The cold season has begun.
But there’s something worse out there: the plethora of esoteric remedies to allegedly prevent and cure the common cold, like…
- Rubbing Vicks on your feet
- Sticking your face above a bowl of hot, scented water
- A swig of gin and/or cayenne and/or oregano oil
- Sweating out the virus
- The mustard plaster
- Flu busters
- Putting something in your bum (like suppositories)
- Chicken noodle soup
- Cough syrups
- Antibiotics
Being a pharmacist, I get asked about those all the time. And really, I don’t care if people wanna use medication, natural health products or home remedies… as long as what they do is safe, effective, evidence-based and science-based.
Would you like to know what works and what doesn’t? Here are the TOP 10 useless remedies for the common cold. Please laugh at each of them. They deserve it.
Translated by Valentin Nguyen; edits and proofreading by Robyn Penney.
Posted in Comics
Tagged 200, acidic, airways, allergic reactions, ancestors, anti-inflammatory, antibiotics, antifungal, antimicrobial, antiseptic, antiviral, apple cider vinegar, ass, bacteria, bad, balm, Benadryl, body, boost, bowl, breathe, bronchitis, broth, bullshitometer, bum, burns, buster, camphor, carrot, cataplasm, cayenne, celery, cells, chicken noodle soup, children, cinnamon, clear, clinical trials, clinically tested, codeine, cold, common cold, contraindicated, cooked, cough, cough reflex, cough syrup, coughing, counterirritation, danger, dead, detoxifying, dextromethorphane, diphenhydramine, disgusting, DM, doctor, dressing, drinking, drops, drugstores, ear infection, echinacea, effect, effective, elderberry, electrolytes, eliminating, esoteric, essential oils, eucalyptus, evidence-based, exaggerated, external, eye drops, feet, first sign, flu, foot, garlic clove, ginger, ginseng, grandmothers, gross, Gwyneth Paltrow, hallucinogenic, hazelwood necklace, head, healing, high dosage, high dose, home remedies, homeopathic, honey, hot liquid, hot water, hot yoga, humidity, hydrated, immune system, in vitro, infection, influenza, ingredients, inhaled, inhalers, inside, internal, intervention, intestines, irrigate, juniper, kids, lab, leeks, liquids, loosen, lozenges, lungs, marketing, masks, medication, menthol, misinterpreted, money, mouth-burning, mucus, mustard, natural health products, nausea, Neti pot, neurological, nose, ointments, opposite, orally, oregano oil, otitis, pain, penetrate, pepper, pharmacies, pharmacist, physician, pills, plaster, plausible, potato, poultice, preference, prolonging, properties, pure, real life, recipe, recovery, rectum, remedies, resistance, resistant, respiratory, rub, rubbing, run, safe, saline, salt, sauna, scented, science-based, scientific, secretions, seizures, selling, sick, sinus, sinuses, skin, smell, socks, soles, soothing, soup, stinging, strains, strengthens, strong, studies, substances, sucked, suffocation, superbacteria, suppository, swallow, swallowed, sweat, sweating, swelling, swig of gin, syrups, tablets, taste, teaspoon, tested, throat, throw up, towel, toxic, tract, turmeric, value, vapor, vegetable, Vicks, virus, vitamin C, vitamin E deficiency, vocabulary, warm, wet feet, wool, wrong, zinc
After toxins, vaccines, and milk, I’m ready to face another worthy opponent: Gluten.
Or rather the absence of gluten, as many people seem to believe that it’s a good idea to remove it from their diet. Truth be told, for some people, avoiding gluten is a necessity, especially for those who suffer from celiac disease.
Because celiac disease is strongly under-diagnosed, it would be cool to hear more about it… but nowadays, we constantly hear stuff like:
- Gluten is a useless toxin
- Eating gluten-free is healthier
- Eating gluten-free makes you lose weight
- Gluten causes digestive disorders in all people
- Gluten-free food is more organic
- Wheat was genetically modified, resulting in more gluten
- Eating gluten-free is easy
Yet all of these statements are pretty much FALSE.
Do you want to hear more about the topic? You’re in luck: I made a comic that contradicts each of the aforementioned statements! What a coincidence.
To make this project possible, I have had the privilege of collaborating with dietitian Sarah Le, a nutrition scientist specializing in weight management and sports nutrition. She also taught me tons of new words, like “sorghum” and “manioc”!
This comic strip is not intended for two types of people:
- People suffering from celiac disease, as diagnosed by a physician. Gluten is toxic for you, so removing it completely is your only option.
- People who have stopped eating gluten for any reason and deem their health is much better since. I don’t intend to change your mind; after all, you know your body better than anyone else.
This comic is rather intended for the vast majority of people who ask themselves:
‘‘Why is everyone tripping about gluten?!’’
Translation by Hadrien Laforest, proofreading by Lauren Knight.
Posted in Comics
Tagged 150 years, 9000 years, abdominal, additives, allergic, alter, amaranth, arrowroot, Australian, barley, beer, bloatedness, bread, buckwheat, calcium, calories, celiac, celiac disease, cereals, cheat, chromosomes, cold cuts, corn, cramps, crust, culprit, dessert, diagnosed, diarrhea, diet, digestive disorders, disaccharides, dough, dressings, eat, eating, elastic, evolution, expert, fast food, fat, feces, fermentable, fiber, FODMAPs, food, food industry, food items, gas, genetically modified, genetics, glue, gluten, gluten intolerance, gluten-free, glyphosate, GMO, health, healthier, healthy, herbicides, ice cream, intestines, intolerance, iron, irritable bowel syndrome, ketchup, legumes, link, manioc, marketing, meat substitute, medical supervision, millet, mock duck, moderation, monosaccharides, monotone, Monsanto, mushy, nature, nutrition, nutritional value, nutritious, oligosaccharides, organic, permeability, pesticides, physician, pollock, polyols, portions, processed, prohibited, proteins, quinoa, removal, resistant, restaurant, restrictive, rice, rich, Roundup, rye, salt, sauces, seitan, snacks, soft, sorghum, soy, study, sugar, sweet potato, teff, total, toxin, tripled, useless, vitamin B complex, waste, weight loss, wheat, whole-grain
