Negar Sharafi
Staff Writer
Ah, the first weeks of college. Whether you‘re a fresher or not, chances are you have been greeted by fresher‘s flu, an inevitable phenomenon that occurs when you throw thousands of students from different parts of the world together in a relatively small space. Of course getting the shift every night of the week when going out doesn‘t exactly help avoid all the germs.
However, some say that the combination of alcohol and continuous shifting is the only way to get rid of a flu. UT sports writer Melanie Giedlin recommends: „The only way to cure fresher‘s flu is an ice cold pint and a dirty make out session behind the Pav.“
Whether sharing germs helps boost your immune system or just makes things worse is a heated debate among those suffering from fresher‘s flu.
In case you choose to follow traditional advice on curing the flu, here are a few suggestions that might actually help you get rid of your cough and runny nose.
Drink
I know what you‘re thinking about, but no, that‘s not the kind of drink I mean. Just water and Tea. And lots of it. Try to stay away from alcohol and soft drinks for a week if you can (I know it‘s almost impossible with all those society wine receptions going on in college at the moment) and carry that 2-liter bottle of water with you wherever you go. When you‘re at home, stick to tea because it helps your aching throat.
Not a big fan of tea? Take half a lemon, squeeze the juice into a mug, and fill it up with hot water. Let it cool for a few minutes, then add a spoonful of honey. Honey is anti- inflammatory, but if the water is too hot it will destroy the positive effect, so wait a bit until the water is cooler. Of course you can also add honey and a squeeze of lemon juice to your tea. Citrus fruits are very high in vitamin C and other important vitamins and will help you get rid of your cold asap, so freshly squeezed orange juice is another good way to boost your immune system.
Ginger also contains tons of vitamins. To make ginger tea, peel the ginger root and slice it into thin slices. Boil water in a saucepan, add the ginger and let it simmer for about 15 minutes. Then strain the tea and add some lemon for taste.
Eat the right things
If you want to get better, you should consider making a few changes to your diet, such as including some fruit & veg in your diet instead of pizza and burgers.
Some people swear on raw garlic, so if you‘re not planning on getting the shift for a few days, make some tzatziki with greek yogurt, chopped up cucumber and lot of garlic.
When it comes to hot meals, there is nothing better than vegetable soup to cure a cold. Below you‘ll find a recipe for a basic vegetable soup, but you can change it to include vegetables you like, the more the better. Onions are full of vitamins and will help your sore throat, so use as many as you like.
Apart from eating healthily and drinking lots of fluids, the best thing for a weak immune system is sleep. So if you can, take a night off once a week where you don‘t drink alcohol and go to bed early to get some rest.
Vegetable soup with potatoes and noodles
Ingredients
4-5 baby potatoes, chopped into halves or thirds (unpeeled) 1-2 celery stalks (depending on the size)
4-5 onions, chopped up in quarters
2-3 carrots
2 leeks
vegetable stock cubes
150-200g soup noodles
fresh parsley (and coriander if you like)
Chop up celery, carrots and leek. In a big pot, boil water and add vegetable stock cubes. Add onions, carrots, potatoes and celery and cook until the potatoes are almost done. Season well with salt and black pepper. Add leek and noodles and let it simmer for another 5-10 minutes. When all the vegetables are soft, taste and season again if necessary, then add the fresh herbs and let it cook gently for 2 more minutes.
You can make a big pot of this on the weekend and have it during the week as it won‘t go off, or even freeze it in plastic containers for when you‘re too lazy to cook.
