There are a lot of old-fashioned remedies that are passed down from generation to generation, some of them help and some are more harmful than helpful. Even various professionals still advertise and recommend such and other old-fashioned medicines without checking whether the things are indeed correct and healthy. Natalie Schweinkelstein, naturopath and vegan, gives her recommendations for natural treatment during illness:

Chicken soup is not really healthy for you

The chickens raised today in most industrial farms contain various toxins, harmful bacteria, antibiotics, and heavy metals. The food that the chickens receive is processed food that is not at all similar to the natural food that their bodies should receive biologically. All of these have substantial consequences on the quality of their meat (and of course also their eggs), and the harm outweighs the benefit. Prefer a fresh soup made from a variety of vegetables, fresh herbs, and roots. The vegetables and herbs are rich in minerals, vitamins and antioxidants that will help your immune system to strengthen and recover better from the disease.

Tea with lemon

How sick people feel often stick to boiling tea, but not in every disease the heat of tea will be right. There are throat infections in which it is not recommended to drink hot tea (and certainly not boiling because too high a temperature destroys the delicate layer in the esophagus and may cause a burn), but rather cold drinks because there are types of bacteria that thrive in heat. In general, during a cold it can be very relieving, but it is not advisable to eat processed ice cream that contains a lot of sugar, but to drink a cold drink or ice cream from frozen fruits that are prepared in a blender at home (a frozen banana ground in a blender for example, try it and you will not be disappointed).

Drinking carbonated drinks during stomach pain / nausea

Note that these are particularly harmful drinks, which people drink every day instead of water, and during illness many think that they also help the stomach to recover from the infection. In fact, the feeling is that it does help, comes from the fact that we drank a sweet and carbonated drink and not really because it has healing properties, after all, it does not contain essential and healthy ingredients. Such drinks often contain sugar or artificial sweeteners, both of which are very unhealthy for the immune system, studies show that 4 hours after drinking drinks containing sugar, there is a decrease in white blood cells (those responsible for the immune system). In addition, these drinks often contain flavoring and coloring agents such as caramel which is known to be carcinogenic, caffeine and phosphoric acid which cause calcium to escape and a problem with the absorption of minerals from food. Any unhealthy component that enters the body during illness will make it difficult for the immune system to function optimally. It is better to drink herbal infusions such as chamomile, fennel, cardamom, anise, which support digestion and relieve pain, but note that it is not boiling.

A glass of warm milk

By virtue of being a vegan, cow’s milk is considered by me to be a food that is harmful to humans. The cow, who lived her last months in the industrial farm, is milked several times a day, by devices that cause her injury, resulting in bleeding and infections in her teats. The infection penetrates the milk (somatic cells of the immune system found in the pus), in addition, the cow also often receives antibiotics and is fed processed food and not raw vegetables as she should eat in the wild. Apart from all these toxins, milk also contains natural substances that may harm the body such as casein (milk protein), lactose (milk sugar) which are known to cause excess phlegm. Instead of a glass of milk, it is better for the immune system to have a herbal drink such as almond milk which is known to have effective antioxidants against harmful substances that enter our body.

Alcohol during illness

Like sugar, alcohol also, which by the way also breaks down into sugar in the body, has a weakening effect on the immune system. Moreover, it also urinates, which eventually causes us to lose fluids and become dehydrated, when during an illness – especially if it is a fever – it is advisable to drink a lot of water. Alcohol damages the immune system, liver and other organs such as brain cells. It is recommended to stay away from alcohol, especially during illness. In addition, if you take certain medications, their combination with alcohol can be fatal.

White flour and its products

It may be comforting and delicious food, but in the end, empty carbohydrates break down very quickly in the body and raise blood sugar levels, thus causing inflammation, and weakening the immune system. This is processed food that is not healthy under any circumstances, certainly not while the body is busy healing. Stay away from pastries and foods made with white flour. Prefer bread made from whole wheat flour, which has fiber and vitamins that can help the body get stronger.

Orange juice for vitamin C

Vitamin C is indeed important for a balanced immune system, and during illness it can certainly help, but it is not certain that orange juice is the best source of it. The amount of vitamin C in orange juice is relatively small to what the body needs during illness, and in addition, the juice has a very large amount of sugars. Therefore, prefer to eat the whole orange and also eat part of its white peel, it is very healthy and full of antioxidants. If you want to get a sufficient amount of vitamin C during illness, you should choose a quality nutritional supplement.

Fried, processed sauces and hard-to-digest foods

Hard-to-digest foods, full of saturated fats, cannot add to recovery from an illness but only weaken the body. When you eat food that is difficult to digest, all the energy in the body is devoted to digesting the food instead of the energy being devoted to recovery. Therefore, choose foods that are easy to digest such as steamed vegetables, soups, toast made from spelled flour, avocado which is rich in vitamin E and omega 3, lemonade made from fresh lemon juice (without sugar), fresh vegetables and fruits and lots of water. As a rule, during illness the body does not require much food, precisely for the reason I mentioned. The body is busy healing and it is natural that there is no appetite. Listen to your body, and when you eat, choose natural foods that are close to their natural form.

And one more little thing: dress warm, warm

The feeling during illness is that you should dress warmly because you have chills, but the truth is that it is a natural mechanism that helps regulate heat and recovery. While there is a high temperature, it is advisable not to dress very hot, especially in children, to allow the body to cool itself. Of course if you feel more comfortable covered up you can do that, just don’t pile on too many layers.

The writer Natalie Schweinkelstein is a naturopath, vegan, and expert in natural medicine for the family.