WEBVTT - Short Stuff: Feed A Cold, Starve a Fever

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<v Speaker 1>Hey, and welcome to the short Stuff. There's Chuck, and

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<v Speaker 1>I'm Josh, and Jerry's here too, sitting in for Dave.

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<v Speaker 1>So this is short stuff.

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<v Speaker 2>That's right. Call it Old wives Tale edition because this

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<v Speaker 2>is about feeding a cold and starving a fever, which

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<v Speaker 2>is the old wives tale that when you have a cold,

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<v Speaker 2>you should, and originally started out as stuff a cold like,

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<v Speaker 2>eat as much as you can, and then if you

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<v Speaker 2>have a fever you should try and not eat very

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<v Speaker 2>much at all.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, I think most people have heard that, right, that's

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<v Speaker 1>a pretty widespread adage. Yeah. Our friends at the Cleveland Clinic,

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<v Speaker 1>not normally known for their etymology resources, but they trace

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<v Speaker 1>this back at least half of it to fifteen seventy four.

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<v Speaker 1>There's a dictionary that was compiled by a guy named

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<v Speaker 1>John Wile's and withal said that fasting is a great

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<v Speaker 1>remedy of fever. So you got the second part right there,

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<v Speaker 1>starve a fever, right, And it's as far back as

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<v Speaker 1>anyone's trace it, although if you kind of want to

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<v Speaker 1>expand your definition of what's being discussed here, you can

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<v Speaker 1>trace it all the way back to Hippocrates. Right.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, I'm not sure about this one, he said, the

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<v Speaker 2>most most exquisitely slender diet you should have when the

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<v Speaker 2>disease is very sharp. So I'm not quite sure what

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<v Speaker 2>disease he's talking about there, So I'm not sure if

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<v Speaker 2>that counts.

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<v Speaker 1>No, But I mean just the phrase most exquisitely slender

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<v Speaker 1>diet sounds awesome, so I thought it was worth putting

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<v Speaker 1>in there.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, for sure. If you look at the current use

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<v Speaker 2>of the term as we know and love it, it

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<v Speaker 2>came about in the eighteenth century, pretty late in eighteenth well,

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<v Speaker 2>I guess kind of mid in eighteen fifty three. That's

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<v Speaker 2>when they were talking about feed and starve. As far

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<v Speaker 2>as cold and fever go.

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<v Speaker 1>What's weird, Chuck is I saw that it was this

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<v Speaker 1>whole adage that we is, like basically, encouragement is taken

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<v Speaker 1>as an encouragement or advice today was originally taken as

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<v Speaker 1>like a warning that if you feed a cold, that

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<v Speaker 1>cold will turn into a fever and then you'll have

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<v Speaker 1>to starve the fever, like and that the reason that

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<v Speaker 1>it was ambiguous is because of that comma in the middle.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, you know, that has proved to me that people

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<v Speaker 2>back then were dumb a little bit I don't get

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<v Speaker 2>that one, but sure, okay.

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<v Speaker 1>But well, what was the whole point? I mean, like,

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<v Speaker 1>if the what was the idea that was based on

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<v Speaker 1>I guess then.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, I guess they were basing it on if you

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<v Speaker 2>have a fever, then you don't want to eat hot food.

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<v Speaker 2>I guess it didn't need.

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<v Speaker 1>A lot of cold foods back then, I guess not.

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<v Speaker 1>And if you're.

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<v Speaker 2>Cold, you want to warm yourself up because there was

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<v Speaker 2>only hot food available.

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<v Speaker 1>Sure, that was I think what they think the whole

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<v Speaker 1>thing was based on. And regardless of how you slice

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<v Speaker 1>it though, how you take it as a warning or

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<v Speaker 1>anything like that, it's it's pretty much generally viewed as

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<v Speaker 1>not good advice by the medical community today. I say,

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<v Speaker 1>we take a break and come back and talk about

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<v Speaker 1>how this is not really good advice. How about how

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<v Speaker 1>about that?

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<v Speaker 3>All right, let's do it.

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<v Speaker 1>As s K as good you should know.

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<v Speaker 2>Okay, So people have basically always said that this was

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<v Speaker 2>a bad idea. There was a writer and Gentlemen's Magazine

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<v Speaker 2>in seventeen eighty five that said it was perhaps more

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<v Speaker 2>destructive demandkind than the plague itself. This advice, which is

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<v Speaker 2>definitely overstating things but people these days say, no, that's

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<v Speaker 2>not good advice. First of all, if you have a cold,

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<v Speaker 2>you may not want to eat very much. You may

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<v Speaker 2>not be very hungry, So like, for God's sake, don't

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<v Speaker 2>just make someone stuff themselves full just because they're sick

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<v Speaker 2>with a cold. It's not going to do anything for you.

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<v Speaker 1>Now, And that's bad enough. But the actual harm is

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<v Speaker 1>in the second part starving a fever, because pretty much

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<v Speaker 1>everybody in the medical community agrees that if you feel

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<v Speaker 1>hungry while you're sick, you should go ahead and eat,

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<v Speaker 1>because your appetite can come and go, and it can

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<v Speaker 1>be so thin you want to take advantage of it

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<v Speaker 1>when it does show up. And even more to the point,

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<v Speaker 1>if you starve yourself on purpose while you have a fever,

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<v Speaker 1>you're robbing yourself of some really much needed nutrients and

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<v Speaker 1>calories that your body really needs, specifically when you have

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<v Speaker 1>a fever.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, if your metabolism is kicking in in a substantial way,

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<v Speaker 2>it's gonna you know, if you're just laying around in bed,

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<v Speaker 2>that'll make you eat up more of your calories and

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<v Speaker 2>nutrients than you that you have in your body, So

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<v Speaker 2>you're going to want as much as you can. So

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<v Speaker 2>if you're hungry, cold fever or whatever, by god, eat

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<v Speaker 2>something or drink something. Definitely need to stay hydrated. Even

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<v Speaker 2>if you're not hungry. There are plenty of ways to

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<v Speaker 2>get you know, nutrients and liquid.

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<v Speaker 1>Into you, right. And the reason that your metabolism would

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<v Speaker 1>jack up when you have a fever is because your

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<v Speaker 1>body's literally raising your core temperature to try to cook

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<v Speaker 1>out the virus that's got you in its grips. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>I don't even need.

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<v Speaker 2>Fevers are no fun, but I love when I when

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<v Speaker 2>I'm sick and I get a fever and the fever happens,

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<v Speaker 2>I'm like, okay, Like this is my body doing its thing,

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<v Speaker 2>so I feel good about it.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah. Yeah, it is kind of weird. It's like almost

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<v Speaker 1>giving it like a grudging salute, like way to go body, exactly.

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<v Speaker 2>It didn't feel great, but oh there's no better feeling

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<v Speaker 2>than like breaking that fever, you know.

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<v Speaker 1>Oh for sure the worst is when the fever comes

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<v Speaker 1>on in the morning and you've got fever all through

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<v Speaker 1>the night. Fever is that? Okay?

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<v Speaker 2>So make sure that was an accident.

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<v Speaker 1>You said, can you imagine the coincidence? Like what would

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<v Speaker 1>the odds be of.

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<v Speaker 2>That don't know a natural songwriter.

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<v Speaker 1>I guess so you said that you want to drink,

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<v Speaker 1>especially if like you can't eat solid foods. At least

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<v Speaker 1>try to drink things that have calories, like a sports

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<v Speaker 1>drink with electrolytes like they had in Idiocrisy, and or

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<v Speaker 1>like thin broths like a chicken broth can have a

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<v Speaker 1>bunch of calories in it. Even vegetable broths have some calories,

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<v Speaker 1>so you want to get it wherever you can. The

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<v Speaker 1>key here is this, even if you don't want to

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<v Speaker 1>eat at all, that's okay. Like most people, especially in

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<v Speaker 1>the developed world, aren't on the edge of nutrition. We

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<v Speaker 1>all have some reserves that can last us the few

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<v Speaker 1>days we're not hungry while we're sick. What we don't

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<v Speaker 1>have is a reserve enough of fluids to keep us

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<v Speaker 1>going for very long. So you have to It's not

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<v Speaker 1>a choice. You have to stay hydrated one way or another.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, that same article from Gentlemen's Magazine from way back

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<v Speaker 2>when suggested some other things of the time. Barley water,

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<v Speaker 2>which sounds not too bad, small beer, mm, one of those.

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<v Speaker 2>You ever seen those little little little baby beers, they're

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<v Speaker 2>like eightouncers or whatever.

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<v Speaker 1>Well, yeah, I looked that up. That was so they

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<v Speaker 1>called that for low alcohol beer. Like I guess session

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<v Speaker 1>beers basically would be a small beer.

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<v Speaker 2>Right, Well, I don't know, but that makes sense.

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<v Speaker 1>Small beer, yeah, small beer.

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<v Speaker 2>We called me and my friends Eddie and Allison called

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<v Speaker 2>those tiny beers tweets. I don't know what. I think

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<v Speaker 2>Alice had made up the word and it just kind

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<v Speaker 2>of stuck. And the fun thing about drinking those is

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<v Speaker 2>you look like Andre the Giant.

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<v Speaker 1>Yes, I know exactly what you mean. I loved doing

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<v Speaker 1>that too.

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<v Speaker 2>What else, apple water, linseed, t toast and water that

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<v Speaker 2>maybe the toast in water, remember that.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm pretty sure that's what it is. I bet it

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<v Speaker 1>is water gruel sweetened with honey. Yeah. So I looked

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<v Speaker 1>all over to see if anybody had conducted a study

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<v Speaker 1>on whether this was true or not, and thank god

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<v Speaker 1>our friends over in the Netherlands in two thousand and two,

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<v Speaker 1>a group of Dutch researchers conducted a study and they

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<v Speaker 1>wanted to see whether feeding or calorie restriction has any

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<v Speaker 1>effect on whether you have a cold or fever or

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<v Speaker 1>anything like that. And what's astounding is that they found

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<v Speaker 1>that it actually does have an effect like your on

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<v Speaker 1>the level of your immune system with the types of

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<v Speaker 1>cells that are produced.

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<v Speaker 2>That's right, they starved well, I guess fasted same thing

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<v Speaker 2>sure for both groups for twenty four hours. And then

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<v Speaker 2>the cold feeders they gave a meal replacement drink, so

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<v Speaker 2>not hot food in this case. And so after they

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<v Speaker 2>had this you know, sustenance, I guess, their blood levels

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<v Speaker 2>of an immune protein called interferin gamma went really really

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<v Speaker 2>sky high average increase of four hundred and fifty percent.

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<v Speaker 2>And interferon plays a role in regulating our response to

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<v Speaker 2>infections in our immune system, so you would think like, hey,

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<v Speaker 2>eating is like exactly what you want to do.

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<v Speaker 1>Right, And then kind of as expected the other group,

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<v Speaker 1>the group that had to fast, their interfere on gamma

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<v Speaker 1>levels actually went down by about eighty three percent, so

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<v Speaker 1>they lost some robustness to their immune response because they

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<v Speaker 1>weren't eating. So so far you're kind of like, all right,

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<v Speaker 1>this makes sense for sure. The surprise came with a

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<v Speaker 1>different kind of immune cell called inter luken four, which

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<v Speaker 1>they found actually rows in the group that was fasting.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, by an average of almost four hundred percent compared

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<v Speaker 2>the four fifty for the other and I think there

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<v Speaker 2>was one patient who's fasting levels rose more than eleven

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<v Speaker 2>hundred percent.

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<v Speaker 1>Wow.

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<v Speaker 2>And this is also an important part of our immune response,

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<v Speaker 2>but it's different kinds of immune responses. So if you're

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<v Speaker 2>thinking like, well, hey, if I starve myself, then this

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<v Speaker 2>one's going to go up, Like you don't know which

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<v Speaker 2>cells you need, So it's not sort of a a

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<v Speaker 2>roulette game you should try and play by starving yourself.

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<v Speaker 1>No, for sure, that interfere on that helps produce antibodies

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<v Speaker 1>like for specifically targeted to an infection, and the inter

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<v Speaker 1>luken uses our bodies like innate response like sicking cytokines

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<v Speaker 1>that you normally have laying around in your body on it.

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<v Speaker 1>So yeah, you can't game the whole thing. So that's

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<v Speaker 1>why doctors across pretty much the board say, if you're

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<v Speaker 1>sick and you feel like you can eat, like you're hungry,

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<v Speaker 1>eat something for sure.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, because what you want is a little bit of

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<v Speaker 2>both and ideally more of both, but not a whole

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<v Speaker 2>lot of one and a lot less of the other.

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<v Speaker 1>Well put, especially when people rewind and listen to a

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<v Speaker 1>couple of foods I hope so well, Chuck, said you

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<v Speaker 1>hope so, which means everybody short stuff is out.

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