"Feeding" Colds And "Starving" Fevers

A

asparagusp

Guest
I have a sore throat and slightly elevated blood sugar today. The old addage comes to mind! - "Feeding" colds and "starving" fevers which seems to contradict the diabetes philosophy of eating less! ..... lol
 
  • Like
Reactions: Enclave

Clivethedrive

Well-Known Member
Messages
3,996
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Dislikes
Jogging
Just eat small sensible portions....it's just an old wives tale...steady and sensible always wins the day
 

ickihun

Master
Messages
13,696
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Insulin
Dislikes
Bullies
I have a sore throat and slightly elevated blood sugar today. The old addage comes to mind! - "Feeding" colds and "starving" fevers which seems to contradict the diabetes philosophy of eating less! ..... lol
I increase my multivitamins. It seems to work. :)
 
  • Like
Reactions: asparagusp
A

asparagusp

Guest
So basically don't change and don't eat more! zzz lol Duck tonight so chicken broth a bit too much., Maybe tomorrow. Cheers!
 
  • Like
Reactions: Clivethedrive

zand

Master
Messages
10,840
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
I increase my supplements, but I'm afraid I do eat more with a cold. If I am hungry then I eat and sort it out when I am well again. I'm not suggesting this is what you should do, but it works for me.
 
A

asparagusp

Guest
I increase my supplements, but I'm afraid I do eat more with a cold. If I am hungry then I eat and sort it out when I am well again. I'm not suggesting this is what you should do, but it works for me.
Love it!
 
  • Like
Reactions: zand

Brunneria

Guru
Retired Moderator
Messages
21,884
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
I just try and listen to my body so I eat to my appetite, while staying low carb.
I do up my Vit C, Zinc, and usually take Black Elderflower, plus echinacea tea, if I have any in the house.
 

Brunneria

Guru
Retired Moderator
Messages
21,884
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Thanks Brunneria,. I never hear of Black Elderflower and shall see if Wholefoods have it when I'm there later this afternoon.

Have a look for the brand name Sambucol. Even Boots sell it, I think. Lots of different variations, sugared, sugar free, effervescent tablets, plus or minus extra vits... I usually get the efferevescent ones, cos they are sugar free, and then have them with hot or cold water, depending on my mood. I am sure there are other brands out there, probably just as good, it is just that I know the name Sambucol, and it has had some trials done on it, so it has a reasonable reputation. There must be a website somewhere...
 
  • Like
Reactions: KezG
Messages
18,446
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Dislikes
Bullies, Liars, Trolls and dishonest cruel people
I had the mother of all 'sore throats', back in May 2016, was I ill !! I couldn't eat, had to call paramedics out because I couldn't breath during one night and I have never had anything like that before and with very high BS.
I hope you are feeling a little better now.
 
Last edited:

DavidGrahamJones

Well-Known Member
Messages
3,262
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Other
Dislikes
Newspapers
  • Like
Reactions: asparagusp
A

asparagusp

Guest
I had the other of all 'sore throats', back in May 2016, was I ill !! I couldn't eat, had to call paramedics out because I couldn't breath during one night and I have never had anything like that before and with very high BS.
I hope you are feeling a little better now.
Thank you. It's only a slight sore throat which has been coming and going for the last couple of days. I tend to cough a lot anyway so even the cough is in the normal run of things! lol I really am just looking for an excuse to indulge by eating more! lol
 

Resurgam

Master
Messages
10,086
Type of diabetes
Treatment type
Diet only
It is not advice, it is a warning, if you starve a fever you will feed a cold - that is by not providing nourishment when treating a fever you will weaken the patient and make it more likely that they will catch a nasty cold.
 

ickihun

Master
Messages
13,696
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Insulin
Dislikes
Bullies
  • Like
Reactions: asparagusp

Brunneria

Guru
Retired Moderator
Messages
21,884
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
It is not advice, it is a warning, if you starve a fever you will feed a cold - that is by not providing nourishment when treating a fever you will weaken the patient and make it more likely that they will catch a nasty cold.

Haha! I am not laughing at you - i am laughing at how ridiculous this whole maxim is!

The various older members of my family (back to my great grandparents around the turn of the 1900s) have always maintained that if you feed a cold, you will end up having to starve a fever.

I have therefore always thought the phrase is nonsensically ambiguous.
So I looked it up
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/fact-or-fiction-feed-a-cold/
Maxims typically date back many years, but “feed a cold, starve a fever” may beat them all. This saying has been traced to a 1574 dictionary by John Withals, which noted that “fasting is a great remedy of fever.” The belief is that eating food may help the body generate warmth during a “cold” and that avoiding food may help it cool down when overheated.
 

ickihun

Master
Messages
13,696
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Insulin
Dislikes
Bullies
R-ala used by some posters for neuropathy, also helps with free radicals causing damage in times of stress.
A good article @DavidGrahamJones :)
 

Lamont D

Oracle
Messages
17,757
Type of diabetes
Reactive hypoglycemia
Treatment type
I do not have diabetes
If I feel a bit 'off' or suspect that I'm in for a cold, I fast, I can't or won't eat, just drink tea!
I'm better off not eating as if my blood glucose levels go higher, if by eating it could ease me out of ketosis.

It just makes it logical for me not to!
 

zand

Master
Messages
10,840
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
I just do what my body wants me to do. I am normally really hungry with a cold, so I 'feed' it. I don't feel like eating at all with a fever, so I just sip water. I have always thought of this maxim as simply a statement of what most people will feel the urge to do, not as an instruction or a warning. Similarly we are often told not to eat with an upset tummy. When I feel like eating again, I do so, even if it's only a few hours after being ill.