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cold medicine or tough it out?


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Today is day 2 of my Whole30 and I have gotten the cold that my toddler had last week. Typically I take Aleve Sinus & Headache (naproxen sodium, pseudophedrine) and drink 2-3 Emergen-C packets throughout the day(which has fructose, cane sugar, tapioca maltodextrin, included in the ingredients along with all the vitamins and minerals.) I typically feel better pretty quick and can still keep up with my 21 month old. So, my question is...should I treat the cold and start my Whole30 over in a couple days or tough it out without meds?

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Treat the headache, with Aleve if you like, but skip the Emergen-C. You don't need it when you are eating a varied diet of real whole foods. Eat an orange if you want more vitamin C. In general, the Whole30 does not restrict taking any medications, but supplements are another story.

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As another thought, I've been reading a book about evolutionary medicine called, "Why We Get Sick." Its intro, among other things, points out that most of the symptoms we get when we're sick is our body trying to fight off that virus/infection/whatever. Taking meds to alleviate that stuff is actually stifling your body's ability to get better. Fever suppressing meds is one of the big ones, but most common cold symptoms fall under the same thing. The book even mentions that people that take meds for their standard colds on average actually stay sick longer than people taht didn't medicate.

I mean, sometimes it's a quality of life thing. i.e., you NEED to take the Dayquil to just get yourself up and into work, and you really would rather go to work and be 70% for a week, than be useless for 2-3 days....but that's a personal call. :)

Just something to think about!

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I totally agree with Renee Lee. I just had this same discussion with my husband because he thought I should take meds to make myself feel better and I didn't want to.

I picked up a cold on Monday afternoon. I survived the afternoon but seriously thought about taking something that night to help me sleep. I opted against it figuring that if my nose needed to run, there was a reason for it and I was better of just gently blowing it every now and again. This was a couple of days post-Whole30 but you know what? I took NOTHING and my body was able to kick this cold to the curb in less than two days. TWO DAYS! I missed part of one afternoon of work and that's it. Even then, I could have toughed it out but since I had a light day, I decided to go home. I still felt pretty awful Tuesday night but Wednesday morning I felt fine and today I am 100%.

Let whole foods heal you. Your body will have everything it needs to keep you healthy all by itself!

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