Food folk remedies from the pros
About the article
This is a digitised version of an article from The Cayman Compass's print archive. Occasionally, the digitisation process introduces transcription errors, or other problems.
See the article in its original context from May 1986.
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Illness and food. The Odd Couple of health. To someone laid up with a cold, noshing may be a welcome distraction. To a flu patient, just the sight of victuals may prompt another session of, uh, cookie-tossing.
But, dear patient, you've got to eat. "Whenever you are sick, the demands on you for nutrients are increased," said Marylynne Rice, a registered dietitian at the University of California at San Diego Medical Center's Department of Clinical Nutrition. "Yet this is the time when a person's diet is often not up to par."
A jug of orange juice, a bowl of chicken soup, a stack of Kleenexes and thou?
"If I had to make a recommendation"dation," said Dr. Andrew Golden, chief of the Department of Family Practice at Kaiser Hospital, "it's eating a diet that's comfortable to you. Stay away from things that might upset your stomach."
"Listen to your body," advised Lisa All, a registered dietitian and the clinical service supervisor at Sharp Memorial Hospital.
But the body can speak with forked tongue. Especially after consulting a woozy head littered with dubious remedies. Feed a fever, starve a cold? Starve a fever, feed a cold?
In confusion, we returned to the health professionals. We brought them colds, fevers, flus and diarrhea. They responded with a menu befitting the, uh, Galloping Gourmet.
COCKTAIL
"I come from a Polish and Hungarian background," explained All, "and for sore throats we would often gargle with applecider vinegar."
This folk remedy has a long history, although All is not sure that its efficacy has ever been proved.
"I do believe it is a factor that helps," she said, "especially in the early stages if you nip it in the bud." SOUPS
Lauded as "Jewish penicillin," chicken soup is popular among the convalescent set regardless of race, creed, color or gastronomic origin.
It's also good medicine. Look at the ingredients. Chicken soup starts with broth, a dietary staple for diarrhea patients, who need to avoid dehydration without adding to their miseries.
"Clear liquids get absorbed before they reach the colon," said Dr. Golden, "so they don't irritate the colon."
Salts are added to bring out the soup's flavor. They also replace body salts lost to fever.
And the reassuring flavor of chicken may provide that psychological edge needed to overcome an illness.
"It's comforting, it's warm, it tastes good," said All. "I think it has more of an emotional feeling." No chicken soup available? "Cream soups are something a lot of people use," said Rice approvingly. Cream of tomato, for instance, provides calcium and vitamin C. FRUIT
Oily and fatty dressings are not recommended for nauseous diners; skip the salad and have fruit. Easy to prepare, nearly all fruits are loaded with vitamin C.
To many people, that is the key. But not all health professionals agree that vitamin C is a magic ingredient.
"It's not proven that vitamin C can help fight off a cold," said All, "but it's psychologically comforting." While early studies indicated that vitamin C was useful in defeating viruses, Golden noted that more current research "cast doubt on that."
Rice, however, says that vitamin C is part of the body's "stress response" to illness. "It decreases the length of sick time, increases the circulation, dilates the capillaries," she said.
Believers should go easy. Rice warned that a vitamin C overdose from page 10 - more than 500 milligrams a day
- can produce diarrhea and nausea.
BEVERAGE
"One man," said Rice, "told me that the best way to get rid of fever was to keep a lot of fluid in by drinking beer."
And then there is the celebrated Texas Two-Hat Remedy: Hang your hat at the foot of the bed. Get a bottle of whiskey. Climb into bed. Drink until you see two hats. While it is important not to become dehydrated, some fluids are more helpful than others.
Milk should be avoided by those with diarrhea. "The enzymne that digests milk," explained Golden, "is on the outer lining of the intestine. When you have diarrhea, it gets washed away."
Avoid most colas and coffees. Caffeine, a stimulant, is difficult to digest.
Soda of varying degrees of carbonation is recommended.
With non-carbonated drinks, "there is less gas, less chance of vomiting; it is less irritable to the stomach," said Rice, a flat-soda adherent.
"Carbonation can be good if you have indigestion," said All, a member of the pro-fizz camp. Fruit juices, tea and water are popular, approved beverages. Just keep drinking. "Drink more liquids," said Golden. "Loosen the mucus. The more dehydrated, the thicker the mucus and the harder it is to drain from your nose or chest."
MAIN COURSE Flu patients may want to stick with Popsicles or Jell-O.
The more ambitious may want to move on to crackers, dry toast without margarine or butter so it is easier to digest or cottage cheese, for its high concentration of protein and calcium. Whole-grain breads, nuts, seeds and red meat are recommended for heartier patients. "Stay away from things that might upset your stomach," warned Golden.
VEGETABLES
"Some people feel taking garlic helps clear the congestion," said Golden. "I'm always impressed by that — it's one of the last things that I would want to try."
The theory, as Golden understands it, is that garlic causes eyes to water and noses to run, thus helping drain the passages. "I'm not a great believer in that," he said. DESSERT
Fruit, of course, is ideal but it has already been on the menu. Ice cream is tempting, but its rich butterfat content tends to lay in the stomach, sometimes producing nausea.
The solution, Rice said, is a blended concoction of fruit, low-fat yogurt and ice — a smoothie.
"Fruit smoothies offer a good way to get vitamins and minerals and lots of ice," said Rice. "And they are readily digestible." AFTER-DINNER DRINK
Scratchy throats and hacking coughs are sometimes soothed by a cup of hot tea with lemon and honey. More potent ingredients can be added to give the drinker an even warmer glow.
For all courses, mix and match according to taste and desire. Above all, do not count calories.
"I've heard a lot of people say, 'Oh, good, I got sick, I lost weight," said Rice. "This rapid kind of weight loss, particularly when you are sick, is usually the loss of water and lean body muscle. A negative type of weight loss.
"Don't diet when you are sick, don't be concerned about taking in calories from a fruit smoothie. This is a time to actually increase your calories."
