If all had gone according to plan, then right now I would be watching a multitude of gorgeous men running about in shorts. Rugby week is one of the highlights of my year made even better by copious amounts of rain.

In my opinion, the only thing better than muscular men in shorts is muddy muscular men in shorts, although Chloe did put a dampener on things earlier in the week by pointing at a scrum and saying "man's cuddle mummy?" I have to admit this depleted the testosterone somewhat. She also pointed out that they were "not sharing, mummy", and I started to worry that all those painstaking life lessons were being jeopardised by fully grown adults cheering at one player's ability to snatch a ball and run.

I was however, willing to get over it. But instead of keeping my lovely husband on his toes by staring doe-eyed at professional athletes, I'm instead sitting at home fighting off the mother of all colds. 'I'b sbeaking a bib like dis' and have lost the ability to breathe through my nose. I'm surrounded by a mountain of tissues and am feeling quite drunk from the vast quantity of alcoholic hand sanitiser that is seeping through my pores. I'm also wondering where the hell all the snot comes from anyway? Within a nanosecond of blowing my nose it's filled right back up. Not even a second's relief. The bottle of draino under the sink is looking remarkably tempting.

This would be bad enough but as it's my birthday tomorrow I'm likely to spend it home alone in bed with a bottle of olbas oil. This is like having flu over Christmas a total anticlimax when all you can do is wish away the day you've been looking forward to for ages. What's most annoying is that I probably could have prevented this. A few days ago I flew back from a conference in Washington, surrounded by people coughing and sneezing.

Normally I would have dosed myself up with Airborne but I had let my guard slip and was empty-handed. Despite eating a healthy diet and having a reasonably robust immune system, there are only so many germs one person can avoid and four flights in four days left me a walking target. Either that or my lovely husband was not so lovely and sabotaged my voyeuristic rugby plans by impregnating my pillow with germs.

So let my tale of woe be a lesson for you. If you are travelling, or surrounded by people with colds and flu, put a prevention strategy in place now. You can help your body resist infection by avoiding nutrients "robbers" such as sugar, caffeine and alcohol and focusing on eating as many antioxidant rich foods as possible (berries, green veg, yellow/red/orange peppers, spinach are great examples.)

However, you may also want to arm yourself with some Airborne effervescent tablets, which contain vitamins, minerals, amino acids and a blend of herbs that have been formulated to support the immune system. Of course, if you have a medical condition and/or are taking any medication, it's important to run any supplement you take past your physician. And don't make the mistake of thinking that if you take a supplement, it doesn't matter what you do with your diet. No amount of Airborne or other vitamin supplementation can compensate for the daily assault on your body by a diet of junk.

But if, despite best intentions, you do wind up joining me in snotty misery, then try this chicken soup recipe below for some home-cooked comfort. A bowl of nourishing soup in bed can do wonders for your recovery, and the addition of lemon here gives an unusual twist. Of course by making it yourself you also get to avoid excess sodium and additives too.

Lemon chicken soup

Ingredients:

1 tbsp olive oil

1 medium onion, finely chopped

1 large potato, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes (approx)

1 celery stalk, washed well and chopped

1 carrot, washed well and chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tsp dried tarragon

¾ liter low sodium chicken stock (preferably organic)

Juice of one lemon

1 small chicken breast, roasted and chopped or equivalent left over roast chicken

Black pepper

Method:

• Sweat the onion, celery , potatoes and carrots in the olive oil + 1 tbsp water for 5 minutes

l Stir in the chicken, tarragon, lemon juice, black pepper, garlic and stock, and bring to the boil

• Simmer for ten minutes, stirring occasionally

• Blend! (you may need to do this in batches)

• Reheat soup before serving it must be piping hot. Remember, this soup contains chicken so reheat thoroughly before serving and only reheat once.

The advice given in this article is not intended to replace medical advice, but to complement it. Always consult your GP if you have any health concerns. Catherine Burns BA Hons, Dip ION is a fully qualified Nutritional Therapist trained by the Institute for Optimum Nutrition in the U.K. Please note that she is not a Registered Dietitian. She can be contacted at nourishbda@gmail.com