Feed a Cold

I have a nasty cold. I was thinking it was allergies originally, and while I think that's part of the nastiness that is my present cold, it's not all of it. Allergies don't give me a fever, and make me feel so weak that I have to sleep during the day.

For those of you who know me, I have to be exceedingly sick to nap, and I've been a'napping. I'm on day two of my fever. It's not constant - it seems to be off and on.

All day I felt more hungry than usual. I don't know if that's because in my life, I've been a sick eater, or if I'm truly extra hungry. It occurred to me today that illness is an eating trigger for me. I'm not an emotional eater, but if I'm sick, I give myself permission to give into any craving I have. After all, what if it's my body telling me something?

The last I checked, however, a pastrami and cheese sub lacks nutritional value that is going to help my cold, but I digress. (Note to reader: I'm not actually craving a pastrami and cheese sub. The thought of that greasiness is still repulsive to me.) I found myself passing the fresh loaf of Italian bread on our counter today, and thinking that I should have a piece with real butter. Yum. That would be comforting. If I were well, I wouldn't dream of even thinking of eating that.

A lot of bandsters, and other weight loss folks, can't keep trigger foods in the house because it's too much of a challenge for them. That is not usually my issue, though.

Www.newscientist.com published an article in 2002 regarding the "Feed a cold, starve a fever" theory. Here is an excerpt:

"Until now, most doctors and nutritionists have rejected the idea as a myth. But Dutch scientists have found that eating a meal boosts the type of immune response that destroys the viruses responsible for colds, while fasting stimulates the response that tackles the bacterial infections responsible for most fevers."

To read the entire article, please visit: http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn1777-feed-a-cold-starve-a-fever-may-be-right.html

So what if you have a cold and a fever? Maybe that's why I was so hungry earlier when my fever subsided, and why I'm not hungry at all now that my fever is back...or maybe it's all just psychosomatic! I'll probably never know.

Either way, I hope to get well soon. This is day 2 in a row where I've been to sick to work out. I think all the coughing is keeping my abs in shape though! Even though I'm very anemic, and that affects my energy level, I have had soooo much more energy since losing weight and working out that being this sick is very miserable for me. I feel like my old self...unable to get out of my own way.

I do treat sickness differently now that I'm more health conscious in general. I used to avoid vitamins, ignore the symptoms of illness until I was at the point where I was sick 2-3 times as long as I needed to be, and just overdose on nyquil at night to knock me out so I wouldn't be up constantly. Now I take my vitamins every day, get plenty of liquids, nap when I need to, etc, and I'm hoping the result will mean a quicker recovery.

We shall see.