Wed 12 Dec 2007
A few weeks ago, I came down with a cold. Colds suck. Now, that shouldn’t be such a big deal normally, but I am keeping a close eye on the way my diet is affecting my health. Oh, and there’s also the fact that I wrote this article:
4 Ways to Never Get Sick Again
I speculated there that getting sick frequently is probably not necessary, a bold claim indeed. So it sure is a peculiarity that I became sick myself. There could be a lot of reasons that I got sick and I can only guess as to why. I was just returning from a bit of traveling (commercial flights are pretty good environments for the spread of illness) and I was returning from Wisconsin. And believe me, it was cold! There was even snow on the ground at one point and it was in November. I usually can’t even expect to get a good snow during the whole winter in North Carolina. Anyway, my cold could be attributed to the flight or stress or the temperature.
However, there are a few interesting notes here. The last few times I’ve gotten sick have been preceded by the same thing: lack of the sleep. I distinctly remember (and it helps that I write it down too) that the first signs of illness (usually a sore throat and mild congestion) start the day after getting 4 or 5 hours of sleep the night before. That’s not what happened this time! In fact, for the days preceding this cold, I was getting 8-9 hours every night.
Of course, there’s one other thing: my diet. I recently reintroduced dairy into my diet as part of a self experiment on acne. I got sick just weeks after I started eating dairy again. I have to say: I’m not really surprised. Surely, this could be a coincidence, but it is thought provoking to me. I’ll feel more confident about this connection, one way or the other, when I start experimenting again with Paleo next month.
I’ll leave you with an intriguing video about preventing and treating colds and flus. I don’t agree with everything presented here (especially skeptical of the hydrogen peroxide tip), but this guy does confirm some of my previous outlandish thoughts about getting sick . Enjoy:
February 3rd, 2008 at 7:46 pm
Hi-
We were skeptical of the hydrogen peroxide in the ears too but thought we’d try it anyway. It really seems to work. If our ears get itchy or we’re feeling a little run-down, a few drops in each ear relieves the itchiness and our health bounces right back again. Haven’t had colds or the flu now in literally years but I’m sure the hydrogen peroxide isn’t the only reason! We also use herbs, a low-carb diet, avoid most sugars (and their substitutes) and get good quality rest. The last is aided by walnuts- another Mercola tip which seems to work amazingly well. You have to chew up the walnuts reeeeeeally well, though.
Anyway, next time you feel punky give the hydrogen peroxide a try- unless of course you have punctured ear drums or your doctor says no for some other good reason. It however the “active” ingredient in a lot of over the counter ear wax removal drops so it’s probably fairly harmless.
Felicia.
February 5th, 2008 at 5:40 am
Interesting. As it happens I stumbled on his site a few days ago. Very commercial. Not sure what to make of him to be honest.
Did you notice the eyebrows? It’s like he’s got two sets.
Chainey