Upper Respiratory Tract Infection

Disease

Also known as: URI, common cold, cold, flu-like illness, influenza

Foods That May Help

Foods linked to Upper Respiratory Tract Infection in the research literature.

KiwifruitReduces risk of
Kiwi-eating preschoolers nearly halved flu/cold risk vs banana group; elderly kiwi eaters recovered in 1-2 days vs 5 days for banana group
Source: How Not to Age
GarlicProtects against
Double-blind placebo-controlled trials show garlic prevents common cold; 54 supplement capsules = 1 clove crushed raw garlic
Source: How Not to Age
Oyster MushroomsReduces risk of
In athletes: 84% of placebo group had 4+ symptoms vs only 12% in mushroom group over 3 months
Source: How Not to Age
Nutritional yeastReduces risk of
heaping teaspoon daily
A daily heaping teaspoon reduces incidence, duration, and severity of upper respiratory infections vs placebo
Source: How Not to Age
Asian GinsengReduces risk of
Asian ginseng cuts upper respiratory infection risk in half vs placebo; American ginseng not statistically significant
Source: How Not to Age
KiwifruitProtects against
RCT (Hunter 2012): gold kiwifruit reduced URI severity and duration in older adults
Source: How Not to Age
ElderberryProtects against
Meta-analysis (Hawkins 2019): black elderberry reduces upper respiratory symptom duration and severity
Source: How Not to Age
ApplesProtects against
Averill 1968: daily apple consumption associated with reduced upper respiratory infections
Source: How Not to Age
Fermented MilkProtects against
Fermented dairy with Lactobacillus casei DN-114001 reduced duration of respiratory infections in elderly in RCT
Source: How Not to Age
Korean Red GinsengProtects against
Systematic review and meta-analysis found ginseng helped prevent seasonal acute upper respiratory infections
Source: How Not to Age
Nutritional yeastProtects against
1 spoonful daily
Marathon runners given a spoonful of nutritional yeast daily for 4 weeks after a race had half the rates of upper-respiratory infection compared to placebo.
Source: How Not to Die
Gold KiwifruitReduces risk of
Gold kiwifruit consumption reduces severity and duration of selected upper respiratory tract infection symptoms and increases plasma vitamin C concentration in healthy older adults.
Source: How Not to Die

Compounds That May Help

Bioactive compounds linked to Upper Respiratory Tract Infection in the research.

Dietary fiberReduces risk of
Those with higher fiber-feeding bacteria were 5x less likely to develop viral pneumonia or bronchitis; meta-analysis of RCTs found prebiotics reduce respiratory tract infections
Source: How Not to Age
Vitamin CImproves
For general population: does not reduce incidence but regular users get less sick and recover ~10% faster; cuts cold risk in half for those under extreme physical stress
Source: How Not to Age
Vitamin DReduces risk of
Reduces risk in children and adolescents but does not seem to make a difference in adults
Source: How Not to Age
ZincImproves
10-15mg zinc acetate or gluconate every 2 waking hours
Zinc lozenges shorten colds by about 3 days with significant reductions in nasal symptoms and cough
Source: How Not to Age
Beta-glucanProtects against
Systematic review and meta-analysis showed yeast beta-glucans help prevent upper respiratory tract infections
Source: How Not to Age
ProbioticsProtects against
Cochrane review found probiotics help prevent acute upper respiratory tract infections
Source: How Not to Age
Vitamin DProtects against
Systematic review and meta-analysis found vitamin D supplementation prevents acute respiratory infections
Source: How Not to Age

Recipes That May Help

Sources

How Not to Age
How Not to Die