Foodie Cold Cures

I'm not at all convinced that any foods can cure the common cold. In fact I'm pretty sure they can't. But there are definitely some that make you feel better more quickly. 

SC is currently suffering with stage 2 man flu, thus the topic of this post came to mind. Stage 2 is when you still manage to remain brave, especially after 12 hours of deep and dreamless. 

My favourite specific against the cold is noodle soup. Slithery starch from the noodles, chili to kill all known germs, hot stock for soothing the throat and rehydration, and a solid thrutch of garlic combine to bring a little hope to the sufferer. I just served that for a most un-English Sunday lunch, given the lad's dire need. 

I'm not Chinese, and nor really is that soup. When I did go down with man flu in the Far East I was advised by the wonderful Agus Sutono to eat star fruit, which really did help. Whatever happened to the star fruit? I can't remember seeing one in the UK since the turn of the century. 

Jewish mothers of course swear by chicken soup. My friend Ben Patashnik was insulted when I called him a cliche as he pined for his mum's cure-all broth. Sorry Ben. A University in America (where is the city of A btw?)  has, if memory serves, proven there are anti-viral properties in well-made chicken soup. As there probably are in any decent foods. Again, it cannot hurt to pour nourishing hot liquid down the patient's throat. 

Chocolate sales got a boost a year or two back when the dark version was shown to help people with bad coughs. (Which prompts the question, what is a good cough?) Not only did it coat the irritated bits, but some marvellous chemical in chocolate did us good, or so the chocolate marketing foundation claimed to have demonstrated. I reckon wine gums would do the job too. 

Given he has now been home for a week, and by my (how sad is this?) calculation we have had more than 50 different fruits, vegetables, legumes and leaves since he got here, I wonder about the preventative powers of foods. I have served enough garlic to make an Italian peasant roll his eyes. Not a day has gone by without us enjoying fresh citrus juice in our brekky smoothie. Still the germs rule.

Maybe he brought it back from Wales. The Dear Leader has not succumbed yet, and for the good of all mankind I trust she will not. Being dropped nto the shark tank is as nothing to the fate of her minions when she has the sniffles. Only one in a relationship can wear the trousers, and luckily I look good in skirts. In accordance with that situation she gets man Leader flu, than which there is nothing more terrifying.