Does sugar make a cold worse?
Yes, he says, and in two ways. Sugar makes a cold easier to catch, and it makes it hang on longer.
He opened episode 1012 with a new study on colds, one he said confirms what he has long taught:
Dr. Martin, from The Doctor Is In, episode 1012When you consume sugar, white blood cells are put to sleep, which first of all makes you susceptible to getting a cold and secondly, it makes your cold last a lot longer.
White blood cells are your germ fighters. He calls the T-cells among them your navy seals.
He used to watch them at work under the microscope:
Dr. Martin, from The Doctor Is In, episode 1012I used to watch T-cells when I looked at blood and I would watch them literally chase a bacteria.
A sleeping cell cannot chase anything, and that is his case against sugar on a sick day.
Is it bad to have sugar when you're sick?
Even a little, in his view. He says it does not take much to slow your white blood cells down.
He would show patients their white blood cells moving under the microscope, then tell them:
Dr. Martin, from The Doctor Is In, episode 1255Here's some bad news. Take one teaspoon of sugar and you'll put those things to sleep.
Then there is soda. On an experiment he reported on his radio show years ago:
Dr. Martin, from The Doctor Is In, episode 1255Drink a can of soda and you put your white blood cells to sleep. They can't move for about five hours.
That is a long stretch without your germ fighters when you are trying to shake off a cold.
Does eating sugar while sick make it worse?
Yes. Sugar does more than let a cold in, he says. It keeps it around once you have one.
On a study about what to eat once a cold has started:
Dr. Martin, from The Doctor Is In, episode 1066I guess when you don't feel good, you're probably going to reach for some of those crappy carbohydrates. But this study is telling you don't do that. Don't do that, because it's just going to extend the duration of your cold.
Crackers, toast and sweet tea are the sick-day foods many of us grew up on. He would pass on all of them. If sweets call to you every day, not just on sick days, read what is behind sugar cravings after 60.
What counts as sugar when you're sick?
More than the sugar bowl. He counts bread, cereal and other starchy carbs, because he says most foods turn to sugar fast.
When people tell him, "Doc, I'm not eating sugar," he answers:
Dr. Martin, from The Doctor Is In, episode 1012Sure you are because they're added to everything.
His patients used to point out that their morning toast was whole wheat. His reply:
Dr. Martin, from The Doctor Is In, episode 1012Yeah, I know, but that's sugar, because what happens to whole wheat bread, you might as well have a Snickers bar.
Cereal gets the same verdict. There is no good one, he says, and that includes oatmeal. See where bread goes in your body after you eat it.
Is ginger ale or juice okay when you're sick?
Not to him. Ginger ale and orange juice are sick-day staples for many people, and he would leave both on the shelf.
He names ginger ale right alongside Coke and Pepsi. Of all of them, he says:
Dr. Martin, from The Doctor Is In, episode 1506The sugar in there will put your white blood cells to sleep.
Most doctors tell you to drink fluids when you have a cold. He is more specific:
Dr. Martin, from The Doctor Is In, episode 1097No, drink water and you can have your coffee too. Okay? Don't drink juice.
He means plain water, with a squeeze of lemon if you like. More on that in why your body won't always warn you about dehydration.
How does sugar hurt your immune system?
In more places than one. He teaches that your immune system has four parts:
- Your gut and its friendly bacteria.
- Your white blood cells, especially the T-cells.
- Your brain and its cleanup crew, the glial cells.
- Your liver and its Kupffer cells.
The biggest share is in your gut:
Dr. Martin, from The Doctor Is In, episode 101280% of your immune system is found in your gut. It's your microbiome, okay? It's that bacteria.
He says sugar feeds the bad yeast in your gut and throws off the balance there. More in where Dr. Martin starts with gut health.
And on the liver:
Dr. Martin, from The Doctor Is In, episode 1012We all know what sugar does to the liver. It packs the liver up with fat. It destroys part of your immune system in the liver, which is called your Kupffer cells.
More on that in how a month of sugar can give you fatty liver.
"Name me a part in your body and sugar will play havoc in that area."
Dr. Martin, from The Doctor Is In, episode 1012Should you avoid sugar when you're sick?
Yes, and when you are well too. Cut it out, he says, and your white blood cells can get back to work.
With flu season on the way, he said:
Dr. Martin, from The Doctor Is In, episode 1178When you cut out sugar, your white blood cells can do their job. Sugars, they take the life out of your immune system. It's as simple as that, and you never hear that.
In his view this is an everyday habit, not just a sick-day rule.
What should you do instead when you're sick?
Skip the sugar, drink your water, and rest. When you can eat, he leans on eggs, meat and cheese.
Sleep is one he has preached for years:
Dr. Martin, from The Doctor Is In, episode 1066If you don't get a good night's sleep, your immune system goes down.
He also says your brain's cleanup crew, the glial cells, only works while you sleep.
If you are very unwell, or not getting better, call your doctor.
Hear him explain the study on colds
In episode 1012 he walks through the cold study and the four parts of your immune system.
Common questions
Does sugar make sickness worse?
He thinks so, partly through inflammation. He says crappy carbs set off inflammation in the body, and inflammation can sidetrack your immune system from the virus or bacteria it should be dealing with. Episodes 1506 and 1178.
Is sugar bad for a cold?
Yes, in his view, and some sugar is worse than others. He calls high fructose corn syrup, the sweetener most sodas switched to around 1980, the worst of the sugars. Episodes 1012 and 1506.
Is it bad to eat sugar when sick?
Yes, and not only the sweet stuff. He says crappy carbohydrates turn to sugar rapidly and are usually made with seed oils, a double hit in his book. Episode 1066.
Read next: Do Seniors Actually Need A Probiotic? and Vitamin D For Women Over 60: How Much, And Is It Safe?
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