December 16, 2004
They are out to get me
My allergies used to be the stuff of legend. Sneezing fits like the tarantella, my head changing shape, the works. But I would take this nifty prescription drug named Seldane, wash it down with some grapefruit juice, and be able to participate in NYC's smoky nightlife on a semi-regular basis.
Turns out Seldane can do bad things to one's heart, and so the US's Food and Drug Administration decided to pull it (but not until there was a substitute on the market). I don't take antihistamines any more, and oddly enough, my allergies are much better.
More recently, I developed a minor but rather painful achy-breaky thing, for which the cute doctor prescribed happy little pills of Vioxx. Hurrah!
Turns out Vioxx can do bad things to one's heart, and so the US's Food and Drug Administration decided to pull it (and there was already a substitute on the market). Flush! down went the Vioxx, to join the Seldane in providing the organisms of NYC's sewer system with interesting metabolites.
So I am currently fighting off a cold, which from long experience feels like it will turn into a painful sinus infection. You know, the kind that seem like a ninja is gently pushing his thumbs into your eyes all day, where your body only seems capable of producing pints of festive orange micrococcal mucus.
Since I have no intention of staying in bed this week, wondering what hospital technology will be like when I die, I decided to make some decongestant herbal tea.
Guess what?
You got it. Turns out that innocent herbal tea contained ephedra, which can do bad things to one's heart et cetera.
Sigh. So I made this instead.
Take an onion, chop it fine, and heat it in some oil. Add a bunch of chopped scallions, and a few stalks of chopped celery. Cook until the onions get clearish.
Add the mixture to a pot of canned chicken broth. Squeeze in the juice of a lemon. Let it simmer. (Here, I also added some 'pumpkin spice' mixture that an exgf left me. It's ground cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and allspice.) Serve in a sipping bowl, soup mug, or (ahem) coffee cup.
There's also a winter cordial that is good in these situations. You take equal amounts of frozen raspberries, white sugar, and gin, mash them together, and let it sit in your freezer for a few weeks. Then you strain out the liqueur.
Not wanting to wait a few weeks, I listened to Snoop Dogg and mixed some gin and raspberry juice instead. I don't know whether this is helping my cold or doing bad things to my heart, but you know what? I don't care.
Posted by coyu at December 16, 2004 11:13 PMThat chicken broth cordial sounds good, but you're missing the most important ingredient: garlic, and lots of it. Take it from me, it's the best natural cold-fighter out there. Make a ton of pasta fairly drenched in olive oil (cold-press EVOO, if possible) and as many cloves of the stuff as you can chop up, and eat until you are ready to burst and/or go into a coma. When you wake up, the garlic goodness will have permeated every corner and pore of your body and you will feel much better. As to the objection about smell, keep in mind a) you will pretty much be housebound anyway, and b) if your friends object to the smell of garlic, you should reconsider whether they should in fact be your friends.
Posted by: Colin at December 17, 2004 04:18 PMColin, garlic is phase two.
Posted by: Carlos at December 18, 2004 03:01 AMGarlic -- and chocolate. I recommend at least 70% cocoa solids; if you were in the UK I'd suggest Green & Black's. Whichever, you should consume at least half a pound of cocoa mass per day while you remain ill. Even if it doesn't make you better you'll feel happier for it :)
Posted by: Charlie Stross at December 18, 2004 11:49 PM