Column Reprint: Cold Care

Somebody brought a cold germ to my birthday party, so I've been honking and snorking for a week. Seemed time to talk about cold care!

Summer’s gone, autumn’s here, the leaves are changing. You know what that means. Right,
the cold and flu season is upon us. Indeed, as I write this I have a scratchy throat, a snorky nose,
and a tight chest. Ugh.

So I thought it would be timely to fill you in on low carb cold care. Low carb cold care? Yep.
There actually are a few potential pitfalls, let me help you skirt them.

Please don’t decide, “I’’m sick. I deserve pampering. I may as well go off my diet.”
Nutritionists from Dr. Atkins to Ann Louise Gittleman, MS, CNS have long insisted that eating
sugar will weaken your immune system, and indeed a little research turned up a 1995 study
showing that the activity of immune system cells called leukocytes decreases significantly when
blood sugar levels rise. If there’s any chance that eating a lot of carbs will keep you sick longer,
you don’t want to do it!

Just as important, if you’ve been low carb for even a few weeks, you’’ve probably noticed a
dramatic increase in energy. Do you really want to give yourself one of those energy-sapping
blood sugar crashes that come after the blood sugar rush? Talk about feeling wretched.

Here are some ideas for low carb cold care:

* Juice is not your friend –– it’s a great way to take in tons of sugar, without any of the fiber that
would buffer its absorption if you were to eat the fruit.

* However, do drink lots of fluids. They'll help keep all that gunk in your nose and chest moving.

* You could always take vitamin C in pills, you know.

* Hot beverages are soothing to a scratchy throat, and loosen chest congestion. Tea is the
obvious choice (she said with a big pot of tea sitting close to hand.) If you’re used to honey in
your tea while sick, be aware that just one teaspoon has 5.7 grams of carbohydrate, all sugar.
There are a couple of brands of sugar free imitation honey on the market –– Steele’s and
HoneyTree. These are remarkably good, and available through online retailers.

* Beware of cold medicines! Cough syrups and liquids like NyQuil have a lot of sugar. Buy
NyQuil, DayQuil, and the like in soft gels, instead. Pharmacies carry sugar free cough syrups,
often labeled “diabetic formula.”

* You can find sugar free cough drops, too –– including the sort with menthol and eucalyptus
that help open up a stuffy nose. Again, your best bet for these is a pharmacy, not the grocery
store or a discount store.

* Chicken soup is standard for colds, but most packaged chicken soups have noodles or rice in
them. If nothing else will do, it’s good to know that Campbell’’s Chicken Noodle has 8 grams
of carb per serving –– not great, but not terrible. Chicken Rice has 7 grams of carb.

* If there’s a local Chinese restaurant that delivers, consider sending out for egg drop or hot-and-
sour soup. Though recipes vary, both tend to be lower carb and higher protein than canned
chicken noodle. Hot-and-sour soup –– my cold-care favorite –– has the added advantage of hot
peppers to help clear out your nose.

Can’t get delivery? With boxed or canned broth in the pantry, this egg drop soup is quick and
easy enough to make in your weakened condition.

Eggdrop Soup

1 quart chicken broth
1/4 teaspoon guar or xanthan (optional)
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1/2 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
1 scallion, sliced
2 eggs, beaten

If you’’re using the guar or xanthan, first put a cup or so of the broth in your blender, turn it on
low, and add the guar. Let it blend for a second, then put it in a large saucepan with the rest of
the broth. Add the soy sauce, rice vinegar, ginger, and scallions. Heat over medium high burner,
and let it simmer for five minutes or so, to let the flavors blend. Have your eggs beaten in a glass
measuring cup or small pitcher –– something with a pouring lip. Take a fork, and start stirring
the surface of the soup in a slow circle. Pour in about a quarter of the eggs, and stir as they cook
and turn into shreds, which will happen almost instantaneously. Repeat three more times, using
up all the egg, then serve. 3 biggish servings, or 4-5 small ones; easy to double! Assuming 4
servings, each will have 2 grams of carbohydrate, a trace of fiber, and 8 grams of protein.