Getting a cold... what can I have?

StaceySudol
StaceySudol Posts: 16 Member
in Food and Nutrition
So, normally when I have a cold I drink a ton of tea with lots of honey (helps the throat) and I drink a TON of orange juice. I can drink several liters in a couple of days.

There are so many calories in these things.. what is an alternative? Something that isn't expensive either.

Replies

  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    Chicken soup :)
  • kmsoucy457
    kmsoucy457 Posts: 237 Member
    You don't need to change much! Staying hydrated is a great idea.
    Dilute your OJ with water or seltzer.
    Put less honey in your tea, like 1 tsp per cup. If you need more flavor, squeeze in some lemon.
    There's an old Irish cold remedy called a hot toddy: tea, honey, lemon, and a wee dram of whiskey. A few minutes sniffing those vapors and you won't care how much honey is in there :wink:
    Feel better!
  • tekkiechikk
    tekkiechikk Posts: 375 Member
    Trop50 orange juice is delicious and has only 50 calories in an 8 oz. glass... for me it's well worth the money.

    You can still drink tea but only use half the amount of honey, or else go with a calorie free sweetener.

    Drinking anything hot, even hot water with lemon, will make you feel better.
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
    whatever you want.

    When I'm sick I eat ice cream and soup and tea and chicken soup. Drink/eat what makes you feel better.
  • kmsoucy457
    kmsoucy457 Posts: 237 Member
    tekkiechikk wrote: »
    Trop50 orange juice is delicious and has only 50 calories in an 8 oz. glass... for me it's well worth the money.
    Just FYI Trop 50 is literally water and OJ: Look at the ingredients label. If it's worth it to you to have the drink premixed then go for it, whatever works best for you. But my inner cheapskate can't pay the same price for half of the product.

  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    I don't change anything.. maybe drink more tea. OJ is not going to help with your cold, I believe it's a myth that vitamin C helps with colds anyway (and chicken noodle soup)...

    Something that does work for me though... Cold-Eeze/Zircam. Have one every 3 hours as soon as you get signs of a cold (they make sugar free Cold-Eeze, otherwise they are 15ish calories). Last time I took it for 3 days and my cold was gone. When I don't take them, my cold lasts for a week. So worth it.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    StaceySudol wrote: »
    So, normally when I have a cold I drink a ton of tea with lots of honey (helps the throat) and I drink a TON of orange juice. I can drink several liters in a couple of days.

    There are so many calories in these things.. what is an alternative? Something that isn't expensive either.

    Pointing this out for others who are not already looking for OJ alternatives - even if the vitamin C in the OJ helps with colds, receiving so much sugar with that much juice is counter productive, not to mention the calories.

    When I'm sick, I drink lots of tea with just a tiny amount of honey. If you decrease the amount of honey slowly over time it should be less noticeable.

    I also eat lots and lots of spicy Asian soup. When I feel a cold coming on, I'll make some. If I'm not up for cooking, I'll buy it. I don't eat out much, but when I'm sick I do indulge.
  • aerochic42
    aerochic42 Posts: 843 Member
    I like the Yogi brand Throat Comfort or Breathe Deep (similar ingredients) herbal teas. They taste sweet-ish and actually help the throat and opens up congestion. Look in the health food section of your grocery or look online (amazon for instance). If it turns out you don't like the taste just breathing in the vapors seems to help some (as my husband found out).
  • WinoGelato
    WinoGelato Posts: 13,454 Member
    When I am sick, I don't feel like eating much anyway, so I think the extra calories from something like tea with honey (or my favorite - hot toddy) would be offset by eating less other foods. Plus if you have sinus congestion, food doesn't taste right anyway - so might as well save the yummy, tasty, high calorie foods for another time when you can enjoy them and focus on what's going to make you feel better in the short term.

  • kdcomstock89
    kdcomstock89 Posts: 54 Member
    I really like the Swanson Chinese Hot & Sour infused broth.
  • LHWhite903
    LHWhite903 Posts: 208 Member
    Look for stuff that is high in vitamin C. I heard those things can help. :)
  • scyian
    scyian Posts: 243 Member
    Peppermint and liquorice teas are good for sore throats. Lots of water. Spicy foods.

    I've got sinusitis at the moment and I can't taste or smell anything so I'm going through all the herbals teas I brought thinking they sounded nice but tasted horrible.
  • truelight_photo_craig
    truelight_photo_craig Posts: 347 Member
    kshama2001 wrote: »
    StaceySudol wrote: »
    So, normally when I have a cold I drink a ton of tea with lots of honey (helps the throat) and I drink a TON of orange juice. I can drink several liters in a couple of days.

    There are so many calories in these things.. what is an alternative? Something that isn't expensive either.

    Pointing this out for others who are not already looking for OJ alternatives - even if the vitamin C in the OJ helps with colds, receiving so much sugar with that much juice is counter productive, not to mention the calories.

    When I'm sick, I drink lots of tea with just a tiny amount of honey. If you decrease the amount of honey slowly over time it should be less noticeable.

    I also eat lots and lots of spicy Asian soup. When I feel a cold coming on, I'll make some. If I'm not up for cooking, I'll buy it. I don't eat out much, but when I'm sick I do indulge.

    Thai Tom Yum soup is my go to when I'm feeling like a cold is coming on.
  • niamibunni
    niamibunni Posts: 110 Member
    Bone broth. Vitamin C increase benefits are a myth. Google 'The Vitamin C Myth' for educational purposes :)
  • Lizzy622
    Lizzy622 Posts: 3,705 Member
    kommodevaran wrote: »
    Chicken soup :)

    Ditto - also you can add extra raw parsley for vitamin C
  • beatyfamily1
    beatyfamily1 Posts: 257 Member
    I could be wrong about why I don't get sick anymore, but I eat a lot of mushrooms. I believe it's the vitamin D that's in the mushrooms. The mushrooms is the only thing I can think of that explains why I don't get sick anymore. Maybe try increasing your vitamin D to see if that helps. I really don't think vitamin C helps like people say it does because I rarely eat anything that has Vitamin C in it.

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