Athletes’ chef reveals five foods to boost your immunity this winter

By Lauren Wilkin

A performance chef who cooks for world-class athletes has revealed the five ingredients she uses to boost immunity in the winter months.

"My role is to bring together nutrition, food and the individual," says Zena Weeks, who is also a visiting lecturer at Birmingham City University, where she teaches practical performance nutrition.

"This becomes particularly important during the winter months, when I'm even more conscious of providing plenty of variety across the week and incorporating a wide range of different colored fruits, vegetables and fresh ingredients into their meals."

Zena says: "The important thing is variety rather than relying on one particular ingredient.

"I wouldn't suggest that any single fruit or vegetable can stop somebody becoming ill. I prefer to look at the overall diet and make sure there is a good range of foods being included consistently."

And she believes what we eat deserves particular consideration during winter, when we need to strengthen our immunity.

"If I had to choose five fruits and vegetables that feature regularly in my cooking during the winter months, I would choose red peppers, broccoli, spinach, sweet potatoes and berries."

Here's why.

1. Red peppers

"Red peppers are particularly rich in vitamin C and also provide carotenoids," Zena says.

"Vitamin C contributes to the normal function of the immune system," she explains, while studies have proven carotenoids play an important role in immunity.

Zena says: "I use peppers regularly because they're extremely versatile, so I can incorporate them into sauces, soups and different dishes without making meals repetitive."

2. Broccoli

The chef says: "Broccoli provides vitamin C, folate, vitamin K and fiber.

"It features regularly in the meals I prepare, particularly on training and recovery days."

Folate is essential in the production of immune cells, like T-cells and B-cells, that fight off infections.

3. Spinach

"Spinach provides folate, vitamin K, carotenoids and iron," Zena explains.

"Iron contributes to normal oxygen transport in the body, which makes it an important nutrient generally for physically active people.

"Spinach is also incredibly useful from a cooking perspective because I can incorporate it into dishes rather than always serving another large portion of vegetables on the side."

4. Sweet potatoes

Zena says: "Sweet potatoes provide carbohydrate as well as beta carotene, which the body converts into vitamin A, along with potassium and fiber."

Vitamin A maintains mucosal barriers in the body, which act as the first line of defense against pathogens.

"Carbohydrate is particularly important in football because of the demands of training and matches, so sweet potato gives me another carbohydrate option alongside foods such as rice, pasta and potatoes," she adds.

5. Berries

"Berries provide vitamin C, fiber and naturally occurring plant compounds including polyphenols," says Zena.

Polyphenols are an antioxidant that can protect cells from inflammation.

Zena - who is also a tutor at FindTutors - says berries are an easy way to add nutrition to lots of different meals.

"They're particularly useful because I can incorporate them easily into breakfast, yogurt, smoothies or desserts, which gives me another opportunity to add variety without every nutritional consideration having to appear on the main dinner plate."