The FastDay Forum

Thanks Phoenix. I nicked it from a BBC Radio 4 play but it sounds like a relative of Howland Reed, so it works in all sorts of ways

I've had a more hostile response to something else I'm doing for my health: switching to a standing desk. Similar to IF, the evidence that it will work for humans in the real world is a bit thin, but it seems like it can't hurt and very likely will be a good thing based on the strong evidence that a sedentary life is bad for our health.

Having said that, I'm really hostile to anything that sounds like new age mumbo jumbo. A friend was going on about essential oils curing a cold the other day, and it was all I could do to stop myself from saying that seemed incredibly unlikely to me. Show me a good placebo-controlled study, and I'll believe you but otherwise... Anyway, I was only hostile in my head. I try not to be rude in these situations. I doubt I'll change anyone's mind and I don't want to lose friends.

Hi to all the Aussies on this thread. I have been doing this since late January and have lost about 6kg so far. I had two weeks holiday over Easter and didn't fast and did not put any weight on either. I am back into it now. I have told lots of people about it and some have started doing it themselves. Others seem to think its all too hard and they overthink it, so never get started. A few people have been negative and I just say check out the documentary online or read the book. The Horizon program will be aired on SBS here next Monday night the 22nd April and I think more people will get into it after that. This is the best thing I have ever done to lose weight. I feel great, I love fitting into smaller clothes and can't wait to lose the other 9kg I have been carrying around for too long! We can only be responsible for our own weight loss and the best thing we can do to show the doubters is to get slim and look fabulous! Yes Rosemary Stanton is paid by organisations like the Meat and Livestock industry, so as a vegan i abhor all of her so called nutritional 'advice' ...Good luck to all of us!

People who are allergic to medication, cure colds by boiling eucalyptus leaves. If you don't have a tree in your back yard, you can use essential oils and, yes, you can cure a cold.
I don't know if there is evidence for that but it is known to us from the ancient Greeks and I'm guessing that something that goes on and on for so long it can't be new age mumbo jumbo.
I think that we should all open our eyes and to the things that are NEW to US and not the world. Listen, think and then dismiss...

I am fairly certain there is no CURE for a cold. There are things that treat the symptoms, medical and natural, but that is not a CURE. I chose not to believe in anything unproven. You can do whatever you want.

Eucalyptus leaves? In Ancient Greece?

Not in Ancient Greece but in the very old days. It's been in ancient (as in very old) books with remedies. I don't use them because I hate the smell but my mum always cures her colds that way. No pills no nothing. Eucalyptus and menthol is all she needs.

Edit to add, sometimes I think in Greek and write in English, we tend to use the term Ancient to describe something very old, sorry if it was totally misleading. Eucalyptus is been used for the past 150 years for colds (according to my remedy book).

I give up.

In any case, I apologize for getting the thread off track. I guess in a too round about kind of way, I was trying to make the point that some healthy skepticism about this diet is fair, given that alot more studies need to be done to prove its efficacy and long term safety in humans. This is different from hostility, though, and it is sad when your friends aren't supportive of your efforts to improve your health.

MarryAnn, you don't have to give up, I wasn't trying to convince you. I was replying to Sally.

I am fairly certain there is no CURE for a cold. There are things that treat the symptoms, medical and natural, but that is not a CURE. I chose not to believe in anything unproven. You can do whatever you want.

I'm with you, the cure for the common cold remains elusive. Not sure anyone's looking either.

OK, perhaps I'm lost in translation but when I have a cold (runny/blocked nose, sore throat) I take Comtrex Cold (pills) and Otrivin (Spray) and I am well in two days.
What is this? Not a cold or not a cure for cold? I'm confused...

I'm sure things you take help to ease symptoms but, even if you take nothing, a cold will go in one or two days, i think. As far as i'm aware there is no cure for the common cold...

Dunno. But if I don't take anything it will take a week to go away... (yeah, I know, stupid of me but I tried it)

[carorees]

The power of placebo must not be underestimated!

The things that kill viruses are the elements of the immune system including toll-like receptors, interferon, the complement cascade, natural killer cells, and perhaps antibodies. Some viruses the body gets on top of much more quickly than others, it depends whether the virus triggers the toll-like receptors that look out for pathogen signatures on the cell surface, whether the body has seen the virus or a similar one before, whether your immune system is in good shape and just the general virility of the virus in question.

The cold remedies that exist only help to control the symptoms they don't affect the virus in any way at all!

I think that we are lost in translation, sob...
When I say "cold" I don't mean a virus. Viruses are a different thing and each of them wants different approach.