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It's cold and flu season and our bodies and immune systems can use all the help they can get as they battle off germs like those that cause the common cold.

While there are no magic bullets in the fight against the common cold, there are foods you can eat (and avoid) that will strengthen your immune system and give you the best fighting chance.

Fueling your body the right way will make it stronger and more able to resist germs and viruses. Read on for a list of the 15 best and worst foods for your immune system.

15 Best and Worst Foods for Immunity


Eat This.

1. Orange juice. Start your day or replace your daily soda with a glass of orange juice and not only reduce empty calories, but power your body with Vitamin C, one of the best vitamins for immunity.

2. Oats and barley. You may not know this but oats contain antioxidants that are more powerful than echinacea, boost immunity, speed wound healing and may aid antibiotics.

3. Milk. Vitamin D is one of the most powerful vitamins for your immune system (people with low Vitamin D levels are twice as likely to contract respiratory infections) but people rarely get enough of it.

4. Yogurt. Eating yogurt strengthens your immune system thanks to the probiotic Lactobacillus reuteri which stimulates the production of red blood cells that fight infection.

5. Fish and shellfish. Omega-3 fatty acids may fight the flu by eating flu bacteria - and building the proteins that fight infection and keep your body healthy.

6. Chicken soup. Thank Mom for this one because she was right. Chicken soup reduces inflammation and may reduce the length/symptoms of the common cold.

7. Garlic. Who cares about your breath - garlic contains super powerful infection-fighting compounds and can reduce your chances of catching a cold by two-thirds.

8. Wheat germ. Packed full of zinc, an essential mineral for immunity, wheat germ can be sprinkled on oatmeal or cereals.

9. Pumpkin and sweet potatoes. Rich in Vitamin A, pumpkin and sweet potatoes fight off colds and prevent infections.

10. Black or green tea. Drinking five cups a day of black or green tea will make your immune system's T cells extremely powerful and better able to fight off germs and bacteria.

11. Mushrooms. Believe it or not, mushrooms contain more than 300 compounds that boost your immunity and increase production of infection-fighting white blood cells. Any kind of mushroom will do.

Don't Eat This.

1. Soda. A study shows that drinking 3 cans of soda a day (100g sugar) actually hampers your bodies ability to fight infection.

2. Alcohol. Drinking too much alcohol severely suppresses your immune system, making you more vulnerable to colds and the flu.

3. Calorie-laden foods. Eating calorie-rich foods leads to obesity, which makes you susceptible to not only colds and the flu, but complications from those colds and/or the flu. Most people with complications from the swine flu are morbidly obese.

4. Well water or high-arsenic water. If the water you drink is high in arsenic (like most well water) your body could have a tough time fighting off serious infections like the swine flu. Filter your water if you have high levels of arsenic in it.