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While I typically use teas and the like for standard treatment, my usual stand-by comfort food would be chicken soup.  As it was and continues to be reported time and again, the origin of this food therapy can be found as far back as 800 years ago when the  Jewish physician Maimonides recommended the use of  chicken soup as a remedy for upper respiratory congestion which explains the cliche ‘jewish penicillin’ that persists today.

Why this particular remedy is so effective as a folk remedy for generations is substantiated by Dr. Stephen Rennard out of the University of Nebraska Medical Center.  He discovered after testing multiple samples of his wife’s old-world chicken soup recipe revealed a decrease in inflammation of the mucous-membranes as a result of the slowing of certain white blood cells called neutrophils to the resperatory areas.  This inflammatory response results in a cascade of other symptoms from swollen airways and nasal passages to increased mucous that results in the obvious unpleasantness of a cold. The soup brings with it this decreased inflammation as well as increased hydration and increased air flow from the nasal passages from the heat of the liquids and the broth itself.

Similarly, another study showing further benefits from other substances such as curcumin (the key to the yellow color in turmeric) and black pepper, ingredient particular to the soup.  Black pepper was also found to decrease inflammation due to Caryophyllene, a substance that gives the pepper the distinctive ‘kick’.  Additionally, turmeric, which I’ve found makes the soup golden and all the more appealing, was found to stop melanoma by Dr. Bharat B. Aggarwal during a study done at MD Anderson Cancer Center  in 2005.

The benefits of various food additives and the combination of ingredients in familiar favorites comfort foods turn out to be some of the best medicine. Kids are less likely to turn up their noses to a warm bowl of comfort food than the typical over-the-counter and prescription remedies available.  If you have any favorite family recipes that have brought relief and comfort, please share them in the comments below.  Good health to you and yours!

While doctors have been saying for quite sometime that breastfeeding your baby has a gazillion and one health benefits for your baby, many doctors agree that breastmilk could also help with common ailments – colds, ear infections, scrapes, you name it!  According to Dr. Basil Bruno, a pediatrician in New Jersey, breast milk offers cures to several maladies.  Feeling a little stuffy lately?  Drop two drops of breast milk into each nostril and then blow (or use an aspirator).  Have a kid with a scrape?  Breast milk is naturally antibacterial and antiviral, so rub it on the abrasion instead of Neosporin.  A drop of breast milk in each eye twice a day can even, apparently, alleviate pink eye!

Even patients with more invasive conditions are trying breast milk as a remedy.  Some cancer patients drink breast milk regularly to increase their immune system and for its nourishing qualities.  “We’re noticing an increase in the number of patients who are adults and children who have a variety of types of cancer who are using human milk,” said Pauline Sakamoto of Mothers’ Milk Bank.  Mother’s Milk Bank provides breast milk to over 60 cancer patients, each with a doctor’s prescription.  All this milk donated to adults, however, gives some milk donation advocates a startle.  According to Dr. Pamela Berens with the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine, there is already a shortage of breast milk as it is. Yet another precious, natural resource to be appreciated!  Still, before trying breast milk as a remedy, contact your doctor to be sure its the best option for you.

Natural treatments for the common cold

• Zinc: Research has shown that by giving zinc lozenges the duration of the cold can be reduced and severity can also be decreased.

• Echinacea: Commonly called Purple coneflower, echinacea can also reduce the duration of illness and decrease the severity of cough, headache, and nasal congestion.

• Garlic: A study found that a daily garlic supplement containing allicin, a purified component of garlic considered to be the major biologically active agent produced by the plant, reduced the risk of catching a cold by more than half.

• Vitamins: Different studies have found that large doses of vitamin C may reduce the duration of a cold.

• Chicken soup and fluids: It has been used for treating common colds at least since the 12th century. It may really help. The heat, fluid, and salt may help you fight the infection.

• Get plenty of rest and drink lots of fluids.

I’m a smoker, I don’t always wash my hands before or after handling food or other sources of bacteria, and I take care of my friends when they’re sick without gloves or a mask – I do just about everything “wrong” in terms of not getting sick…

And yet, I can’t remember the last time I had a cold or the flu. It was probably something like 5 years ago, but I can’t be sure.

Although, last week my boyfriend had a massive case of food poisoning for 6 days. The day after he came down with it, I prayed at the porcelain god once (as compared to his hourly “confessions”), slept most of the day, and felt fine after that.

Here’s my secret: I don’t take medicine.

The Problem With Medicine

Suppression of the common cold through medication is not a cure. Suppression temporarily makes the symptoms go away but since the cause is not removed the symptoms usually return at a later date as a more sever symptom. – Brannick Clinic of Natural Medicine

It is all too easy to forget that doctors and medicine are best suited to treat emergencies. Having a cold is not an emergency. However, having a fever of 103 for more than an hour is an emergency, and well worth the risk of whatever that chemical cocktail will do to you later on.

Otherwise, throw out that NyQuil, DayQuil, and Alkaseltzer Cold & Flu. You’re not doing yourself any favors by inhibiting the body’s battle against your infection.

You have a fever because the body is trying to burn it out. You are sneezing with a runny nose because the body is trying to expel it. You feel achy and tired because you should be sleeping.

Taking a chemical cocktail to suppress these symptoms just means you’re not burning it out, you’re not expelling it, and you’re not giving your body ample opportunity to heal.

Building a Better Immune System

My seemingly dumb luck with avoiding disease didn’t happen overnight. I built this immune system from the ground up – the long, hard, and correct way.

Think about it this way. How did you get to be so good at your best skill? Did you have someone else do it for you all the time (i.e. take medicine to suppress symptoms), or did you get hands-on experience with just about every possible situation (i.e. let your immune system handle it)?

You know how most people say “I have a cold, you better stay away from me.” I’m not afraid of sneezing, coughing, Pee Wee Herman sound-alikes – I want my immune system to get all the practice it can!

Next time we’ll have a look at some natural remedies to nip the problem at the bud and make sure you never get sick again.