Swine Flu: Preventable or Not?

An international outbreak of the H1N1 virus, commonly known as swine flu, has already impacted the Tuscaloosa community. Take a trip to the Student Health Center, and you will likely find many students sitting in the waiting room wearing masks over their mouths in efforts to prevent contamination. You can take a look around any given public building and count the excessive number of hand sanitizer bottles. Both the masks and the sanitizing gels are in place to prevent the spread of this dreaded virus. This particular strain of influenza, equally as powerful as the common flu but twice as contagious, leaves many students asking themselves not, “Will I catch this N1H1 virus?” but rather “When is it my turn to fall victim to this porky plague?” Is this microscopic monster unstoppable? Can a solution be found within an organization at the University of Alabama? The answer to swine flu prevention just might be coming to the university through the Homegrown Alabama Organization.
While there is no proven method of becoming immune to the swine flu, there are some foods that will help protect your body from germs and prevent infection. Maintaining a strong and healthy immune system, when others around you are constantly getting sick, is the key to increasing your chances of staying healthy. The best way to develop a healthy immune system is a nutritionally balanced diet (Reynolds). Homegrown Alabama is a student organization that brings local farmers to the university in what is called the Farmer’s Market. Foods with both the protein and vitamins needed to support a healthy immune system can be found at the market. Students have no need to leave campus in order to eat nutritional foods due to the close location of the business at Canterbury Chapel on 5th Avenue right off University Boulevard. The market is open Thursday afternoon from 3:00-6:00 PM (Thomas). This union between college kids and local produce farmers allows every student the chance to get the nutrients that are needed from home grown foods to create a diet that will aid in preventing sickness and spreading infections.
The Farmer’s Market provides foods enriched in protein, vitamin-C, vitamin A, zinc, and iron (Thomas). Protein is a big part of a healthy diet. Eating foods rich in protein such as pork, beef, chicken, eggs, fish, nuts, and soy-based products help to build a barrier against viral diseases like the swine flu. It is recommended that you eat a minimum of three servings per day of protein to help prevent illness. Another important factor of this nutritionally balanced diet is vitamin enriched food. Foods with vitamin-C like spinach berries, oranges, grapefruits, and peas have anti-viral properties which help in mobilizing bug-eating macrophonage cells. Foods with vitamin A such as carrots, pumpkins, apricots, and mangoes help to make the respiratory membranes strong. Foods with zinc like beef, eggs, and seafood help in forming antibodies that fight infections such as the swine flu. Foods with iron such as apples, spinach, and other greens are also good for fighting infection (Reynolds).
As college students, you make decisions at least two or three times a day as to what you are going to eat. When your stomach starts to growl, stop for a second and remember that making good choices about what goes into your mouth could prevent you from catching the swine flu. Thanks to the Homegrown Alabama, there is a place students can go on campus to get what they need to help make those good choices easier.


Works Cited
Reynolds, Robert. “Healthy Foods That Help Avoid Swine Flu.” Home Remedies. 8 August 2009. Natural Remedies. 15 September 2009.
Thomas, Leah. “Homegrown Alabama Framer’s Market.” Local Harvest. 1 July 2009. Local Harvest Inc. 15 September 2009.