Monday, February 3, 2014

Lemon, Peel, and All? Absolutely.

FIGHTING SEASONAL COLDS?

Eat sliced lemon.  Peel and all.

HOW MUCH DO I EAT TO STOP A COLD?
As much as you can tolerate.

WHAT EFFECT CAN I EXPECT?
1)  A relaxation of body ache that comes with a cold or flu.
2)  You become less contagious.

I've heard the clarion through the years about reaching for Vitamin C immediately when you have a cold.  In the past, it's either been Ester-C or ascorbic acid.  But I don't like the fact that many, if not all vitamin supplements, are derived from genetically modified sources.  So I wanted to see if by reaching for real food that I might experience an equal or better response.  And it seems to bear itself out. The lemons with the peel cleanses your liver and intestines.  This cleansing alone is beneficial.  It doesn't do everything, but it does help in repairing the immune system.  Some might thing that eating slices of lemon is too strong or too much and that maybe a lemon wedge or slice in a glass of water would do. It would do. It just wouldn't do enough. Remember, you goal is to eliminate the virus that is causing the cold or flu.  Lemon slices will overwhelm any virus.  You will feel better.

STARVE A COLD, FEED A FEVER?  OR, FEED A COLD, STARVE A FEVER?

Remember that maintaining a healthy immune system is what's key.  And good nutrition is essential for a healthy immune system.  I would not starve a cold or a fever, but instead focus on your immunity and the foods that will boost it.  Since 80% of your immunity comes from healthy gut flora, paying attention to your gut immunity is vital.  To that end, probiotics are the go-to foods when one feels weak from a cold or flu.  In other words, yogurt.  Plain, whole milk yogurt.  During illness, avoid sweetened yogurts.  It's always your decision, of course, but in the service of rebuilding immunity, it's encouraged to go sugarless for a few days. What other foods contain probiotics?  Kefir appears in all the lists that you'll find online.  You can find unsweetened kefir, but I have yet to find whole milk kefir.  It's true that sometimes people get bilious or nauseous with the flu and dairy products may turn some people off, but the probiotics should settle your stomach.  The lemon peel will chase the virus away.  Probiotics targets the larger effects of a cold, in other words, your gut immune system.  It needs support during times of illness.    


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