Short Stuff: Feed A Cold, Starve a Fever

You know that old adage that you should feed a cold but starve a fever? It’s an ancient idea and what’s surprising is that it’s kind of correct. See omnystudio.com/listener https://omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:00Speaker 00

  This is an iHeart Podcast. Guaranteed Human.

• 0:04Josh Clark?

  Buy smart, drive for less and trade for more. That's Toyota affordability and it starts with a great deal on an off-road ready Tacoma or half-ton Tundra, two of Toyota's longest lasting trucks, combining power for work, tech for adventures and style in between. And they're built on a reputation for quality and reliability, which is why Toyota trucks are known for holding their value, which could mean big savings when it's time for your next Toyota. So get a great deal today and a great value tomorrow. Shop toyota.com for more. Toyota, let's go places.

• 0:39Josh Clark?

  Hey, and welcome to the short stuff. There's Chuck and I'm Josh and Jerry's here too, sitting in for Dave. So this is short stuff.

• 0:46Speaker 02

  That's right. Call it old wives' tale edition, because this is about feeding a cold and starving a fever, which is the old wives' tale that when you have a cold, you should, and originally started out as stuff a cold, like eat as much as you can. And then if you have a fever, you should try and not eat very much at all.

• 1:08Josh Clark?

  Yeah, I think most people have heard that, right? It's a pretty, pretty widespread adage.

• 1:12Speaker 02

  Sure.

• 1:14Josh Clark?

  Our friends at the Cleveland Clinic, not normally known for their etymology resources, but they traced this back, at least half of it to 1574. There's a dictionary that was compiled by a guy named John Withel's. And Withel said that fasting is a great remedy of fever. So you've got the second part right there, starve a fever, right? And it's as far back as anyone's traced it, although if you kind of want to expand your definition of what's being discussed here, you can trace it all the way back to Hippocrates, right?

• 1:46Speaker 02

  Yeah, I'm not sure about this one. He said the most, a most exquisitely slender diet you should have when the disease is very sharp. So not quite sure what disease he's talking about there. So I'm not sure if that counts.

• 1:58Josh Clark?

  No, but I mean, just that phrase, most exquisitely slender diet, sounds awesome. So I thought it was worth putting in there.

• 2:05Speaker 02

  Yeah, for sure. If you look at the current use of the term, as we know and love it, it came about in the 18th century, pretty late in 18, oh, I guess kind of mid, in 1853, that's when they were talking about. Feed and starve as far as cold and fever go.

• 2:23Josh Clark?

  What's weird Chuck is I saw that it was this whole adage that we that is like basically encouragement is taken as an encouragement or advice today was originally taken as like a warning that if you feed a cold, that cold will turn into a fever and then you'll have to starve the fever. Like, and that the reason that it was ambiguous was because of that comma in the middle.

• 2:47Speaker 02

  Yeah, you know, that has proved to me that people back then were dumb.

• 2:52Josh Clark?

  A little bit.

• 2:54Speaker 02

  I don't get that one, but sure. Okay.

• 2:57Josh Clark?

  But well, what was the whole point? I mean, like if the, what was the idea that was based on, I guess, then?

• 3:03Speaker 02

  Yeah, I guess they were basing it on if you have a fever, then you don't want to eat hot food. I guess they didn't eat a lot of cold foods back then.

• 3:10Josh Clark?

  I guess not.

• 3:11Speaker 02

  And if you're cold, you want to warm yourself up because there was only hot food available?

• 3:16Josh Clark?

  Sure. That was, I think, what they think the whole thing was based on. And regardless of how you slice it, though, how you take it as a warning or anything like that, it's, it's pretty much generally viewed as not good advice by the medical community today. I say we take a break and come back and talk about how this is not really good advice. How about, how about that?

• 3:37Speaker 02

  All right, let's do it.

• 3:53Josh Clark?

  Buy smart, drive for less and trade for more. That's Toyota affordability. And it all starts with a great deal on a truck from your local Toyota dealer.

• 4:03Speaker 02

  That's right. Make a smart buy on the off-road ready Tacoma or half-ton Tundra, two of Toyota's most capable and longest-lasting trucks, built with the strength for the tough jobs, the tech to power your next big adventure, and the rugged style for everything in between.

• 4:15Josh Clark?

  Or discover Toyota's off-road lineup, including the iconic 4Runner and Land Cruiser, designed to go beyond the everyday. And with Toyota's proven reputation for quality and reliability, plus hybrid power on many models, you can get more. For every mile and drive for less along the way.

• 4:31Speaker 02

  That's right. And long after you leave the lot, your Toyota keeps delivering with great resale value. So you could trade in for more when you're ready for your next Toyota. From a great deal today to a great value tomorrow. A Toyota is right for you. Shop toyota.com for deals and details, or stop by your local Toyota dealer today. Toyota, let's go places.

• 4:56Josh Clark?

  Hey, everybody. The best pieces in your closet are the ones you can count on. Whether you're heading to work or going out or keeping things casual. And this time of year, Quince makes finding something great for everyone else just as easy. This holiday season, it's where you want to shop for yourself and everyone on your list.

• 5:14Speaker 02

  That's right. And you know what? Quince focuses on high-quality staples made with premium materials like 100% Mongolian cashmere, 14-karat gold, and Italian leather. All timeless, versatile pieces that feel special to unwrap and become everyday favorites long after the holidays.

• 5:29Josh Clark?

  Yeah, plus, everything at Quince is priced 50% to 80% less than similar brands. They work directly with ethical factories and cut out the middlemen so you can give luxury, quality pieces without the luxury price tag.

• 5:41Speaker 02

  So give the gift of quality this holiday season. Download the Quince app for app-exclusive offers or go to quince.com, where you can get free shipping on your order and 365-day returns. Now available in Canada and the UK as well. And when Quince asks you where you heard about them, let them know it was stuff you should know. It's the best way to support the show.

• 6:14Speaker 02

  Okay, so people have basically always said that this was a bad idea. There was a writer in Gentleman's Magazine in 1785 that said it was perhaps more destructive to mankind than the plague itself, this advice, which is definitely overstating things. But people these days say, no, that's not good advice. First of all, if you have a cold, you may not want to eat very much. You may not be very hungry. So like, for God's sake, don't just make someone stuff themselves full just because they're sick with a cold. It's not going to do anything for you.

• 6:51Josh Clark?

  Now, and that's bad enough, but the the actual harm is in the second part, starving a fever. Because pretty much everybody in the medical community agrees that if you feel hungry while you're sick, you should go ahead and eat because your appetite can come and go and it can be so thin, you want to take advantage of it when it does show up. And even more to the point, if you starve yourself on purpose while you have a fever, you're robbing yourself of some really much needed nutrients and calories that your body really needs specifically when you have a fever.

• 7:25Speaker 02

  Yeah, if your metabolism is kicking in in a substantial way, it's gonna, you know, if you're just laying around in bed, that'll make you eat up more of your calories and nutrients than you that you have in your body. So you're gonna want as much as you can. So if you're hungry, cold, fever, or whatever, by God, eat something or drink something. You definitely need to stay hydrated, even if you're not hungry. There are plenty of ways to get, you know, nutrients and liquid into you.

• 7:52Josh Clark?

  Right. And the reason that your metabolism would jack up when you have a fever is because your body's literally raising your core temperature to try to cook out the virus that's got you in its grips.

• 8:05Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 8:06Josh Clark?

  Pretty neat.

• 8:07Speaker 02

  Fevers are no fun, but I love when I, when I'm sick and I get a fever and the fever happens, I'm like, okay, like, this is my body doing its thing. So I feel good about it.

• 8:17Josh Clark?

  Yeah, yeah, it is kind of weird. It's like almost giving it like a grudging salute, like, way to go, body.

• 8:24Speaker 02

  Exactly. It didn't feel great, but oh, there's no better feeling than like breaking that fever, you know?

• 8:30Josh Clark?

  Oh, for sure. The worst is when the fever comes on in the morning and you've got fever all through the night. Fever.

• 8:36Speaker 02

  Is that, okay. Just wanted to make sure that wasn't an accident.

• 8:42Josh Clark?

  You said, can you imagine the coincidence? Like, what would the odds be of that?

• 8:46Speaker 02

  I don't know. It'd make you a natural songwriter, I guess.

• 8:49Josh Clark?

  So you said that you want to drink, especially if like you can't eat solid foods, at least try to drink things that have calories like a sports drink with electrolytes, like they had in Idiocracy.

• 9:03Josh Clark?

  And or like thin broths, like a chicken broth can have a bunch of calories in it. Even vegetable broths have some calories. If you want to get it wherever you can. The key here is this, even if you don't want to eat at all, that's okay. Like, most people, especially in the developed world, aren't on the edge of nutrition. We all have some reserves that can last us the few days we're not hungry while we're sick. What we don't have is a reserve enough of fluids to keep us going for very long. So you have to, it's not a choice. You have to stay hydrated, one way or another.

• 9:35Speaker 02

  Yeah, that same article from Gentleman's Magazine from way back when suggested some other things of the time. Barley water, which sounds not too bad. A small beer. One of those, you ever seen those little, little, little baby beers? They're like eight ounces or whatever.

• 9:52Josh Clark?

  Well, yeah, I looked that up. That was, so they call that for low alcohol beer. Like, I guess session beers basically would be a small beer, right?

• 10:01Speaker 02

  Well, I don't know, but that makes sense.

• 10:03Josh Clark?

  Small beer.

• 10:04Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 10:04Josh Clark?

  It's cute.

• 10:06Speaker 02

  We called, me and my friends Eddie and Allison called those tiny beers, queets. I don't know. I think Allison made up the word and it just kind of stuck. And the fun thing about drinking those is you look like Andre the Giant.

• 10:19Josh Clark?

  Yes, I know exactly what you mean. I love doing that, too.

• 10:22Speaker 02

  What else? Apple water, linseed tea, toast in water. That may be the toast in water, remember that?

• 10:29Josh Clark?

  I'm pretty sure that's what it is.

• 10:30Speaker 02

  I bet it is.

• 10:31Josh Clark?

  Water gruel, sweetened with honey. Yeah. So I looked all over to see if anybody had conducted a study on whether this was true or not. And thank God, our friends over in the Netherlands did in 2002.

• 10:47Josh Clark?

  A group of Dutch researchers conducted a study and they wanted to see whether feeding or calorie restriction has any effect on whether you have a cold or a fever or anything like that. And what's astounding is that they found that it actually does have an effect like on your, on the level of your immune system with the types of cells that are produced.

• 11:10Speaker 02

  That's right. They starved, well, I guess fasted, same thing.

• 11:16Josh Clark?

  Sure.

• 11:16Speaker 02

  For both groups for 24 hours and then the cold feeders, they gave a meal replacement drink, so not hot food in this case.

• 11:25Josh Clark?

  Yeah.

• 11:26Speaker 02

  And so after they had this, you know, sustenance, I guess, their blood levels of an immune protein called interferon gamma went really, really sky high, average increase of 450%. And interferon plays a role in regulating our response to infections in our immune system. So you would think like, hey, eating is like exactly what you want to do.

• 11:49Josh Clark?

  Right. And then kind of as expected, the other group, the group that had to fast, their interferon gamma levels actually went down by about 83%. So they lost some robustness to their immune response because they weren't eating. So so far you're kind of like, all right, this, this makes sense for sure. The surprise came with a different kind of immune cell called interleukin-4, which they found actually rose in the group that was fasting.

• 12:17Speaker 02

  Yeah, by an average of almost 400% compared to the 450 for the other. And I think there was one patient whose fasting levels rose more than 1100%.

• 12:27Josh Clark?

  Wow.

• 12:28Speaker 02

  And this is also an important part of your, our immune response, but it's different kinds of immune responses. So if you're thinking like, Well, hey, if I starve myself, then this one's gonna go up. Like, you don't know which cells you need.

• 12:43Josh Clark?

  Right.

• 12:44Speaker 02

  It's not a, it's not sort of a roulette game you should try and play by starving yourself.

• 12:50Josh Clark?

  No, for sure. That interferon that helps produce antibodies, like for specifically targeted to an infection, and the interleukin uses our body's innate response, like sicking cytokines that you normally have laying around in your body on it. So, yeah, you can't game the whole thing. So that's why doctors across pretty much the board say, if you're sick and you feel like you can eat, like you're hungry, eat something for sure.

• 13:16Speaker 02

  Yeah, because what you want is a little bit of both, and ideally more of both, but not a whole lot of one and a lot less of the other.

• 13:24Josh Clark?

  Well put, especially when people rewind and listen to a couple of these.

• 13:28Speaker 02

  I hope so.

• 13:30Josh Clark?

  Well, Chuck said he hopes so, which means everybody, short stuff is out.