Hey y’all,
I want to mention something that’s been on my mind lately. My husband is sick (and I’ve been as close to him as he’ll let me for three days), but I’m not sick at all.
A lot of spouses either try to quarantine themselves as best as possible when their spouse is sick (I know people who will sleep in the spare bedroom) or will just accept the fact that they will get sick. But, somehow, I haven’t been exhibiting any symptoms, and this is the third day of my husband being sick. I haven’t tried to stay away at all, so what’s happening? (And, yes, I’m pregnant, but NO Mom, your immune system doesn’t ramp up when you’re pregnant. There’s a thing called pregnancy stress from growing a whole human, so if anything, my immune system is weaker than usual.)
I almost always eat very healthy to begin with. I usually have a green smoothie during the day, I usually eat a salad with my dinner, and I eat predominantly plant-based (some meat here and there, but absolutely no eggs and no dairy). In the past few days, however, I’ve been really leaning on the smoothies and trying to drink as much water as possible.
Not only do I need to stay healthy for myself (because who wants to be sick?), but I need to stay well and active to take care of my husband and our dogs. My husband usually takes care of walking the dogs. I’m sure he’d do it if I asked him, but I’d rather him get well instead of worrying about that, so I’m taking the dogs out. Whenever I begin to feel the sick try to creep up on me (my ears and head start to mildly ache), I do three things: I chug a glass of water, I wash out my ears with hydrogen peroxide, and I begin making a smoothie to drink (My current favorite recipe is 1 c oj, 1 c spinach/kale, 1 c mixed berries, 2 Tbsp flax meal, 1/4 c oats, and 1/4-1/2 c water). After about 15 minutes after doing that, I feel fine again.
So why is my husband sick but I’m not? So, remaining not sick is completely about prevention. It’s harder to get well when you live however you want and then try and do healthy things when you’re sick. My husband lives with me, so he is a little healthier than many people just because of that (we don’t buy sodas, eggs, or milk), but he doesn’t eat vegetables, hardly ever eats fruit, only get a glass or two of water a day, and loves fast food. As I type he’s eating a burger, fries, and a shake.
When you’re sick, it’s much easier to eat quick, comforting foods. You don’t want to get up and think about what foods have nutrients that you probably need. Also, beginning to eat healthy once you’re already sick won’t help that much, because one of the first things that happens when you cut out the junk and eat healthy is detox. When you’re sick is not the time to upend your diet because it’ll likely make you feel worse. (Although it can help to rid your body of some of the junk so that your body can focus on making you well, but only after days of sticking with it.)
As far as illness goes, the best thing for it is prevention! Eat your veggies! Drink water! Spend time in the sun!
Frugal Treehugger 