Most people with angina do not rush to see a specialist, but try to cure themselves. Basically, patients resort to folk remedies.
It is believed that the more an infected person eats citrus fruits, the more vitamins he will receive and the faster he will recover. Is it so? Yes and no. Firstly, many people underestimate the complexity and danger of the disease, so they do not go to the doctor.
Angina (tonsillitis) is bacterial and viral. The bacterial form of the disease can only be treated with antibiotics. They need to be selected depending on the type of tonsillitis, of which there are more than five main ones. Secondly, despite the fact that citrus fruits have undoubted benefits, you need to know how to eat them correctly so as not to harm yourself.
How to eat with sore throat
Eating not only tangerines, grapefruit and oranges, but nutrition in general is of great importance for the recovery of angina. Acute tonsillitis is manifested, including severe intoxication. Intoxication greatly weakens the body, and the body is forced to spend its last strength on fighting the infection. Therefore, in case of illness, it is impossible to overload the patient with difficult-to-digest food, at least in the acute period. The body simply does not have the strength to properly digest it.
You can eat foods that are easy to digest. These are mashed cereals, mashed potatoes, weak meat and fish broths, vegetables, non-acidic fruits, low-fat fermented milk products, chicken or rabbit meat, lean fish. Fatty, fried, smoked foods, pickles, canned food, soda, undiluted juices, chocolate, sweets, cakes, fresh bread, fresh cabbage, radish, spicy foods, sauces and seasonings are excluded. Food and drink should be warm, portions small, meals varied and frequent at least five times a day.
The benefits of citrus fruits for sore throat
Citrus fruits have the most valuable vitamin - ascorbic acid, which is essential for the recovery from tonsillitis. Vitamin C strengthens the walls of blood vessels, improves immunity, protects cells from aggressive environmental influences, and has an antioxidant effect. Vitamins of group B, which contain citrus fruits, normalize sleep, improve mood, strengthen the heart muscle.
Tangerines, grapefruit and oranges contain a large amount of phytoncides that inhibit the growth of pathogens.
Mandarins contain the least amount of vitamins and minerals. But they are also useful for colds, since tangerines help to clear the respiratory tract. The richest in nutrients is grapefruit. It contains vitamins C, D, PP, which have a beneficial effect on the cardiovascular system, soothe, normalize the temperature, and help restore strength after infectious diseases. Grapefruit is the lowest calorie fruit, it consists of 90% water, and it contains only 7% sugar. Grapefruit seed extract is a natural antibiotic, so it speeds up the recovery from sore throat.
How citrus fruits work for tonsillitis:
- reduce swelling of the nasopharyngeal mucosa;
- reduce pain in the throat;
- lower the temperature;
- destroy bacteria and viruses;
- relieve inflammation;
- help the liver;
- increase immunity.
How to use
In the acute phase of the disease, the patient has severe sore throat, redness, swelling of the mucous membrane and glands. Therefore, all citrus fruits can be consumed in the form of freshly squeezed juice, diluted in half with warm water. If the patient knows for sure that he has no contraindications, then you can eat grapefruit, oranges or tangerines not whole, but several slices and then when the acute phase of the disease passes or in the initial period.
You can not eat tangerines, grapefruit and oranges with sore throat fresh. Aggressive acids can irritate the throat and trigger a cough reflex.
In addition, citrus acids have a destructive effect on tooth enamel, so you can drink the juice through a straw and then rinse your mouth with water.
You can not eat citrus fruits during illness for children under five years old, people prone to allergic reactions, patients with gastric ulcer and duodenal ulcer, with reflux esophagitis, increased stomach acidity, inflammation of the small intestine in the acute stage. Grapefruit is absolutely contraindicated in people taking antidepressants, since it blocks the action of the active substances of the drug.
Recipes
- The only period in acute tonsillitis when you can eat citrus fruits without fear is the very beginning of the disease, when there is still no pronounced clinical picture, severe sore throat and plaque on the glands. In the absence of contraindications at the initial stage, you can immediately slowly eat half of the fruit without the peel, without drinking anything. After 3-4 hours, eat the other half. You need to take food no earlier than an hour later. Effect: the juice of the fruit washes the mucous membrane of the pharynx, removing microbes, relieving inflammation.
- Grapefruit can be eaten as a jam: grind the pulp from two fruits with a glass of sugar, add the grated zest, put in the microwave for 14 minutes. Put a few lemon balm leaves and half a teaspoon of pink peppercorns in the hot mixture. This jam retains all the nutrients, aroma and taste of the fruit.
- Dissolve a tablespoon of citrus juice in a glass of water at room temperature. Take as an antipyretic.
- If citrus fruits cannot be consumed internally, then they can be used as rubdowns. Dissolve a tablespoon of grapefruit juice in a glass of warm water and wipe the body at a high temperature. The same recipe works well for gargling.
- Oranges, tangerines, grapefruit are rich in essential oils that are found in the peel of the fruit. Squeeze the juice out of the peel into a tablespoon of water, or rub the peel on a fine grater and stir with a little water. Use in an aroma lamp for inhalation.
- Peel the fruits, boil the peel, do inhalations. Use the pulp for juice by mixing all three fruits.
Steam inhalation should not be done at high temperatures
Autumn, winter, spring are the season of colds and citrus fruits, which will perfectly help in the treatment of angina in parallel with traditional remedies. Eating oranges, tangerines and grapefruits is not only an auxiliary therapeutic therapy, but also an excellent prevention of throat ailments.
