Posted by kathryn in Seasonal Health and Q & A Thursday

I know that most of you are headed into Spring and Summer. I read enough Northern Hemisphere blogs to know you’re excited about asparagus season and the onset of warm weather.

Here in Australia though, we’re moving rapidly into winter. And . . . the cold and flu season has already kicked off.

Stephanie, Patrick and Helen have all asked about beating winter illness. So I’m going to combine all the questions into one answer.

Beating a cold, flu or respiratory virus is mostly about time. Under optimal circumstances you should be over a cold in a few days, while a flu will take longer – about 7 days.

However, for many people colds and flus linger, weakening your system and generally getting you down. This leaves you open to catching more illness, more viruses and generally perpetuating the misery.

1. If you’re sick you have to rest

It’s what every doctor will tell you. It’s what your mother will tell you. If you are sick, you need to rest. Let me say that again, if you are sick YOU NEED TO REST.

Soldiering on, dosing yourself up on cold and flu tablets, going to work and putting in long days will perpetuate the sickness. Instead of being over it in a couple of days, it will take a couple of weeks.

It can be hard to take time off work and time out from being busy. But think of it as a short-term investment for the sake of your long-term health.

2. To prevent and treat a cold drink lots of ginger tea

My favourite winter remedy is ginger tea. Fresh ginger, lemon and honey in a teapot or plunger. Fill up with hot water and leave to steep for 5 – 6 minutes.

I drink this regularly throughout winter as a general prophylactic. I’d have at least one or two cups every day during the cold months.

But at the first sign of congestion or sickness I start drinking this stuff by the bucket-full. At least five cups. If not more. It’s effective, but you need to drink a lot of it to get the benefit.

3. To prevent a cold or stop one from perpetuating use Echinacea

There are always reports saying Echinacea is good, no it’s bad, no it’s good. In my experience it’s a great herb – provided you use a good quality product. There are a number of echinacea plant species which end up in retail products. Some work really well, while others are basically useless.

If you have the right product, at the right dose it can prevent you from getting sick. It should also reduce the lifespan of your illness and prevent it from perpetuating.

Last year I wrote a post on this subject: echinacea – does it work.

In my work I regularly come into contact with sick people. However I don’t want and can’t afford to be ill myself. If I’m sick I can’t work. This disrupts my diary, annoys clients and interferes with their management plans. Plus if I don’t work I can’t earn income.

So at the beginning of each cold and flu season I take a course of echinacea plus vitamin C and zinc. I do this for about two weeks. I also look after myself during the winter and this generally keeps me illness free.

4. When you’re unwell eat simple, light foods

If you’re sick, it’s not the time for KFC and pizza every night. Your body needs nourishment. It needs the best nutrition you can give it to fight the infection.

Vegetables, low fat protein, wholegrains and fruit are the optimal basics for your diet. Simple soups, steamed vegetables and fish, a warmed bean salad, ginger mushroom not-quite salad, a flavour-filled seaweed soup, green beans with tamari almonds, tofu with green beans in a lemongrass broth, some simple fish parcels.

These are the kinds of foods to eat. Foods that nourish. Foods that don’t tax your system. Foods that provide your body with the building blocks it needs to fight the infection.

3. If you’re sick keep off the grog

Always the most unpopular piece of advice I give. But if you’re sick one of the best things you can do is lay off alcohol for a few days. Alcohol interferes with your sleep, depresses your system and uses up nutrients that could be put to better use. It may make you feel better in the short-term, but alcohol is not helping. So have a few days without that evening beer or glass of wine. Drink ginger tea instead and you’ll feel better for it.

How do you deal with winter illness?

What is Q & A Thursday?

This post is part of Q & A Thursday – a monthly burst of blogging, where you get to dictate the subject matter. Q & A Thursday is all about simple, practical answers to food and diet dilemmas sent in by readers.

If you have a question you’d like answered send me an email. For more information you can take a look at the Q & A Thursday archives.

08 May, 2008