Now that the temperature has finally dropped, we hurry from our homes to our cars to our homes, and we have enough hot cocoa powder to satisfy everyone’s early morning needs. During these winter months, mothers everywhere shudder at the sight of children playing outside on chilly afternoons without their jackets. The sound of laughter and the crunching of dry leaves are knit together with the distinct call, “Go put on a jacket! I’m cold just looking at you!”
For thousands of
years, people have erroneously thought that being cold caused one to catch a
cold. The true culprit, however, was finally apprehended in the late 1700s by
Benjamin Franklin, who, in addition to being a Founding Father, diplomat, and
inventor, was a member of the Royal Medical Society of Paris and a few U.S.
medical societies. Through his own observation and analysis, he understood that
respiratory diseases came from other people and not from spending time in the
crisp air without a coat. Franklin recommended that everyone breathe some fresh
air each day, and he personally lived a long, fulfilling life taking his own “medicine.”
In fact, most
people get sick in the winter from being inside,
where they are likely to breathe the air of sick people (who should have stayed
home). It’s important to note that getting your jacket when your parents tell
you to is an opportunity to do the mitzvah of kivud av v’em, which you don’t want to pass up (though not rolling
your eyes while you zip up might be too much to ask).
Feed a
Cold, Starve a Fever
Once you have
inhaled contaminated air, the onset of cold symptoms such as a sore throat,
congestion, and sneezing is usually gradual. The flu, on the other hand, hits
you abruptly and brings with it a fever, fatigue, headache, chills, and a
cough. Antibiotics cannot help you in either case because they only work on
bacteria, and both the cold and the flu are caused by viruses. Since there is
no cure for viral illnesses, you just have to let it run its course and treat
the symptoms so you’re more comfortable. You should also prevent other people
from getting sick. Remember, you are responsible for protecting others by
staying home until you are fever free for 24 hours without the use of
fever-reducing medications.
Regardless of why
you are sick, your body still needs to eat and stay hydrated. The idea of “starving
a fever” is a myth, which originated when they thought that digestion released
heat and would therefore further harm the body. The truth is that the rise in
body temperature is one of the immune system’s tactics to stop viruses, which
can only live within a small range of temperatures. A fever is part of the
prescription, effectively flushing out whatever is causing you to be sick in
the first place. But each additional internal degree needs calories to burn as
fuel, so not eating makes it harder for your body to do its job. Of course, it’s
difficult if you don’t have an appetite or are feeling nauseous, but it’s
important to try to eat small quantities of bland foods when possible.
Dehydration is the
more pressing concern. Fevers dry out your nose and throat, irritating them and
making it harder to remove germs through blowing your nose and coughing
effectively. It is critical to take small sips of water throughout the day to
power the mechanics of your immune system. Chicken soup is really the perfect
comfort food as it is a warm liquid with small pieces of carrots and chicken
that can be slowly sipped with a sigh of contentment.
Chicken
Soup for the Body
In addition to
being a Torah luminary and commentator, the Rambam was an experienced doctor.
He wrote many medical books and served as the royal physician to Saladin during
the 12th century. He prescribed chicken soup to his patients as “an
excellent food as well as medication.” Modern studies have demonstrated that
chicken contains the amino acid cysteine, which does have mild decongestant
properties. So it turns out that your grandmother was right, and chicken soup
is really good for you after all. (I don’t know if there is any medicinal value
in matzah balls, but I’ll keep you posted.)
Sick and
Tired
Although it may
sound contradictory, sleep is an active process. When your conscious mind is
turned off, your internal defense system is hard at work, identifying menacing
microbes, destroying dangerous pathogens, and repairing damage that was done
during the day. Once you close your eyes, your body’s night shift is outfitted
in full battle gear and shortening the hours of “shut-eye” simply doesn’t give
the home guard enough time to get its job done. This leaves you more
susceptible to infection and inflammation.
According to the
National Institute of Health, protecting your hours of solid, restful sleep is
essential for maintaining a strong immune system. It is not a surprise to hear
that Americans today suffer from chronic sleep deprivation as they struggle to meet
the demands of work and social pressures. Setting aside enough time for quality
sleep could be the best thing you can do to safeguard your overall health.
(Note to readers: after writing this paragraph, I did go to bed.)
During the day,
movement is extremely important to prevent you from getting sick. According to
the National Library of Medicine, exercise decreases your chances of developing
heart disease, and it also has a positive impact on your overall well-being. Though
it has not been conclusively proven, science suggests that while engaged in
moderate physical activity like a 20-minute walk each day, your blood
circulation speeds up, which allows white blood cells to detect harmful
pathogens more quickly. This also reduces the presence of stress hormones in
the blood. So, choosing to stay even slightly active will keep you from feeling
run down.
An Apple a
Day
First appearing in
1866 in a slightly different format, the expression “An apple a day keeps the
doctor away” has been retold for almost 200 years. But is there any truth to
that claim? Studies show that there is actually little direct correlation
between eating an apple and avoiding a trip to the pharmacy. People who eat
fruits daily, however, do tend to have more healthy lifestyles overall. Being
conscious of your food choices and feeling good about them gives you a positive
energy that may do more to prevent the need for a doctor’s visit than the
individual apple itself.
This is not to
underestimate the power of apples. Fruits are filled with vitamins, minerals,
and antioxidants that boost your immune system and reinforce your body’s
microscopic sentinels. Although Vitamin C doesn’t necessarily prevent you from
getting sick, it can reduce the number of days that you feel sick.
Under the Weather
You might feel
lousy because of a contagious “bug” that’s going around. Alternatively, your
illness could be circumstantial, like seasickness. Winds buffeting a ship at
sea would send it rocking violently upon the stormy waves. Scrambling to secure
the sails, seamen felt the full force of the wind striking their suddenly
vulnerable vessel. Anyone who felt sick from the intense movements of the deck
were sent below the “weather rail” where they would wait out the storm in
varying states of misery. The phrase “under the weather rail” was eventually
shortened to just “under the weather,” which did not refer to the atmospheric
conditions, but to the part of the ship where sick people gathered.
The Staff
of Life
While in the midbar, Klal Yisroel enjoyed the miracle of manna for their sustenance. Hashem provided for them, and they came to
trust in Hashem’s kindness and care. Sadly, they became dissatisfied with the
gift and complained about it. As a result of speaking against the man, Hashem sent venomous snakes to bite
the people, causing widespread illness and death. Understanding that the poison
was a result of their actions, they begged Moshe to daven for them to be healed.
As a result, Hashem instructed Moshe to make a brass serpent set upon a pole.
Whoever looked up at the figure on the staff would make a full recovery.
Rashi points out
in Gemara Rosh Hashana 29a that it wasn’t the snake itself that caused the
cure, but the fact that when Klal Yisroel
looked up toward the top of the pole, their eyes continued heavenward, and they
reminded themselves that only Hashem can truly take care of them.
Reestablishing their close connection with Hashem made them worthy of another
chance. (The snake was reminiscent of the original nachash to remind them of the error of walking down the path of lashon hara.)
Visiting
the Sick
It is well-known
that visiting the sick is a very important mitzvah. Hashem personally visited
Avraham when he was recuperating from his bris
milah. While this is an opportunity to show someone else that we care about
them, it also brings us face to face with how fragile we are. We can each think
back to a time when we were sick. Our head was pounding, we had a sore throat,
congestion, chills, trouble sleeping, and we had already used up all the
tissues in the house.
Reaching out to
someone who is not feeling well also powerfully reminds us that Hashem loves us
and takes care of us. Instead of questioning why we get sick, we should
actually ask ourselves why we are not sick more often. There are millions of
potential pathogens attacking the human body every day, and it is a nes that we are healthy at any given
moment. (If you are currently sick, try to think about how you feel now, so you
understand how meaningful it is to show your full empathy when you hear of
someone else who is not feeling so great.) Since we are often not conscious of
the care we receive, we tend to take it for granted – until our own precarious
physical condition is highlighted. Hashem gave us an immune system that is on
guard against invasion 24/7 and is constantly detecting and eliminating
threats. In the time it took you to read this article, your immune system has
effectively destroyed tens of thousands of harmful hazards. We should be deeply
grateful for the state of our own health and being under the care of our own
personal Physician.
Debbie
Glazer lives in Pikesville with her husband and seven children and teaches
Language Arts in Bnos Yisroel High School. She can often be found either
writing or reading and loves to share her passion for the written word with
others.
