Recently I just contracted the flu and it's really impacting because I just hit a thousand kanji last night. I was hoping to do at least 25 or 50 new kanji today but it seems like I won't have much energy to plow through them.

I want to at least keep up with my outstanding reviews, though - can anyone recommend anything I can do to bring up my energy levels a bit (sans soft drinks since I don't drink pop) without making myself feel worse or sicker? Some people recommend chicken noodle soup to do that (or so goes the old wives' tale) but that doesn't work all that well for me.

Any suggestions?

I had to stop my reviews when I was sick last week. Its just too hard to concentrate!

The Japanese old wives' tale says Miso soup and a lot of blankets. And no reviews.

masaman Wrote:The Japanese old wives' tale says Miso soup and a lot of blankets. And no reviews.

I remember my previous Japanese teacher telling me about some sort of "rice porridge" that was good for colds (the Japanese equivalent of chicken noodle soup). I looked it up, apparently it's call お粥 (おかゆ).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rice_congee#Japan
http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%B2%A5

avparker Wrote:

masaman Wrote:The Japanese old wives' tale says Miso soup and a lot of blankets. And no reviews.

I remember my previous Japanese teacher telling me about some sort of "rice porridge" that was good for colds (the Japanese equivalent of chicken noodle soup). I looked it up, apparently it's call お粥 (おかゆ).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rice_congee#Japan
http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%B2%A5

Oh yea, I forgot about that. Of course, おかゆ all the way for colds. A more unique tale tells you to put a leek up in your ***

http://oshiete1.goo.ne.jp/qa1142353.html

Believe it or not, they say it's clinically proven...

You could always try some Cold-fX. I really have a lot of skepticism for how effective the product truly is, but I'm pretty sure it has at least some effect, if not more for some strains than others.

Besides that, cold or flu, It's best to just go batshit crazy and eat everything which could feasibly(though not really proven) aid you to get over it faster and/or relieve some of your symptoms. It's also very important to keep your blood sugar level stable- and optionally, gluten levels low(not a huge deal and too bothersome for most people)- or you may end up feeling much shittier. At least until your ailment ends, I suggest packing down nutrient rich foods such as vegetables, berries, nuts, and neglecting floury and foods deficient in nutrients. My basis for this? I don't have any, It's just that the pattern I've seen is that people who eat a diet very rich in nutrients tend to very rarely come down with flu- and also because I've noticed that on fishing trips, it's almost always the people eating high-calorie, slow digesting food on the boat who get seasickness. You want to keep your energy levels high, which at least while sick, should be done through low-calorie, nutrient dense, fast digesting foods which won't end in you vomiting.

But yeah, anyway, I don't feel like typing anymore, so two more things you could try is cocoa(baking cocoa, not drinking, and preferably minimally processed) for its theobromine content, and drink plenty of fluids.

Uhm, I heard that ginger ale is supposed to make you feel better, so perhaps it's the ginger which relieves symptoms?

Shit. Okay, I'd better stop now before I think of more bizarre, borderline nonsensical recommendations to make me keep typing.

Jen_Ai_Chan Wrote:If your flu is of the upper respiratory illness variety, try ginger tea.
A strong version of this - boil several slices of ginger in a pot of water. Add brown sugar to taste. Slices of orange or lemon can also be added. This is *very* strong tasting, so if unused to ginger, this might not be easy to drink.

Another thing to try is pear juice.
Not sure why, but it works for me.

Get well soon.

Why not honey instead?

Jen_Ai_Chan Wrote:If your flu is of the upper respiratory illness variety, try ginger tea.
A strong version of this - boil several slices of ginger in a pot of water. Add brown sugar to taste. Slices of orange or lemon can also be added. This is *very* strong tasting, so if unused to ginger, this might not be easy to drink.

Oh, a friend of mine told me about that once, but neglected to tell me to add sugar. :O
I haven't been able to stomach the taste of ginger since!

I got sick once while doing RTK. I just made sure to review/add new cards at the peak of my caffeine intake. Example: Chug a sugar-free Red Bull and voila!

Drink lemon and honey drinks, the honey gives you and energy boost and helps your throat.

masaman Wrote:The Japanese old wives' tale says Miso soup and a lot of blankets. And no reviews.

I thought you were supposed to have 卵酒, or 生姜湯, or お粥, or ネコマンマ.

not plain old miso soup...

Well, I'm coming off the tail end of my flu already, but I'll try to remember some of the suggestions in this thread for when I get sick next time. Thanks, everyone.

KaitouJS Wrote:Well, I'm coming off the tail end of my flu already, but I'll try to remember some of the suggestions in this thread for when I get sick next time. Thanks, everyone.

Just for the record, I said 'red bull and voila', not 'red bull and vodka'.

nest0r Wrote:

KaitouJS Wrote:Well, I'm coming off the tail end of my flu already, but I'll try to remember some of the suggestions in this thread for when I get sick next time. Thanks, everyone.

Just for the record, I said 'red bull and voila', not 'red bull and vodka'.

Don't drunk, I'm not worry!

Though in all seriousness, I can't even imagine what the result of red bull and vodka would be. I don't even drink red bull or energy drinks to begin with.

ぞうすい　（雑炊） is really nice and good for you!

Jarvik7 Wrote:

masaman Wrote:The Japanese old wives' tale says Miso soup and a lot of blankets. And no reviews.

I thought you were supposed to have 卵酒, or 生姜湯, or お粥, or ネコマンマ.

not plain old miso soup...

Oh, snap! Yes, Miso soup is for hang over. 卵酒 sounds kind of gross though. I've never seem anyone actually drinking it.