Cold & Flu Diet!

At breakfast…

Time to trust the tree-huggers: Echinacea (90 caps for £3.25, thevitamin.co.uk) really does work. According to research in The Lancet, the plant-extract can cut the time you’re infected by 1.4 days.

At work…

Deadline hell can keep your sniffle at bay. “Bursts of stress strengthen your immune system,” says Loughborough University’s Professor Jim Horne. “The ‘fight or flight’ response boosts white blood cell production.”

At lunch…

As soon as your nose starts to drip, scoff protein. “It’s the building block of your white blood cells,” explains Catherine Collins, chief dietician at St George’s Hospital in London. So pack extra peanut-butter sarnies.

On your way home…

Wrap up warm. “Chilling your nose slows down the nostril hairs that brush away bacteria,” says Professor Ron Eccles, from the Common Cold Centre. Maybe try a balaclava…

Before bed…

Turn on the tap. “Drinking water removes the toxins and by-products of the virus,” says Eccles. Stick in some honey and lemon for an extra antibacterial kick. But not whisky.