Don’t you just hate that feeling? The sneezing stuffy runny nose accompanied by the pounding headache and sore throat feeling…
As Labor Day marks the unofficial end of Summer, before long, the inevitable Flu Season will be upon us. For years, it was a gold standard guarantee for me that I would fall ill beginning in the month of September. Things would quickly go downhill from there. I would have more success at pushing a freight train up Mount Everest than sustaining a functioning immune system through the Fall and Winter months.
While there are many reasons one can fall ill, I want to share with you the main reason why for years I was consistently ill at certain times of the year, despite my clean diet and religious devotion to working out. How was it that someone who does not smoke or drink or engage in any drugs of any kind find themselves extremely sick multiple times a year? Keep in mind that my idea of extremely sick is anything that requires a trip to a doctor and either a shot or a ten day prescription (sometimes both). And in case you are wondering, this was not from a lack of sleep–I get 6 to 7 hours a night consistently.
So What Was The Cause?…
Diet.
That one word was the author of all my pain and suffering. That is why it sits on its own line separate from everything else. After years of suffering and researching and tinkering with everything from my supplements to my diet to my workout regimen, all along it was the food I was consuming.
See my friend up above? You’ve probably seen him on those Mucinex commercials. That’s the guy that would move in every Fall and Winter plaguing my nose, throat, and chest with an endless supply of unbreakable mucus or snot. So all year, I kept a steady supply of Mucinex and whatever else I could get my hands on because I never knew when I would get sick again. For years it was common for me to take at least one pill of Mucinex a day. I took it so often I looked at it more like a multivitamin than a medication.
What I didn’t know was that there are certain foods that when consumed, they cause our body to produce more mucus than necessary. And worse still, these same foods can actually thicken the mucus that we produce, hence my problem. All the years of thick disgusting phlegm that would make itself home in my chest was in so small part caused by certain foods I was eating.
So on the surface, our production of mucus is meant to be a deterrent as it is designed to collect the harmful bacteria, dust, and other malevolent particles before they get into the lungs where they can do real harm. But if you are like me, you think any amount of the stuff is harmful, therefore you want only what is absolutely necessary and no more!
All this being said, here are 21 foods that increase mucus production and may possibly thicken the mucus that is produced as follows:
- Red Meat
- Milk
- Yogurt
- Cheese
- Eggs
- Butter
- Ice Cream
- Bread
- Cereal
- Pasta
- Potatoes
- Cabbage
- Bananas
- Candy
- Sweet desserts–Pies, Cakes, Cookies
- Coffee
- Tea
- Soda
- Corn and corn based products
- Alcohol
- Soy products
That list was not in any particular order, but after reading it over, you might be thinking to yourself, what is there left to eat? Seems like all the major food groups have been disqualified. All my drive-thru french fries. Apple Pies. Coffee?!? I mean really? I always thought coffee was healthy! I didn’t even put sugar or cream in my coffee. I thought I was doing good! There were many days I drank three cups a day of the stuff! No wonder my nasal passages were so backed up! Even Green Tea–a potent fat burner–isn’t safe for me!
But guess what? I have some wonderful news!
Here are some foods that actually reduce our natural production of mucus! Here is a list of 19 of them as follows:
- Salmon
- Tuna
- Flounder
- Sardines
- Pumpkin/Pumpkin Seeds
- Pineapple
- Grapefruit
- Watercress
- Pickles
- Celery
- Onion
- Garlic
- Honey/Agar
- Ginger
- Lemon
- Cayenne Pepper
- Broth
- Decaf Tea
- Olive Oil
So if you’re like most people, list #2 is significantly less attractive for the taste buds than list #1. Like all things worth having, good health, is not easy, but it is absolutely worth pursuing. Depending on your health and how your body reacts to your current diet you can absolutely make some changes and see where it goes. Every one of us is different, so what works for one may not work for someone else.
To get you started, I will go over what I have done and tell you how it has worked for me. This process has not been easy as I love food, but the payoff in my wellness has been well worth it. I have not had a cold for over two years now which for me is STUNNING.
I cut out everything dairy related. Milk, Ice Cream, and Cereal turned out to be MASSIVE culprits to my mucus issue. Words cannot stress enough how much my health dramatically improved once I made just that one change.
Going further, I turned my attention to my bread and pasta intake and practically dropped those from my diet altogether. Every now and then, I will enjoy some biscuits with my KFC or Bojangle’s, but one of my all-time favorite foods–Macaroni & Cheese–I’ve dropped that one altogether. I’ll tell you why: Milk, Cheese, and Pasta! Triple whammy! I will not touch it I don’t care how good it is.
No joke! I have learned to live without it. To be clear, I have had Mac & Cheese a few times since first coming across this information, and like clockwork, within 48 hours of having it, my nose is stuffy. Literally. Stuffy like, time to go grab some DayQuil stuffy.
It is still unbelievable to me that my body is so sensitive to all these delicious foods but this is the reality. I thought I could “out-train” it even. I figured that I could eat what I want but just work out harder and longer… perhaps I could metabolize it to the point where I somehow make the mucus producing properties disappear.
Yeah that didn’t work out for me.
Now I am not saying to cut out all your favorite foods forever. We all have to indulge. I am just letting you know, expect to pay a price for every indulgence. For instance, pizza is another food I no longer eat. In the beginning, I struggled with this one. But when you have been as sick as I have been over the years, you will do what it takes to feel better.
Fast forward over two years and I no longer wake up with sore achy throats. I no longer wake up with a stopped up nose and nasal drainage. Back in those days, all that excess mucus made me more susceptible to illnesses. All of that is in the past. My immune system is dramatically stronger and more potent now because it is no longer in a constant battle with my diet.
From weekly allergy shots as a kid who used to miss 30 days a year of school due to debilitating sore throats, to now, comparatively speaking, perfect wellness. If only I had known then what I am sharing on this post. Food allergies were keeping me sick.
In closing, if you suffer from frequent colds, allergies, or something more serious, please, go get a profession opinion. Definitely, go see a doctor. And while doing that, take a look in your fridge and pantry. Check out that list of foods above and make some changes. Run some experiments on yourself. Keep a journal of what you are eating and track your reactions to certain foods for a couple weeks. You will literally find out which foods agree/disagree with you. Listen closely to your body and pay attention to how you feel when you wake-up. Check your diet closely because one of the best ways to solve a problem is to eliminate it from your diet altogether. You can absolutely do this. No one knows your body better than you do so give this a try.
You just might change your life.
–Daniel Cousin
