Why we feel so bad when we get the flu

Originally Posted by psychoslice

I like apple cider beer, yum yum.

Is that hard cider or apple cider+beer or apple cider brewed into beer?

[Adrienne]

it seems to me that whenever one is sick with flulike symptoms, whatever one remembers last eating or drinking is sure to make one feel ill again. At least that is how it is with me, so if I had a particular casserole or food item... it will take quite a long time before I can eat that again, without the association of being ill.

PS ~ interesting on those coffee benefits. Seems the health dept keeps changing their minds on what has health benefits and what doesn't. Next thing you know, a few years from now, they will have a list of why one shouldn't be drinking coffee. It has happened before Same thing with eggs, butter, etc.... perhaps moderation in all things is the key ?

ohhh and medicinal purposes, for coughing and sore throats, Hot tea with German Brandy works wonders ! Has to be the German Brandy though for best results.

Dream Angel xx

[psychoslice]

Apple cider brewed into beer, its really nice.

Originally Posted by psychoslice

Coffee Health Benefits : Coffee may protect against disease

FEBRUARY 2006

It’s surprising when something that was once considered questionable for your health turns out to have health benefits, usually with the proviso to use it “in moderation.”


Enjoy your coffee in moderation, guilt free.

The thing is this though that should be taken into consideration and I have to thank Stephen for this one:

I've been reading about grains and beans and seeds and nuts having an element called phytic acid and phytic acid inhibits the absorption of a host of nutrients. Coffee is a bean, and if it isn't soaked and rinsed for 24 hours before it's made into coffee, it also inhibits the absorption of iron, zinc, calcium from the good foods that you do eat.

Taken from one article I read:

One argument for the beneficial effects of phytates is based on the premise that they act as anti-oxidants in the body. But recent studies indicate that an overabundance of anti-oxidants is not necessarily a good thing as these compounds will inhibit the vital process of oxidation, not only in our cells but also in the process of digestion..

and from this link: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/1...807.x/abstract

Several samples of coffee, both instant and percolated, hot cocoa mixes, and teas, both instant and brewed, were analyzed for phytate and zinc. Phytate:zinc molar ratios were calculated. An estimation of the phytate contribution from the beverages to the total diet presented. Depending upon the source selected and the strength and quantity of the beverage consumed, there is concern that a high take of these beverages may exacerbate an already marginal zinc status.

As you've mentioned, there do seem to be (some) health benefits of coffee, but there are also significant drawbacks. As someone who is intent on treating my body with the same tender loving care as some men will award their expensive automobiles, I would prefer not to flood my system with an anti-nutrient. That to me, seems to be a waste of healthy food. But hey, each to his own and if you are cool with it, then go for it.

As I was laying there, sick, sick, sick, and coming to the realization that part of the problem was likely the lack of coffee, I decided to give it up. I figured that if I ever wind up in the hospital for heaven only knows what, I don't want caffeine withdrawal added to the mix of misery. I don't like coffee that much.

Originally Posted by Dream Angel

PS ~ interesting on those coffee benefits. Seems the health dept keeps changing their minds on what has health benefits and what doesn't. Next thing you know, a few years from now, they will have a list of why one shouldn't be drinking coffee. It has happened before Same thing with eggs, butter, etc.... perhaps moderation in all things is the key ?

The government is largely beholden to lobbyist... Have you noticed they now advertise drugs that they actually tell you in the commercial may kill you?
That wouldn't have happened 20 years ago... if a drug was even "thought" to be a problem then it wouldn't be approved... now they put stuff out
there that they know is killing people, then cover their butt's legally by advertising with disclaimers...

The food industry also is playing a very sinister game... the products they create may "look" like the foods that we grew up with some years ago, but
when you back-track their methods for growing, what they're feeding their livestock, what chemicals they're packaging their products in... one realizes
quite concretely that little is similar.

I was reading an article recently by CNN that had the FDA admitting that they knew Roundup caused birth defects all the way back into the 80's... and
yet not only has nothing been done about it, Monsanto is still working on genetically modifying more crops for a broader use of their longtime
favorite chemical. More and more of our foods are being doused in this stuff...

Cows are fed corn the last couple of months of their lives to fatten them up.. their stomachs are not designed for corn... if they didn't butcher the
cows when they do then the cows would die anyway from being put through this abuse... when you go by a feed lot and hear the cows mooing
loudly that's why... they are in gastric distress... and if it wasn't for antibiotics a lot of those cows would likely die before slaughter... these
antibiotics stay with the meat and tend to kill many of the good digestive organisms that we have in our own gut, the ones that we need in order to
effectively digest what we eat.

Track back just about every single product in the grocery store and then study how things used to be done.. and very little indeed will match-up...
chemicals abound, stuff grown in poor soil, harvested green and ripened on the road... 95% of the corn grown today is inedible... it's only grown to be
processed for it's components...

The more I look into this the creepier it gets... we're no longer being feed "food" as a nation.. we're being feed stuff that looks like food... right now
going organic is like living on an island of relative safety... no telling when that will be watered down as well....

Originally Posted by DebbyM

As you've mentioned, there do seem to be (some) health benefits of coffee, but there are also significant drawbacks..

Thanks for the info Debby! We've been cutting back on coffee, and this info may help us to hurry this along!

[psychoslice]

Originally Posted by DebbyM

The thing is this though that should be taken into consideration and I have to thank Stephen for this one:

I've been reading about grains and beans and seeds and nuts having an element called phytic acid and phytic acid inhibits the absorption of a host of nutrients. Coffee is a bean, and if it isn't soaked and rinsed for 24 hours before it's made into coffee, it also inhibits the absorption of iron, zinc, calcium from the good foods that you do eat.

Taken from one article I read:

One argument for the beneficial effects of phytates is based on the premise that they act as anti-oxidants in the body. But recent studies indicate that an overabundance of anti-oxidants is not necessarily a good thing as these compounds will inhibit the vital process of oxidation, not only in our cells but also in the process of digestion..

and from this link: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/1...807.x/abstract

Several samples of coffee, both instant and percolated, hot cocoa mixes, and teas, both instant and brewed, were analyzed for phytate and zinc. Phytate:zinc molar ratios were calculated. An estimation of the phytate contribution from the beverages to the total diet presented. Depending upon the source selected and the strength and quantity of the beverage consumed, there is concern that a high take of these beverages may exacerbate an already marginal zinc status.

As you've mentioned, there do seem to be (some) health benefits of coffee, but there are also significant drawbacks. As someone who is intent on treating my body with the same tender loving care as some men will award their expensive automobiles, I would prefer not to flood my system with an anti-nutrient. That to me, seems to be a waste of healthy food. But hey, each to his own and if you are cool with it, then go for it.

As I was laying there, sick, sick, sick, and coming to the realization that part of the problem was likely the lack of coffee, I decided to give it up. I figured that if I ever wind up in the hospital for heaven only knows what, I don't want caffeine withdrawal added to the mix of misery. I don't like coffee that much.

Yes and that's the difference, you don't like your coffee that much where as I love it, I don't drink a lot but what I do drink gives me pleasure, I also live a healthy life style, so it all balance out, and after all even oxygen and sunlight are eventually going to kill us.

Originally Posted by psychoslice

Yes and that's the difference, you don't like your coffee that much where as I love it, I don't drink a lot but what I do drink gives me pleasure, I also live a healthy life style, so it all balance out, and after all even oxygen and sunlight are eventually going to kill us.

And this may indeed be the difference... your overall diet is kosher enough that the introduction of a few no-no's isn't that big a deal! I've been
sick-free for quite a few years now myself.. luck I guess, considering what I used to eat...! I've always enjoyed/loved/worshiped? :^) coffee.. but
mostly for the stuff I put in it... Wendy "hates" what I do to mine... if there actually is some coffee in there I'm probably not tasting it... :^)

This makes it easier for me to transition to other things... I'm already pre-primed for other flavors because I don't sit still for very long with any
one particular taste. I'll probably always stick with some coffee at some level though... I really like what I've been playing with when it comes to
flavoring coffee over the years! :^)

[psychoslice]

Originally Posted by StephenK

And this may indeed be the difference... your overall diet is kosher enough that the introduction of a few no-no's isn't that big a deal! I've been
sick-free for quite a few years now myself.. luck I guess, considering what I used to eat...! I've always enjoyed/loved/worshiped? :^) coffee.. but
mostly for the stuff I put in it... Wendy "hates" what I do to mine... if there actually is some coffee in there I'm probably not tasting it... :^)

This makes it easier for me to transition to other things... I'm already pre-primed for other flavors because I don't sit still for very long with any
one particular taste. I'll probably always stick with some coffee at some level though... I really like what I've been playing with when it comes to
flavoring coffee over the years! :^)

Yea the whole thing i was sort of getting at was, don't take anything too serious, even our diet, which can even become like a religion, then dogma arises.

I have been in the Seventh day Adventist church for many years and i saw it happen there, the ones who did all the talking about what we should eat and what we shouldn't eat, seem to be the sickest of all over the long run. The ones who tried their best to keep healthy and not mouth off about it seem to be the healthiest over time.

So many when starting to change their diet to vegetarian, are so caught up in the whole thing, and because of this they usually don't last that long, they have lost the pleasure in life and food, and usually they become unhappy because they can't keep to what they believe is right to them.

Hi Debby,
Very informative post and like to add some tips to cure flu.
Increase water intake and watch your diet, drink hot soups and wash your mouth with salt water. Blow nose more often, gargle and use a humidifier. Avoid smoking, alcohol and other stimulants and take steamy shower.