but is more often than not a point of consternation.      Stress weakens your immune system. Over time it leads to the ongoing release of happy-busting hormones such as glucocorticoids and decreases your body’s ability to manufacture cytokines, molecules that fight disease  and prevent inflammation.
3. Reach for the soap — wash your hands. Every cough, every handshake and borrowed pencil makes you susceptible. Think you are being a good citizen by picking up the wadded up tissue on the  floor and tossing it in the trash? Well, you are. But you will be a very sick good citizen if you don’t lather up in the bathroom afterwards and disinfect those hands.
4. Catch some Zzz’s — a lot for that matter. Your body needs sleep to recoup from the day’s energy expenditure. Results from a 2009 Carnegie Mellon study on sleep and the immune system suggests that anything short of seven (consecutive) hours nearly triples your odds of catching a cold.

If you’ve already bought into the Korean bali-bali (rush-rush) culture or feel like such a “drastic” lifestyle change is impossible, here is a bit of more savory advice: Eat. You can’t underestimate the importance of good nutrition when it comes to your immune system.

Vitamins, minerals and antioxidants buttress your body against infection.  The popular saying “feed a cold, starve a fever” makes its rounds every winter but is baloney. Being sick is often accompanied by the loss of taste and smell, taking all the enjoyment out of the gastronomic process, but if you are sick or if you want to keep from being sick, you do need to stay hydrated and consume enough calories. Mice exposed to the flu suffered more symptomatically and recovered more slowly when they were on a low-calorie diet. Our advice? Save the dieting for bikini season, stay flu-free now. No one can see under that parka anyway.

Now that you’ve got the green light to indulge in the healing properties of liquids and food, it’s time to bundle up with a warm bowl of nanna’s home-made chicken soup or string some garlic around your neck you say? Please abstain, or abstain sparingly. Those are just two old wives tales that won’t get you much more than a few spoonfuls of nostalgia and the death to any chances of meeting your future soul mate on the public transit. So what can you do to keep from getting sick? The better question is, “What should you eat?”

Here are some immune-boosting “superfoods” that will help you bite back:

Fish

Fish is your best natural source of omega-3 fatty acids. Omega-3s combat chronic inflammation, contribute to a clean plaque-free artery, are great for joint health (arthritis is another problem that flares up in cold weather), and keeps your nerves and mind at ease by insulating nerve cells, allowing them to better communicate with each other.

As the Declaration of Independence does not apply to fish, it can be freely said that not all fish are created equal. Mackerel, trout, herring, tuna and salmon have the highest levels of omega-3s. Getting enough omega-3s should be no problem in Korea as mackerel seems to be the nation’s fish of choice, popping up in stews, entrees and side dishes. High five Korea! If only then for purely aesthetic reasons, omega-3’s keep your skin and hair smooth and glowing.

Oysters

Instead of going to the drug store and buying zinc lozenges slurp down some oysters. They are high in zinc, an essential mineral that has a strong track record for fighting the common cold. Common side effects of zinc supplements include nausea and headache so your best bet is to consume the product naturally in your diet, and oysters contain more zinc than any other food.

Chili Peppers

Speaking of oysters, go ahead and splash a tongue-tingling helping of Tabasco on your half-shells on the rocks because chilies are fourth on our list. Chili peppers are packed with vitamin C. In fact, they contain more vitamin C than any citrus fruit. To put this in perspective, one pepper contains 150 milligrams of vitamin C (twice the recommended daily allowance for women) whereas a very large orange only has 100 milligrams. Don’t worry about vitamin C overload; your body will pass out the excess once it has had its fill of the nutrient.

Garlic

After a nice feasting of samgyupsal (grilled pork strips) it’s hard not to have garlic on our mind or on our breath, but that’s ok! These piquant cloves do more than just flavor your meat and keep office mates away, they contain Allicin, an organosulfuric compound that produces powerful antioxidants when digested. So the next time you’re offended by someone’s garlicky odor just remember, they’re just trying to keep healthy.

Yogurt

Bacteria are often pinned as a bad thing, but many of these microorganisms are essential for good health. Eating probiotic (healthy bacteria) rich foods such as yogurt will aid your digestive system, keeping populations of good bacteria high while pushing out the bad ones.

Milk

Vitamin D is essential for building strong bones, protecting against heart disease and revving up our immune systems, but the amount of vitamin D produced by our skin in response to natural sunlight might not be enough.  Luckily, this necessary nutrient can also be found in milk, orange juice, cereal and other commonly D-fortified foods.

Mushrooms

Used for centuries for is curative properties, mushrooms are no stranger to the Asian world. Whether it be Portobello, Cremini, Oyster, Shiitake, Maitake or Reishi (the list can really go on) mushrooms are incredibly diverse in their nutritional content, a few of which include antioxidants, potassium, B-vitamins and fiber.

Lean meats

Lean proteins such as skinless turkey breast, chicken, and lean beef not only give our bodies the protein needed to build and maintain muscle but help us produce antibodies needed to fight infection.

Leafy greens

It’s believed that the darker the greens the higher the nutritional value. So, if you feel like you might be coming down with a cold, opt for the mustard greens and kale over the iceberg lettuce. Some studies suggest that spicy and bitter greens such as arugula may even sooth chest congestion and coughs by increasing the number of phagocytic (bad bacteria-eating) white blood cells in the intestine.

Dark chocolate

Yes ladies…and gentlemen, to a lesser extent, the big hoorah! Pound for pound cocoa contains more zinc and antioxidants than most berries, but don’t be fooled, the power of cacao can only pack this strong a punch in its darkest form. Milk chocolates are too diluted with sugar and cream, and white chocolate is not even chocolate at all.

Carrots and sweet potatoes

Orange fleshed fruits and vegetables are high in beta-carotene, essential for producing vitamin A. Getting enough vitamin A will ensure that your immune system stays strong and more specifically that your mucous membranes, such as those that line your nose and throat, stay functional. These membranes are your body’s first line of defense at trapping bacteria, dirt and allergens.

So it turns out Korean fare fairs pretty well at deterring the pesky viral-blues. Eat up, keep up and keep out of the doctor’s office this winter with these immune-boosting “superfoods”.