If you weren’t eating chicken soup to fight off the cold, that you got from that one person that insists on coming into work sick, you were reading it for your soul. When I would be home sick from school, my mom would make me either parsley buttered potatoes or mashed potatoes or tomato soup and grilled cheese (with white cheese, not yellow), I never cared for chicken soup. But are there really healing benefits to eating chicken soup when you get sick? The answer is yes.
You know the old saying “feed a cold, starve a fever”, well it dates back to a 1574 dictionary by John Withals. The belief was eating foods helps the body generate warmth during a “cold” and that not eating food may help it keep cool when your body is overheated or you have a “fever.” Recent medical sciences say this is WRONG!!! You should feed both.
Let’s talk about feeding a fever first. A fever is part of the immune system’s defense system to beat the bug you have contracted. It raises the body temperature, which means that your metabolism increases and you burn more calories, so intaking more calories becomes important. Even more important is staying hydrated, so drink lots of water and electrolytes and stay away from caffine and alcohol though, those will help increase your dehydration.
Now, why if feeding your cold important, because when your body is fighting an infection it needs energy and where does energy come from…. this is an easy one FOOD. Pretty simple right?
Hippocrates, who was referred to as the “Father of Medicine” once said “Let food be your medicine, and medicine be your food.” This is so true, in more ways than one. Sure there are numerous foods out there with health benefits that we do not even think about but aside from that, food comforts, food says I care, food says lets talk.
When someone looses a loved one, what is the first thing people do? They bring you food. Your friends get together to plan out weeks worth of food for you. In my opinion, it’s not necessarily becasue they don’t think that you can do it or don’t want to (which you most likely don’t) but because they don’t know how else to say “I care.” And with out any true healing properties or without even taking a bite you already start to feel better. And if we are really honest, how much of it do you eat and how much of it is the thought that counts…
For those of us that really like to get in a kitchen and create food, it is one of the most satisfying and stress reducing things that you can do. Okay, maybe the second thing you can do, but this is a food blog. Think about it, making a pie dough, you are breaking up cold butter in your hands, until it feels like your fingers are going to fall of and then you add ice cold water to it. Wow, now that I am actually reading this, cooking may be more like torture than therapy. Let’s move on to bread dough and how you have to pound the air out of it. Maybe, as you pound the dough with your bare hands, beating the CO2 out of it, you are imaging the face of your ex. The ex that you caught cheating on you with the babysitter (it might happen, you never know). But now you have knocked the air out of the dough, instead of knocking the air out of the babysitter, and in the end you have warm homemade bread to eat, instead of spending the night in jail with some guy named Biff who really likes your shoes.
If you are looking for a more natural way to heal your body, let’s go back to the begining and talk chicken. Chicken soup is high in vitamin B6, which aids in the formation of new and healthy red blood cells and the stock made from the chicken bones, is great for healing the gut. I suggest trying bone broth, there are some really good brands on the market right now, or if you are feeling adventerous make it yourself.
Turmeric is an anti-inflammatory and also helps descrease exercise induced muscle damage. There are many ways to consume Turmeric pills, adding it to your breakfast smoothie, putting it in the breading of your fried chicken. But let me tell you, if you accidentally get a 6 quart container of the powder dumped on your head, it will take days to get out of your hair, you should just throw the clothes away and it will not beneiftyour health in any way except to make you look like you have jaundice!!! Long story, maybe I will tell it someday.
Ginger Root is amazing when it comes to digestions, calming your stomach, decreasing chronic pain and helps treat arthritus. And is delicious candied and added to your chocolate bark.
Beets are a natural energy supply. They may also help fight cancer and protect against heart disease. The red ones do tend to taste like dirt but there are really good pre-cooked ones out there that have been pickled with different types of vinegars and spices (such as ginger).
Garlic (which should be it’s own food group) helps to fight infections, lowers blood pressure and slows the hardening of arteries. It will also fend off mosquitos if eaten in large quantities, my theory is that it sours your blood. I don’t know if this last one is true, but what I do know is, that I was eating quite a bit of garlic when living in West Palm Beach, Florida and never got bit by a mosquito. And I am usually a mosquito magnet!
Green Tea is an amazing anti-oxident and produces L-theanine which is a natual anti-anxiety supplement.
Lemons help to protect liver function and prevents stress related damage and helps to regulate your blood pressure. It is said that you should start your day with hot water and lemon. This helps to get your body moving in the morning and to detoxify your liver.
Cilantro, which to some people tastes like soap, helps to bind to heavy metals in your body and extract them. So bulk up on your favorite salsa.
Cruciferous Vegetable (or Leafy Green Vegetables, which is much easier to say) boost your liver health, have anti-cancer properties, are anti-inflammatories and have anti-viral effects
Thyme helps to reduce inflammation, is an anti-fungal, helps to promote bone health, aids in sleep (said to ward off nightmares if placed under your pillow) and helps to stimulate your thyroid.
Coconut Water has more potassium than a banana (so there goes those terrible leg cramps), decimates hypertension, helps to reduce cardiovascular disease, has anti-aging properties and helps to level out your pH, which means that it is the perfect hang-over cure. My favorite is the one with pineapple in it.
I have barely touched the surface of what food can do for you naturally. Another interesting bit of information is that not only will “an apple a day keep the doctor away”, they also have as much energy in them as a cup of coffee.
So, wether you are making a strawberry pie for a friend who just had surgery and is the hospital or you are adding cayenne to your morning smoothie to boost your metabolism, food is much more powerful than you realize. You could even say it is magical!!!
The Rantings of a Bakerbrat...... 