The funny thing about medical advice is how much easier it is to get it from someone who isn’t a doctor. Doctors don’t have a tendency to give blanket advice, since they realize that each person has his own special physiology. They’re also wary of malpractice lawsuits, so they don’t give you much advice unless they get a chance to examine you first. On the other hand, non-doctors give tons of medical advice, and it’s up to you to decide whether to follow it or not. Regardless, there will be no malpractice suit.
In particular, the kind of advice I’m talking about has to do with the best foods and beverages to consume when you’re under the weather. The website Health.com, which has a name indicating it should know what it’s talking about, talked to experts about the best things to eat and drink when you’re sick. My dad for years has always told me to eat chicken soup no matter what my ailment. My mom used to give me 7-Up and soda crackers. Those things did seem to help, I guess, but neither of my parents is a health professional. Here are the consensus opinions of the experts, depending upon what’s wrong:
1. If you’re nauseous, things like saltines (thank you, Mom) and pretzels are best, because they cut down on stomach acid. But avoid alcohol, caffeine, anything greasy and anything spicy. Those will make your nausea worse.
2. If you’re constipated, eat anything that’s high in fiber and drink a ton of water. If you’re the opposite of constipated, remember the acronym BRAT and eat bananas, rice, applesauce and toast.
3. For a sore throat or a runny nose, drink tea, but not iced tea and not hot tea. Drink warm tea. Hot tea can make sore throats worse, and so can juice or anything acidic. And stay away from potato chips and anything else that might be scratchy and irritating to your throat.
4. If your entire body aches from the flu, eat something that contains a lot of magnesium. Some good choices include nuts, bananas, beans, leafy greens and avocados. But avoid caffeine and alcohol, because they will dehydrate you.
5. To get rid of a headache, drink a full glass of water and wait 20 minutes. Sometimes caffeine helps as well, but drink one cup of water for every cup of coffee. And don’t use artificial sweeteners. They’ll make a headache worse.
By the way, I’m not a doctor either. I don’t even play one on TV. And as an aside, I’m disappointed that no doctor ever suggests you can get better through the use of cheeseburgers.
