Hey, Brenna!

[Shrain]

Hey, Brenna,

Fish told me I should ask your personal opinion on Ginger Ale since I'm putting together a bunch of food aversion stories. So now I'm really curious.

Anyway, I thought this might be a good way to catch your attention. (I know that little Brenna is keeping you very busy!) But, if you are so inclined and have a minute, I'd love to hear your cautionary tale of Ginger Ale. (Cool, that rhymed internally...) That's all. Thanks!

[Brenna]

I don't know that I have a permanent aversion to Ginger Ale.  Growing up, we only drank ginger ale when we were sick, and it was a good thing, a drink that always made us feel better. So I associated ginger ale with getting better.

Then, when I became pregnant, ginger ale and vanilla ice cream were the only two things that would reduce nausea. I drank a LOT of ginger ale...and now I don't like looking at it, even when I'm sick. Which is interesting, because it did make me feel better--it's probably just the excessive amounts I drank.

Hopefully, I'll get over the "ack! Not ginger ale! thing before I need it again..." but I've got a while, so who knows.

All my food adversions occured during pregnancy. I couldn't even look at chocolate, especially mint chocolate (my favorite)  for very long without feeling ill for about five months or so (A horrific thing, since I'm a chocoholic, normally...). Happily for my emotional state (but not for my waistline), I can again eat chocolate with impunity.

[Shrain]

I drank a LOT of ginger ale...and now I don't like looking at it, even when I'm sick. Which is interesting, because it did make me feel better--it's probably just the excessive amounts I drank.

Wow, that was fast! Anyhow, your love-hate relationship with Ginger Ale is pretty interesting. What once made you feel good now does the opposite. Too much of a good thing, I guess.

What's also interesting is that a lot of people like to drink Ginger Ale when they're sick. They swear by it. Other people swear by having chicken broth or buttered toast or something. Huh. I think it has a lot to do with what our moms or dads (or whoever) fed us when we weren't feeling well. I could probably do a whole other thread on that. lol.

Oh, and good luck with the anti-chocolate sanction being lifted now that you're not expecting anymore! MMM, chocolate.

Cheese, ice cream, mashed potatoes, and chocolate. These are a few of my favorite things. When I'm angry, when I'm stressed out, when I'm feeling sick, I . . . *ahem* Oh, sorry about that.  

[Nessa]

All my food adversions occured during pregnancy.

Me, too, especially cola drinks and ham. *shudder*

[Brenna]

Actually, if you're drinking ginger ale that actually has real ginger in it, it really can make you feel better more than psychologically--ginger reduces nausea. Interesting, yes?

[Shrain]

oooh. Cool factoid.

[The Holy Saint, Grand High Poobah, Master of Monkeys, Ehlers]

Chicken broth has actually been documented to reduce cold symptoms as well.

[Shrain]

You know, I think I've heard that. I wonder what it is about the broth, though. Maybe one of the proteins from the chicken or something. huh.

[The Holy Saint, Grand High Poobah, Master of Monkeys, Ehlers]

I think that it's the combination of nutrients in the chicken stock and the liquid form helping flush things through.

[Mad Dr Jeffe]

Chicken soup contains drug-like agents similar to those in modern cold medicines. For example, an amino acid released from chicken during cooking chemically resembles the drug acetylcysteine, prescribed for bronchitis and other respiratory problems. Spices that are often added to chicken soup, such as garlic and pepper (all ancient treatments for respiratory diseases), work the same way as modern cough medicines, thinning mucus and making breathing easier.

[Nessa]

Chicken soup contains drug-like agents similar to those in modern cold medicines. For example, an amino acid released from chicken during cooking chemically resembles the drug acetylcysteine, prescribed for bronchitis and other respiratory problems. Spices that are often added to chicken soup, such as garlic and pepper (all ancient treatments for respiratory diseases), work the same way as modern cough medicines, thinning mucus and making breathing easier.

But then you have to eat five gallons of it to get enough of an affect to be beneficial.

[Mad Dr Jeffe]

you havent seen how I eat soup...

[The Holy Saint, Grand High Poobah, Master of Monkeys, Ehlers]

Not true. You just need a full serving, and since most people actually eat 2-4 servings of food when they take a helping, that's not an issue.

[Shrain]

Yep, gotta love the "American-sized" portions of stuff...  

[Archon]

I will forever love Canada Dry, and Vernors ginger ale because my mom gave them both to my brother and I when we would get sick, and I still remember how happy I always was when she brought some home, and how good they always tasted.