Saturday 16 September 2017

#252 Cold remedies that don't work but are worth trying anyway

I must've written about cold remedies before but it's that season again, so here they are. They don't work of course but it feels defeatist to just give up and do nothing so without much further ado, on with the list:

1) Almond milk
Dairy milk would make things worse but almonds are a girl's best friend. And mine, apparently. They have vitamin E, which is like... good... for stuff... plus I think it contains a few B vitamins too.

2) Cocoa
Cocoa was put on this planet for one reason. To go in my mouth. It's like the mother of all... spices? I sometimes drink pure cocoa powder in hot water without any sugar or milk. The antioxidants are erm... oxygenating... or antioxidising... or something.

3) Chilli
That's right, the sniffles are an excellent chance to have a curry because the heat flushes out the sinuses. I don't know exactly what a sinus is or does but curries are delicious. 1.3 billion Indians can't be wrong. Go for the garlic naan and you'll also be protected from vampires.

4) Coconut water
I've liked this stuff ever since I first tried it back in 2013. It's practically a portion of fruit, which brings me onto the next remedy.

5) Orange juice
Vitamin C is about the only supplement that scientists agree might sorta possibly sometimes maybe be of any benefit when one has a common cold. It might have to be drunk before the virus really develops, I don't know. It also contains a lot of sugar so I have no idea how much of the stuff is ideal.

6) Cakes
This one isn't really mine but I had a friend who would buy cakes in response to an illness. It goes against medical and nutritional guidance but presumably it's about cheering up an unhappy patient Patch Adams style by making them feel better through enjoying something sweet. I found it endearing enough to include in this list.

Happy cold and flu season.

4 comments

Fizzfan said...

Chilli, chocolate and cakes sounds like a very good idea, and could be why I practically never get colds.
Not so keen on your drinks though and am a bit disappointed at your lack of reference to alcohol?!
Some swear by whiskey n lemon but I've tweaked it to fizz n cocktails and am quite sure this works too:)

Profound Familiarity said...

I think it's because I associate alcohol with hangovers and see it as something the body doesn't really like dealing with.

I've occasionally had a shot when I've had a sore throat and it really did nothing, so I probably wrote-off alcohol as a solution to those types of problems.

Fizzfan said...

According to chemistry, alcohol is a solution:)
I think the quantities have to be 'managed' though.

Profound Familiarity said...

True.