Healing with Food vs. Comforting with Food

This is day 3 of my chest cold. All in all, it hasn't been the worst cold ever, but I had it in my mind I would get through this cold season unscathed. Not so, my friends, not so. The worst I guess is not being able to sleep well the past two nights. The best was calling in to work today and actually having a valid excuse (though let's be honest, isn't it more fun to call in to work when you're NOT sick? Then you can actually enjoy the off-time). I guess blogging and lounging aren't horrible pastimes though.



Anyway, a couple times with this cold I've craved fast food to "make me feel better." Well, what I really want is something to temporarily distract me from my sickness. Or to numb me, or to help me pass out. Did you know you could pass out from overeating? Sure you did. Some people call that the yearly tradition of Thanksgiving. I call it the multiple-time-weekly tradition of being a compulsive overeater. Not being able to sleep last night, I was definitely craving a fast-food binge. But wanting food to knock you out or divert you from your pain is *not* the same as using food to heal. Obviously a Big Mac isn't going to boost my immune system.

There are foods that will though. Citrus fruits are great (had a tangerine earlier) of course because of the Vitamin C. Also drinking lots of liquids (water, licorice tea, green tea). I've been eating chicken broth which (due to its high sodium content) is questionable in terms of helping my body repair itself but at least it's a hot, soothing liquid.

Supposedly ginger is really great for colds though, boosting the immune system. So my dinner tonight will be a chicken/veggie/ginger/garlic stir-fry (garlic also helps kill bacteria so that's a good one too).

I hope you have not been touched by sickness as I have! If so, get well soon!