Feed a Fever? 4 Tips That Always Get Us Through Flu Season

In 2013, a team of researchers from Stanford University School of Medicine published a paper called “Fever Literacy and Fever Phobia” in Clinical Pediatrics.¹

A fever is a temperature over 100.4 Fahrenheit (38.0 Celsius).

It turns out that zero percent of parents and caregivers could correctly define a fever. And 93 percent of participants believed that high fever could cause brain damage.

Researchers report that for a “comfortable-appearing child with fever:”

• 89 percent of parents and caregivers would give antipyretics (like acetaminophen or ibuprofen) to bring a fever down.
• 86 percent of parents and caregivers would schedule a clinic visit.

Other studies on “fever phobia” report that over one third of parents and caregivers administer antipyretics inappropriately.²

What many people do not realize is that a fever is the result of the immune system fighting off viruses, bacteria, and yeast. A high fever slows down invading bugs so your immune system can try to regain control. Research shows that fever-reducing drugs like acetaminophen and ibuprofen may increase rhinovirus shedding and make symptoms worse.³ Children with chickenpox that received fever-reducing drugs had lesions for a longer amount of time.⁴

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How to Prevent the Flu, Tip #1: Lemon Socks

One natural way to reduce discomfort while a fever runs its course is to make lemon socks:

• Squeeze 3-5 lemons onto 2 washcloths.
• Dampen the washcloths with warm water.
• Wrap washcloths around feet and cover with socks.

How to Prevent the Flu, Tip #2: Remove Sugar

Dr. Cate Shanahan, author of Deep Nutrition and nutritionist to the Los Angeles Lakers, explains in her book that a high-sugar diet weakens the immune system, changing “the surface markers your white blood cells need to distinguish between indigenous cells from invaders.”⁵

She points out that sugar forms a special cross-link with protein called an advanced glycation end product, or AGE. AGEs muddy the surface of cells, blocking receptors and slowing down performance. While white blood cells need glucose—or sugar—to fuel their activity and survive, research tells us that excess sugar is toxic to immune function.⁶

Sugar can prolong an illness by feeding the invading bacteria or virus.

What can Body Ecology do for you? Here’s what members of our community have to say.

How to Prevent the Flu, Tip #3: Make Chicken Soup

Researchers at Nebraska Medical Center agree. In 2000, a group of researchers published a study confirming that chicken soup has an “anti-inflammatory effect” and may relieve symptoms of upper respiratory infection.⁷ Chicken soup is easy to digest. When made from scratch, it contains minerals, amino acids, and gelatin — all nutrients that your gut and immune system need to function optimally.

According to Chinese medicine, chicken is sweet, warming, and supportive of energy levels.

When making chicken soup, we suggest:

• Ocean vegetables. Place a strip of kombu seaweed in your chicken soup as it cooks or open up a capsule of Ocean Plant Extract into your soup. Ocean vegetables like kombu are rich in iodine, a mineral essential for the thyroid and a healthy immune response.
• Add herbs that help fight infection. This includes garlic, thyme, ginger, and cinnamon. While these herbs are not directly antiviral, they are warming. The antibacterial and antifungal properties of these herbs also reduce the risk of secondary infections that can cause pneumonia.

Want to feed your body to feed your health? Our Body Ecology recipe database is full of delicious foods for recovery.

How to Prevent the Flu, Tip #4: Don’t Forget Fermented Foods

Hearty strains of beneficial bacteria and yeast work to replenish the inner ecosystem and force out pathogenic bugs that may be causing illness.

Drinking a few ounces of InnergyBiotic or Coconut Water Kefir throughout the day is a great way to repopulate the gut with probiotics and boost enzymes and electrolytes.