Cold and fever are common illnesses, and almost everyone has experienced the suffering they bring. When you have a cold or fever, your body's resistance is weaker and energy consumption is high, so it's necessary to supplement with certain nutrients. So, how should you supplement your nutrition when you have a cold or fever? There are some important rules to follow. Below, we introduce the six major dietary taboos for patients with fever.
When you have a cold or fever, you can cook some congee. Buy a pound of fresh mushrooms, preferably with thin flesh. Boil them with only water and a little salt. After it comes to a boil, simmer on low heat for 15 minutes. Drink the soup while it's hot and eat the mushrooms. Do not eat spicy food. When you have a fever, your energy consumption is relatively high, and your resistance is weaker, so you need to supplement with some nutrients. For viral colds without a fever, patients should rest as much as possible, drink plenty of water, maintain good ventilation indoors, and take some cold medicine to relieve symptoms. There are no special dietary requirements, and there's no need to eat more food; just maintaining sufficient energy is enough. Even when a cold is accompanied by a fever, there are no special dietary requirements. The diet should generally be light, supplemented with some fresh fruit, and there's no need to be overly concerned with the quantity of food.
Many illnesses can cause fever; it's a defensive reaction when you're sick. When you have a fever, your body temperature rises, your immune system weakens, and your digestive and absorption functions decline. This creates a contradiction between increased nutrient consumption and weakened digestion. Whether you take fever-reducing medicine or the fever subsides naturally, it is achieved through sweating. While sweating to cool down, the body loses a large amount of water and salt.
Therefore, the most important thing during a fever is water, followed by nutrients. The dietary principle at this time is first to provide adequate water, second to supplement a large number of vitamins, and then to supply appropriate amounts of calories and protein. The diet should be mainly liquid and semi-liquid, and special attention should be paid to the following six taboos:
First taboo: Eating too many eggs. Eggs are indeed rich in nutrients, but it's not advisable to eat too many of them during a fever. This is because the protein in eggs produces extra heat when broken down in the body, which increases the body's heat, exacerbates fever symptoms, prolongs the duration of the fever, and increases the patient's suffering.
Second taboo: Drinking too much tea. Drinking strong tea can keep the brain in an excited state, speed up the pulse, and raise blood pressure, which in turn can raise the patient's body temperature and cause irritability. At the same time, tea can affect the breakdown and absorption of medication, reducing its effectiveness.
Third taboo: Drinking too many cold drinks. If the fever is caused by an infectious disease like bacterial dysentery from contaminated food, gastrointestinal function is impaired. Drinking too many cold drinks can worsen the condition, and in severe cases, it can even become life-threatening.
Fourth taboo: Eating too much honey. The focus during a fever should be on clearing heat, not on nourishing. Honey is a nourishing tonic that replenishes qi and the middle burner. Consuming too much honey will prevent the body's internal heat from being effectively cleared and can easily lead to other complications.
Fifth taboo: Eating too much spicy food. As body temperature rises, metabolism becomes more vigorous. Under these circumstances, randomly eating warm and spicy foods like ginger, garlic, and chili will "add heat to heat," worsening the condition and hindering recovery and a return to health.
Sixth taboo: Forcing food. When a child has a fever, parents often think that fever consumes nutrients, so not eating is even worse. Consequently, they force the child to eat, and some even拼命 feed them high-nutrition foods. In fact, this approach is counterproductive. It not only fails to stimulate the appetite but can also ruin it, and may even cause vomiting, diarrhea, and other issues, worsening the condition.