I don’t know about you, but I can never remember if “feed a cold, starve a fever” is the correct adage, or if it’s the other way around. What I do know is that the minute I get sick, I become desperate and self-pitying and will try any remedy that offers even the slightest possibility of curing me. Plus, I love to eat, so I’m an easy sell when it comes to cure-alls involving food. But how much truth is there to the idea of better healing through culinary chemistry?
Mincing Words
Although the specific word order of the saying has long been debated, the correct version, according to most accounts, is “Feed a cold, starve a fever.” The axiom’s alleged origins date all the way back to 1574, when British lexicographer John Withals created a dictionary entry that read: “Fasting is a great remedie of feuer [fever].” Because sixteenth-century doctors believed that a drop in body temperature caused colds and increased body temperature resulted in fevers, the logic behind “Feed a cold …” seemed solid enough. The act of consuming food and drink would warm up a sick person’s body, thereby combating cold symptoms, while abstaining from eating and drinking would thwart a fever’s progress by preventing the person’s body temperature from rising.
Most modern-day doctors, however, dismissed the proverb as little more than a quack theory passed down through generations by unscientific grandmothers. Then, in 2002, a group of Dutch researchers threw the medical community for a loop when they conducted a very scientific study of the effects of eating versus not eating on the human immune system. The scientists gave test subjects a liquid meal, then administered blood tests, which revealed a fourfold increase in the subjects’ levels of interferon gamma, a chemical that’s integral to our immune systems’ ability to fight off viral infections. In other words, they proved that feeding a cold can indeed work. By the same token, when the scientists later gave the same subjects water only, the subsequent blood tests indicated a fourfold spike in the chemical interleukin-4, which plays a major role in protecting the body from bacterial infections. So starving a fever may also do the trick.
Beyond the Lab
Still, one study isn’t sufficient to prove that an old-timey expression has real merit, and just because a bunch of people in a lab in the Netherlands happened to respond favorably to a feeding tube doesn’t mean you can eat a whole pizza and be magically cured of the sniffles. Similarly, if starving a fever seems to work for you, its success may be merely coincidental; as Denise Snyder, a nutrition scientist at the Duke University School of Nursing, points out, sick people are often just not very hungry. In fact, loss of appetite is our bodies’ way of defending us against fevers—it forces our immune systems to focus on the more urgent task of battling harmful pathogens.
However, despite the fact that you may not feel like eating (and regardless of whether feeding a cold is effective or not), medical experts all concur that avoiding food altogether during sickness is counterproductive. The bottom line is that our bodies need energy to fight colds and fevers, and that energy comes from food. So even if you can’t taste a thing, do yourself a favor and refuel with some healthy meals that will boost your immune system and chase those germs away.
Beggars Can Be Choosers
Making smart food choices when you’re sick is key to optimizing your body’s defense mechanisms against illness. You’ll do yourself a real disservice if you pig out on fast food and processed snacks while you’re laid up in bed. Instead of McDonald’s and Twinkies, try these superfoods:
Chicken Soup
Turns out Mother did know best about this go-to remedy. Many researchers believe chicken soup inhibits the white blood cells that trigger inflammatory responses, which worsen sore throats and increase phlegm production. Making the soup also triggers chicken to release an amino acid called cysteine, which can clear out sinuses and break down mucus.
Spicy Foods
If you’ve ever eaten too large a dab of wasabi, you already know that spicy foods can open up clogged sinuses in a flash. Chili peppers are particularly beneficial; the natural chemical capsaicin, which gives chilies their kick, also deadens nerves (and thus pain), stimulates production of certain bodily chemicals that reduce swelling, and thins mucus.
Pineapple Juice
You heard me, orange juice—step aside. While OJ is cited more regularly as a cold-fighter, pineapple juice actually contains the same amount of vitamin C and is less acidic, which means it’s gentler on your stomach. In addition, it contains an enzyme called bromelain that helps lessen the aches and pains that often accompany a cold. Just don’t drink too much of either type of juice, as fruit is full of sugar.
Garlic
This root vegetable’s health benefits are as multifaceted as its appearance. Garlic has been revered for thousands of years for its antibiotic, antifungal, and antiparasitic properties; it also contains a chemical compound called allicin that destroys bacteria and stops all but the hardiest viruses in their tracks. Try eating at least one clove (preferably raw) per day.
Tried-and-True Tactics
No matter what you eat or drink, it’s nearly impossible to avoid getting a cold, a fever, or both at some point. So if you want to conduct your own investigation into the veracity of the “feed a cold, starve a fever” proverb, be my guest—I’ll be curious to hear your findings. However, until we have more conclusive evidence that it actually works in the majority of cases, our best bet is to follow the time-tested doctors’ orders that are second nature to most of us by now: get plenty of rest, drink lots of fluids, and wash your hands frequently. But if I do happen to get a cold sometime soon and it vanishes overnight after I’ve eaten a gallon of my favorite ice cream, you’ll be the first to know.
