Overcoming sinus infections
Every time I go to my doctor with a sinus infection, he always tells me the same thing: eat large quantities and varieties of fresh fruits and vegetables, and in three days I'll be better, even without antibiotics.
As much as I am interested in healthy eating, it's can be a surprising amount of work (shopping, meal prep) to eat a diet of fruit and vegetables. (Not to mention giving up sugar and chocolate, my twin Achilles’ heels.) Since sinus infection were a pretty rare occurence for me, I didn't feel too bad about the occasional use of antibiotics to help fight the infection, even though I try to avoid antibiotics in general.
But in the last year I had one sinus infection after another, even though I was taking natural supplements to help my immune system (echinecea, goldenseal, etc.) And when I got to what would have been my third course of antibiotics in a year, I decided it was time to try something new: what my doctor had been recommending all along. (It helped that my partner was sick too, and she was motivated to do a lot of the cooking.)
We bought a wide variety of fruits and vegetables - practically everything in the store it seemed like. I paid particular attention to buying different colors fruits and vegetables, after reading one of Andrew Weil's books, and learning about the connection between food color and antioxidents. (Basically, different colors correlate to different antioxidents with different health benefits, so the best option is to get a variety of different colors.)
By the end of the second day of our primarily fruit and vegetable diet, I felt much better. By the end of the third day, I felt completely better. It was amazing how just getting the right foods made a tremedous difference to my beleagered immune system. About six months later, I got another sinus infection, and again used the fruit and vegetable regime with great success - getting over my infection in about three days.
I think there are five key parts:
- eat primarily fruits and vegetables
- avoid refined foods like sugar or white flour
- make sure the fruits and vegetables are fresh
- choose a good variety in many different colors
- don't overcook them: eat them raw (when appropriate) or lightly cooked
Of course, I am not a doctor, and this is not medical advice. This is just my own personal experience with what my doctor recommended to me. (Required) Disclaimer: You should always check with your own doctor for medical advice before trying anything.