Shanghai’s winters are brutal, and spending lots of time indoors, cooped up with the coughing and germ-ridden, can leave your immune system in rough shape. When it’s compromised, so are your white blood cells, which is what your body uses to fight off infectious diseases. How to maintain a strong immune system? Let’s break it down.

Antioxidants

These include vitamin C, vitamin E, zinc and selenium. They protect the body’s cells from foreign intruders, including harmful bacteria. Before you double down on vitamin C supplements though, remember that antioxidants work best in conjunction with other nutrients. Try oranges, vegetable soup packed with fiber- and antioxidant-rich beans, smoothies made from whole fruits or tofu paired with tons of Chinese greens like bok choy, which has roughly 50mg of vitamin C per four ounce serving. Dr. Greg Livingston, a TCM physician at Shanghai Eastern International Medical Center, sums it up, “I cannot recommend enough the importance of eating large quantities and a wide variety of fresh vegetables every day.”

Probiotics

These are good bacteria that live in your digestive tract, where 70 percent of your immune system also lives. According to Dr. Apiwat C. Zhang, family physician at Healthway Medical Center, probiotics improve your immunity by promoting the integrity of the mucosal barrier, which is in your stomach. They also act as a physical barrier to the “bad bugs” (the bacteria that make you sick). Get probiotics yogurt, such as Yakult (RMB10 / five bottles at Carrefour), or fermented cabbage like sauerkraut or kimchi, the latter of which comes fried tastily in a pancake (RMB25) at Korean joint Pankoo.

Keep Moving

Increased blood circulation helps up your immune system’s ante, battling germs all over. Exercise also fights stress and insomnia, both of which can contribute to you getting sick. Winter sports like skiing and skating, jogging and brisk walking are all good ways to get your blood pumping and your heart rate up.

Try TCM

According to Dr. Livingston, prevention of winter illnesses focuses on avoiding excessive exposure to cold. Warm up with hot stone massages, moxibustion (in which mugwort is burned next to the skin) and cupping (which improves the flow of energy throughout your body).

How do you keep healthy during the winter months? What are your best tips to keep colds and flus at bay?