In the Northern Hemisphere, October is usually the beginning of the flu season. Influenza, which is also known as the flu, is caused by a virus which affects the respiratory tract. So when you have influenza, or you get influenza, and you have Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes, here are three things you need to know to help you beat “the flu”.
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Here they are:
1. Feed your flu, but make sure you are eating protein.
There’s an old adage about feeding a cold and starving a fever. There’s some physiological sense to the saying.
If you have a cold… or the flu… you have clogged breathing passages filled with phlegm. If you eat more food, your body burns it. When your body metabolizes food, your lungs have to get rid of the carbon dioxide, so you breathe more deeply. When you breathe more deeply, you are more likely to cough or sneeze and get your airways clear.
There’s just one caveat to this old advice for diabetics. If you have Type 2, your body doesn’t do a great job of actually burning carbohydrates. On the other hand, your body probably does just fine with protein, which it slowly turns into the amino acids it needs, converting the rest into glucose.
Type 2 diabetics don’t get a fast response to a hearty protein meal when they are in the bed with the flu, but they do get a response. Just be sure to avoid:
- canned fruit juices
- soft drinks
- sugar-sweetened teas, and
- sweets
You might even try chicken or chicken-free soup.
2. Chicken soup really is good for colds and flu:
Scientists at the University of Nebraska, in the USA, tested chicken soup as an immune stimulant. They found that tiny particles of herbs and vegetables that “melted” into chicken proteins during a long simmering process actually stimulate the white blood cells known as neutrophils, to fight bacteria. The secret to a healing soup was simmering the broth with the chicken and the vegetables for at least four hours. Then you could actually throw away the chicken and your body gets the same immune stimulation.
Not everybody eats meat, of course.
Fortunately, there is also an easy chicken-less chicken soup that is also good for colds and flu. Just stir up some miso soup (even instant will work), and add a few scallions. The combination stimulates tears and runny nose, which carry off infection and phlegm. It’s high in salt, so no more than one or two bowls a day.
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3. When your temperature goes up, your sugars usually go up, too:
Infection is a stressor, and stresses raise blood sugar levels. Don’t forget to take your blood sugar levels even when you have the flu, and call the doctor if they run unusually high. Make sure the doctor who is treating you for influenza knows you have Type 2 diabetes.
