Is chicken soup good for a cold?
Winter Health Special
Cold logic Is chicken soup good for a cold? Will vitamin C help? And does ‘man flu’ exist or is he just being a wimp? Annabel McAleer separates cold fact from fiction
M
y eyes feel watery, my head feels heavy and I’m desperate for a soothing cup of tea. Making my way back from the kitchen I sneeze twice, spilling hot Earl Grey over my hand and shoes. My annual winter cold has arrived, as predictable as the end of daylight saving and just as likely to take me utterly by surprise. It shouldn’t: The common cold earned its name by being the world’s most frequently contracted infectious disease. Most of us will catch a couple of colds every year, each lasting up to a week, while our children come down with anywhere from five to a dozen. We’ll sniff our way through an average of 200 colds over our lifetime, adding up to two full years of runny noses, pelvic-floor-testing sneezes and countless tissues later discovered pulped through the laundry. Although the flu wreaks more havoc with our health – it results in hundreds of thousands of deaths every year – most of us only get the ‘true flu’, rather than a bad cold or ‘man flu’, about once every 15 to 20 years, according to Professor Bruce Arroll, a world expert
140 NEXT | june 2011
You may feel like you’ll never get well, but the average cold lasts just a week.
Winter Health Special
there may not be much we can do to prevent colds, but we can lessen the severity of our symptoms on the common cold and head of the department of general practice at the University of Auckland. The flu is also far easier to prevent. Canterbury DHB virologist Dr Lance Jennings says only a few main strains of influenza circulate each year, compared to the 300 respiratory viruses that cause cold symptoms. That means it’s possible to produce an annual flu vaccine, while the huge variety of cold-causers makes vaccination impossible – at least with current technology. There’s still a lot to learn about colds and flu, but there have been some big leaps in understanding since our mothers told us never to go outside with wet hair. It may be counterintuitive, but we now know that people with strong immune systems are more likely to develop the symptoms of a cold. That’s because it turns out not to be the cold virus itself that causes our runny nose and sneezes, but our body’s own immune response to the virus. When a healthy body catches a cold, its immune system pumps out inflammatory chemicals that produce the annoying symptoms we all recognise. While taking fistfuls of herbs and supplements to boost your immune system might seem like a good idea when you feel a cold coming on, these measures might end up fuelling the very thing causing your symptoms. “Being fit and healthy doesn’t necessarily protect you against respiratory viral infections,” Dr Jennings says. Immune boosters may be popular at retail, but he says there really isn’t the scientific evidence to support them. There may not be much we can do to prevent colds, but we can lessen the severity of our symptoms, such as by taking over-the-counter decongestants – even if we can’t shorten the lifespan of the cold itself. There turns out to be some truth to the old adage: ‘If you treat a cold, it will last about seven days. If you don’t treat it, it will last about a week.’ On the following pages we look at 10 commonly held beliefs surrounding colds – and separate myth from reality.
142 NEXT | june 2011
Xxxxxx
mythbusting Fact or Fiction?
1
Don’t go outside with wet hair
Heading out into a cold day with a wet head will definitely make you feel chilly, but it won’t give you a cold. You can only catch a cold virus from another person, and that’s much more likely to happen indoors, where viruses find it easier to jump around. Most scientists think the main reason we catch colds more often in winter is because we all spend a lot more time inside cosied up together. The one place on Earth where you’re least likely to catch a cold is in the frigid depths of Antarctica, where cold and flu viruses run out of people to infect, and die out.
2
Drink plenty of orange juice
It’s good to keep up your fluid intake when you feel sick, but the jury’s still out on whether dosing up on vitamin C will make you feel any better. Still, there’s not really a downside to drinking orange juice when you’re ill – or eating an orange, kiwifruit, green pepper or any other food high in vitamin C. And any of those options is better than taking a vitamin C supplement, according to Professor Arroll. “I’d rather people spent their money on something that tastes nice, rather than on pills and potions.”
3
Feed a cold, starve a fever
Everyone knows a trip to the fridge is a great distraction when you’re feeling miserable – but sadly there’s no medical excuse to pig out when you’ve got a cold. Even so, eating well might help you feel better emotionally, starchy carbs can help you sleep and a hearty soup or stew loaded with veges is great for you anytime. When you’re feverish you probably won’t feel much like eating, but it’s important to drink lots of liquid; fruit juice and thin soups can help give your body the energy it needs.
4
Rest, don’t exercise
Less than seven hours’ sleep a night could make you three times more likely to be infected when exposed to a cold virus. If
you’re not sleeping because you’re stressed, you’re even more susceptible – and if you do get sick, stress can make cold symptoms worse. The only known way to improve our immunity is by decreasing stress. “Things like meditation can decrease periods of illness,” Professor Arroll says. So rest is good, but so is exercise: moderate exercise has been shown to help people with bad colds feel better. And if you’re already exercising 30 to 60 minutes a day, you’re less likely to get a cold in the first place.
5
The flu jab can make you sick
Some people do feel sick after they’ve had the flu jab, but it’s not possible to catch the flu from the vaccine itself because it doesn’t contain any living viruses, states Dr Jennings. For a few people, any injection can lead to minor cold-like symptoms, caused by their immune system’s response to being injected. Dr Jennings says that in trials where people are given a saline vaccine, a similar percentage gets the sniffles. And sometimes, people are just vaccinated too late. “The vaccine is given in the autumn months when viruses commonly start spreading, so there’ll always be some people who receive the vaccine when they’re already infected with another virus – and of course the vaccine gets blamed.”
6
A nice steam will clear you out
Steam inhalation studies have shown mixed results, Professor Arroll says. Even if it works for you, it’s probably not a good idea for the kids; some children have been accidentally burned. A better solution is good old Vicks VapoRub: recent studies show it really does work. “This is the old grandmothers’ tale that has come true,” Professor Arroll says. “It seems to reduce coughing – and parents get a better night’s sleep. Whenever I’ve had a cold I’ve used it, because it just sort of decongests me.”
7
Milk makes you mucusy
The ‘sticky’ feeling a glass of milk leaves in the mouth gives a pretty convincing impression of mucus when you’ve got a cold, but studies have shown that dairy products
don’t actually increase congestion – it just feels like it. In studies, people who know they’re drinking cow’s milk rate their symptoms worse than those who know they’re drinking soy, while those who aren’t told report similar minimal effects. To cut the aftertaste, add ice cubes.
8
Cover your mouth when you sneeze
If you’ve already got a cold, to avoid spreading it, cough and sneeze into a tissue or the crook of your elbow, not your hands. If your hands automatically go to your mouth, wash them as soon as possible. Touching a doorknob or Eftpos pad can transfer virus germs to the next person who comes along, infecting them as soon as they touch their eyes, nose or mouth. The easiest way to escape a cold virus is to june 2011 | NEXT
143
Winter Health Special
rather than seeing colds as a challenge to conquer, choose to view them as a chance to step out of the driver’s seat
9
Chicken soup for the sniffing soul
People have been fed chicken soup to fend off the sniffles since Roman emperor Nero’s physician recommended it in 60AD. There still haven’t been any clinical trials to prove whether it really works, but a few lab studies have shown promising results. Research from the University of Nebraska in the US found that both homemade and commercial chicken soups have an anti-inflammatory effect, which could reduce cold symptoms. Cooked chicken contains the amino acid cysteine, which is similar to a bronchitis drug, and the addition of garlic, pepper and vegetables might give the soup a therapeutic boost. It may not be proven to work, but 2000 years of anecdotes say it’s worth a shot.
10
Quick, take some echinacea
Some people swear by a particular brand of echinacea, but different products vary hugely – and there’s little proof any of them truly help. “There are a whole bunch of different forms of echinacea; different strengths, different plants,” says Professor Arroll, who reckons echinacea is a waste of time and money. Zinc may be a better bet: a recent review of 15 studies found that zinc lozenges or syrup, taken the first day of a cold, can help you feel better, faster. But Professor Arroll believes your best choices for safe over-thecounter medication that’s proven to work are Panadol if you’re feeling achey, Vicks VapoRub and a decongestant nasal spray that contains xylometazoline.
144 NEXT | june 2011
Man flu management Why does the tiniest cold turn the staunchest bloke into a self-pitying, couch-bound whiner? The ‘man flu’ – a cold by any other name – is a source of frustration to women around the world. Why don’t they just get on with things, like we do? Medical evidence that men really do experience stronger cold symptoms is thin on the ground. “If you look at the data for young children with respiratory virus infections, young males are more susceptible than young females, but by and large there’s no gender differentiation,” Dr Jennings says. But two people can experience the same cold virus in different ways. Dr Birgit Winther of the University of Virginia’s cold research team found that because cold symptoms are caused by our immune system’s reaction to a virus – rather than the virus itself – the same cold can produce different symptoms in different bodies. So it’s at least possible for a virus that gives you two days of sniffles to bring your partner to his knees, his whinging relieved only by homemade hot lemon drinks with lashings of whiskey. But given that the roles are rarely reversed, could there be something else going on? Next psychologist John Aiken reckons that man flu is a plea for a break and a bit of attention. “I think it’s often a guy’s way of trying to get some TLC from their partner. Men do still have a tendency to bottle things up, so ‘man flu’ lets them reach out.” Instead of getting frustrated with your partner, clarify expectations up front. “Before you both get sick, have a conversation about how you both want to be treated. Then follow the guidelines.” And after we finish mollycoddling our men, maybe we could follow their lead. A cold isn’t a serious illness, says Professor Arroll, but it does warrant two or three days off work: “Not because you’re not feeling well, but to stop the virus being circulated. Don’t go to work until you’ve stopped spraying virus everywhere.” Maybe we need to change the way we look at colds. Rather than seeing them as yet another challenge to conquer, we could choose to view them as a chance to step out of the driver’s seat for a few days. Even if we soldier through, we still feel tired and unfocused, so why not simply give into the malaise and relax for a couple of days? Your partner might even bring you a hot drink or two – after all, he’ll probably come down with something much worse in a few days.
photographs getty images
wash it off. Regular handwashing with normal soap works fine; antibacterial soap won’t do anything extra, since colds are caused by viruses rather than bacteria.
Cold logic Is chicken soup good for a cold? Will vitamin C help? And does ‘man flu’ exist or is he just being a wimp? Annabel McAleer separates cold fact from fiction
M
y eyes feel watery, my head feels heavy and I’m desperate for a soothing cup of tea. Making my way back from the kitchen I sneeze twice, spilling hot Earl Grey over my hand and shoes. My annual winter cold has arrived, as predictable as the end of daylight saving and just as likely to take me utterly by surprise. It shouldn’t: The common cold earned its name by being the world’s most frequently contracted infectious disease. Most of us will catch a couple of colds every year, each lasting up to a week, while our children come down with anywhere from five to a dozen. We’ll sniff our way through an average of 200 colds over our lifetime, adding up to two full years of runny noses, pelvic-floor-testing sneezes and countless tissues later discovered pulped through the laundry. Although the flu wreaks more havoc with our health – it results in hundreds of thousands of deaths every year – most of us only get the ‘true flu’, rather than a bad cold or ‘man flu’, about once every 15 to 20 years, according to Professor Bruce Arroll, a world expert
140 NEXT | june 2011
You may feel like you’ll never get well, but the average cold lasts just a week.
Winter Health Special
there may not be much we can do to prevent colds, but we can lessen the severity of our symptoms on the common cold and head of the department of general practice at the University of Auckland. The flu is also far easier to prevent. Canterbury DHB virologist Dr Lance Jennings says only a few main strains of influenza circulate each year, compared to the 300 respiratory viruses that cause cold symptoms. That means it’s possible to produce an annual flu vaccine, while the huge variety of cold-causers makes vaccination impossible – at least with current technology. There’s still a lot to learn about colds and flu, but there have been some big leaps in understanding since our mothers told us never to go outside with wet hair. It may be counterintuitive, but we now know that people with strong immune systems are more likely to develop the symptoms of a cold. That’s because it turns out not to be the cold virus itself that causes our runny nose and sneezes, but our body’s own immune response to the virus. When a healthy body catches a cold, its immune system pumps out inflammatory chemicals that produce the annoying symptoms we all recognise. While taking fistfuls of herbs and supplements to boost your immune system might seem like a good idea when you feel a cold coming on, these measures might end up fuelling the very thing causing your symptoms. “Being fit and healthy doesn’t necessarily protect you against respiratory viral infections,” Dr Jennings says. Immune boosters may be popular at retail, but he says there really isn’t the scientific evidence to support them. There may not be much we can do to prevent colds, but we can lessen the severity of our symptoms, such as by taking over-the-counter decongestants – even if we can’t shorten the lifespan of the cold itself. There turns out to be some truth to the old adage: ‘If you treat a cold, it will last about seven days. If you don’t treat it, it will last about a week.’ On the following pages we look at 10 commonly held beliefs surrounding colds – and separate myth from reality.
142 NEXT | june 2011
Xxxxxx
mythbusting Fact or Fiction?
1
Don’t go outside with wet hair
Heading out into a cold day with a wet head will definitely make you feel chilly, but it won’t give you a cold. You can only catch a cold virus from another person, and that’s much more likely to happen indoors, where viruses find it easier to jump around. Most scientists think the main reason we catch colds more often in winter is because we all spend a lot more time inside cosied up together. The one place on Earth where you’re least likely to catch a cold is in the frigid depths of Antarctica, where cold and flu viruses run out of people to infect, and die out.
2
Drink plenty of orange juice
It’s good to keep up your fluid intake when you feel sick, but the jury’s still out on whether dosing up on vitamin C will make you feel any better. Still, there’s not really a downside to drinking orange juice when you’re ill – or eating an orange, kiwifruit, green pepper or any other food high in vitamin C. And any of those options is better than taking a vitamin C supplement, according to Professor Arroll. “I’d rather people spent their money on something that tastes nice, rather than on pills and potions.”
3
Feed a cold, starve a fever
Everyone knows a trip to the fridge is a great distraction when you’re feeling miserable – but sadly there’s no medical excuse to pig out when you’ve got a cold. Even so, eating well might help you feel better emotionally, starchy carbs can help you sleep and a hearty soup or stew loaded with veges is great for you anytime. When you’re feverish you probably won’t feel much like eating, but it’s important to drink lots of liquid; fruit juice and thin soups can help give your body the energy it needs.
4
Rest, don’t exercise
Less than seven hours’ sleep a night could make you three times more likely to be infected when exposed to a cold virus. If
you’re not sleeping because you’re stressed, you’re even more susceptible – and if you do get sick, stress can make cold symptoms worse. The only known way to improve our immunity is by decreasing stress. “Things like meditation can decrease periods of illness,” Professor Arroll says. So rest is good, but so is exercise: moderate exercise has been shown to help people with bad colds feel better. And if you’re already exercising 30 to 60 minutes a day, you’re less likely to get a cold in the first place.
5
The flu jab can make you sick
Some people do feel sick after they’ve had the flu jab, but it’s not possible to catch the flu from the vaccine itself because it doesn’t contain any living viruses, states Dr Jennings. For a few people, any injection can lead to minor cold-like symptoms, caused by their immune system’s response to being injected. Dr Jennings says that in trials where people are given a saline vaccine, a similar percentage gets the sniffles. And sometimes, people are just vaccinated too late. “The vaccine is given in the autumn months when viruses commonly start spreading, so there’ll always be some people who receive the vaccine when they’re already infected with another virus – and of course the vaccine gets blamed.”
6
A nice steam will clear you out
Steam inhalation studies have shown mixed results, Professor Arroll says. Even if it works for you, it’s probably not a good idea for the kids; some children have been accidentally burned. A better solution is good old Vicks VapoRub: recent studies show it really does work. “This is the old grandmothers’ tale that has come true,” Professor Arroll says. “It seems to reduce coughing – and parents get a better night’s sleep. Whenever I’ve had a cold I’ve used it, because it just sort of decongests me.”
7
Milk makes you mucusy
The ‘sticky’ feeling a glass of milk leaves in the mouth gives a pretty convincing impression of mucus when you’ve got a cold, but studies have shown that dairy products
don’t actually increase congestion – it just feels like it. In studies, people who know they’re drinking cow’s milk rate their symptoms worse than those who know they’re drinking soy, while those who aren’t told report similar minimal effects. To cut the aftertaste, add ice cubes.
8
Cover your mouth when you sneeze
If you’ve already got a cold, to avoid spreading it, cough and sneeze into a tissue or the crook of your elbow, not your hands. If your hands automatically go to your mouth, wash them as soon as possible. Touching a doorknob or Eftpos pad can transfer virus germs to the next person who comes along, infecting them as soon as they touch their eyes, nose or mouth. The easiest way to escape a cold virus is to june 2011 | NEXT
143
Winter Health Special
rather than seeing colds as a challenge to conquer, choose to view them as a chance to step out of the driver’s seat
9
Chicken soup for the sniffing soul
People have been fed chicken soup to fend off the sniffles since Roman emperor Nero’s physician recommended it in 60AD. There still haven’t been any clinical trials to prove whether it really works, but a few lab studies have shown promising results. Research from the University of Nebraska in the US found that both homemade and commercial chicken soups have an anti-inflammatory effect, which could reduce cold symptoms. Cooked chicken contains the amino acid cysteine, which is similar to a bronchitis drug, and the addition of garlic, pepper and vegetables might give the soup a therapeutic boost. It may not be proven to work, but 2000 years of anecdotes say it’s worth a shot.
10
Quick, take some echinacea
Some people swear by a particular brand of echinacea, but different products vary hugely – and there’s little proof any of them truly help. “There are a whole bunch of different forms of echinacea; different strengths, different plants,” says Professor Arroll, who reckons echinacea is a waste of time and money. Zinc may be a better bet: a recent review of 15 studies found that zinc lozenges or syrup, taken the first day of a cold, can help you feel better, faster. But Professor Arroll believes your best choices for safe over-thecounter medication that’s proven to work are Panadol if you’re feeling achey, Vicks VapoRub and a decongestant nasal spray that contains xylometazoline.
144 NEXT | june 2011
Man flu management Why does the tiniest cold turn the staunchest bloke into a self-pitying, couch-bound whiner? The ‘man flu’ – a cold by any other name – is a source of frustration to women around the world. Why don’t they just get on with things, like we do? Medical evidence that men really do experience stronger cold symptoms is thin on the ground. “If you look at the data for young children with respiratory virus infections, young males are more susceptible than young females, but by and large there’s no gender differentiation,” Dr Jennings says. But two people can experience the same cold virus in different ways. Dr Birgit Winther of the University of Virginia’s cold research team found that because cold symptoms are caused by our immune system’s reaction to a virus – rather than the virus itself – the same cold can produce different symptoms in different bodies. So it’s at least possible for a virus that gives you two days of sniffles to bring your partner to his knees, his whinging relieved only by homemade hot lemon drinks with lashings of whiskey. But given that the roles are rarely reversed, could there be something else going on? Next psychologist John Aiken reckons that man flu is a plea for a break and a bit of attention. “I think it’s often a guy’s way of trying to get some TLC from their partner. Men do still have a tendency to bottle things up, so ‘man flu’ lets them reach out.” Instead of getting frustrated with your partner, clarify expectations up front. “Before you both get sick, have a conversation about how you both want to be treated. Then follow the guidelines.” And after we finish mollycoddling our men, maybe we could follow their lead. A cold isn’t a serious illness, says Professor Arroll, but it does warrant two or three days off work: “Not because you’re not feeling well, but to stop the virus being circulated. Don’t go to work until you’ve stopped spraying virus everywhere.” Maybe we need to change the way we look at colds. Rather than seeing them as yet another challenge to conquer, we could choose to view them as a chance to step out of the driver’s seat for a few days. Even if we soldier through, we still feel tired and unfocused, so why not simply give into the malaise and relax for a couple of days? Your partner might even bring you a hot drink or two – after all, he’ll probably come down with something much worse in a few days.
photographs getty images
wash it off. Regular handwashing with normal soap works fine; antibacterial soap won’t do anything extra, since colds are caused by viruses rather than bacteria.
