Get back in shape after the flu

After four days of high fever, muscle aches and bone pain, severe headache, fatigue, cough, runny nose and red eyes, the worst is definitely over.

Before you can say that you are completely cured of the flu, however, you still need a little patience, some caution and some support interventions, able to facilitate a full recovery in a short time.

First of all, if possible, you should try to stay at rest and avoid leaving the house for another 1-2 days after the disappearance of the fever, so as not to risk untimely relapses or the persistence of residual respiratory symptoms such as cough and sore throat.

After a flu of a certain importance, we are always a little more fragile and it is certainly not the case to challenge fate by exposing ourselves too soon to the countless viruses and bacteria that normally colonize means of transport, schools, offices and public environments in general in winter.

If work looms…

For adults who just can’t avoid going back to work, the advice is to cover up well, avoid too close contact with colleagues and temperature changes, not to spend too much time in the cold and to minimize the expenditure of energy, even if you feel relatively good.

Recommendation also valid for extra-work activities, starting from those of a sporting nature: running, swimming pool and gym can wait.

Vitamins and minerals

Other important measures to facilitate and accelerate recovery after the seasonal illness concern nutrition, which must be healthy and balanced, nutritious, but light, especially if fever and respiratory symptoms have been accompanied by gastrointestinal disorders.

There are no strict rules to follow: it is sufficient to direct yourself to fresh foods, rich in vitamins and mineral salts, such as fruit, vegetables and dairy products; complex and easily digestible carbohydrates, such as those of rice, potatoes and pasta; without forgetting small amounts of lean meat or fish, cooked in a simple and low-fat way.

In addition to avoiding sauces and elaborate dishes and too abundant meals, which would impose an excessive effort on the body to be transformed into energy.

A useful tip is to drink plenty of liquids (water, fruit juices, teas, herbal teas, broths, etc.), hot or at room temperature, in order to ensure good hydration, essential to support full metabolic efficiency and to facilitate the disappearance of any residual inflammation of the throat.

Especially if, together with antipyretics and anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), it was also necessary to take antibiotics, for a couple of weeks after the flu it may be useful to provide a specific multivitamin supplementation to ensure the body adequate amounts of all the essential micronutrients of which it may have been, in part, temporarily deprived due to altered intestinal absorption or the presence of nausea and vomiting.

This measure, valid for anyone at any age, should be followed above all by people already normally fragile, such as children and adolescents who are underweight or suffering from specific chronic diseases (such as asthma or food intolerances that limit the variety of the diet) and the elderly, who physiologically tend to assimilate the fundamental nutrients less efficiently and to be more damaged by the action of influenza viruses.

Which foods contain the most antioxidants? In this table you will find the top ten
foods. ORAC stands for Oxygen Radicals Absorbance Capacity, a measure of the absorption capacity of
oxygen radicals.

And if you smoke, fill up on antioxidants

A further category of people worthy of attention on this front is that of smokers, in whom the vitamin requirement (especially that of antioxidant vitamins such as A, E and C) is constantly increased due to smoking and the risk of complications and sequelae of influenza is much greater than the average population.