Determined To Succeed

Bah! I have a cold.

Like all colds it started with that drippy feeling in the back of the throat, followed by my throat feeling lumpy and a general feeling of fatigue. So I did the only thing that made sense – I took the day yesterday to rest. It may have only been mid-day but I crashed on my couch, falling asleep to the remake of “Planet of the Apes” on HBO.

When I awoke sometime in the early evening it was time to eat. I had had a grilled chicken salad for lunch so I was in need of food, at least something palatable in my groggy, stuffy haze that remotely sounded good. Then for some strange reason that old phrase hit me – “feed a cold, starve a fever.” But why in the hell would I WANT to feed a cold? I mean, to me, you feed a guest you want to stick around, not some stupid unwelcome visitor you want to leave asap. And not just any unwelcome visitor but the kind you wish wouldn’t be hit in the ass  by the doorknob on the way out.

So as I ate  my canned minestrone soup (totally not worth the calories) I looked up that old phrase. No one really knows its origins, but most accounts link it back to as early as 1574, when dictionary writer John Withals wrote “Fasting is a great remedie of feuer.” In those days, medical wisdom dictated that a drop in body temperature caused colds, while fevers produced a temperature spike.  So the rationale behind “feed a cold, starve a fever” may have been that eating food and drinking tonic helped the body generate warmth during a cold, while laying off the calories helped temper the inner heat during a fever.

But is it true?

“Colds usually last longer than fevers,” says Denise Snyder, a nutrition scientist and clinical trials manager at the Duke University School of Nursing. “You need to be consuming food so you can fight it off — especially fruit and vegetable juices and warm broths.”

Further, Scott Joy, MD, Chief of Clinical Services with Duke’s Division of General Internal Medicine, adds “Drinking plenty of fluids also makes a difference because it helps keep the secretions thinner and allows patients to get them out of their system lot quicker, alleviating symptoms such as a cough or nasal drainage.” Joy also doesn’t want patients to get hung up on unproven treatments. “It’s important to stress what we know makes a difference, which is getting plenty of rest.”

Dr. Joy, I couldn’t agree more, which is why I am heading right back to bed. But before I do I am putting a “beware of sick curmudgeon” sign in the ground outside directed at the common cold, H1N1, bronchitis and whatever stupid sicknesses are out there fighting and clawing their way inside my nasal passages, throat and head. In the meantime, what will I be eating?

Heidi Skolnik, MS, CDN, a dietitian and author, suggests “to help keep the sniffles and sneezes away, shop for nutrient-rich foods and beverages.” She recommends foods that are high in vitamins A, B, C, and E and in potassium, zinc, and magnesium. “Live and active cultures in yogurt also pack a punch, as well as folate found in 100 percent orange juice and spinach,” she says. “Load your shopping cart with immunity heroes to help maintain good health.”

Top 10 Cold Remedy Foods

• 100 percent orange juice
• Avocado
• Spinach
• Tomatoes
• Bell peppers
• Broccoli
• Garlic
• Grapefruit
• Lean meat
• Yogurt

Jacob Teitelbaum, MD, an internal medicine specialist and author, adds you should avoid foods that are high in sugar because they can decrease your immunity. “The sugar in a can of soda suppresses immune function by 30 percent for three hours.” “Avoid excess milk products if you are stuffy. Milk protein thickens mucous and makes it harder to drain.” Water, on the other hand, will help keep mucus thin and easier to clear.

Damn. No Coca-Cola for me for a few days.

And what of my cans of chicken soup hanging out in my pantry?

Chicken soup has been praised as a cold remedy since the time of the ancient Greeks. Twelfth-century Jewish physician Maimonides recommended chicken soup for treating colds. A well-known study done at the Nebraska Medical Center researched whether chicken soup works as a remedy to fight colds. The study found that chicken soup contains a number of substances with healing effects — and the researchers concluded that chicken soup actually does work (and not just for the soul).

Sweet. I know what I’m having for lunch today. That is when I wake up from resting.