Every time you get sick, you hear the same list of miracle foods touted¹ by well-meaning friends and coworkers (none of whom are actually doctors, of course) as what you should eat or drink to kick your cold or flu. And while chicken soup and hot tea with honey actually have some science showing they help ease symptoms, most common dietary "cures" are a waste of time and money. Here, 2 things that won't make your sniffling, sneezing, or coughing go away any faster—and can actually make you feel worse.

每次生病的时候，你的朋友和同事（当然，没有一个是真正的医生）都会好心告诉你一些神奇食物，吃了这些你就能远离感冒或流感。虽然的确有一些科学研究表明鸡汤和蜂蜜热茶能缓解症状，但普通的饮食“疗法”却是浪费时间和金钱。下列两样食物并不会让鼻子不通、流鼻涕或咳嗽好得更快——实际上可能会让你病的更为严重。

Orange juice or citrus fruits

橙汁或柑橘类水果

Make a mere² mention to a friend that you think you're coming down with something, and she'll likely force-feed you a big glass of OJ. But before you chug the sugary liquid (or spend oodles of money on fresh fruit), know this: A review of nearly 30 studies found that vitamin C in OJ, oranges, or lemons can't ease cold symptoms or help you get better faster. In fact, drinking tons of OJ could actually worsen symptoms thanks to its sugar, known to increase inflammation.

只要和一个朋友提及自己生病了，那她就很有可能让你喝一大杯橙汁。但在你喝这种含糖饮料前（或者花钱购买新鲜水果），先了解这一点：近30项研究的综述发现橙汁、橘子或柠檬中的维他命C并不能缓解感冒症状或帮助你好的更快。事实上，由于橙汁的含糖量高，如果饮用过多则会加重病情，因为糖会加速炎症。

There is just one caveat³: Downing a whopping 8,000 mg of vitamin C—the equivalent of 64 glasses of juice—at the first sign of symptoms might make you feel better, according to the review. But there's no way you're drinking 64 glasses without going into a sugar coma⁴ or gaining 10 pounds. So what about taking the same amount in supplement form? Sorry, but taking a pill with more than 2,000 mg vitamin C could cause vomiting⁵, diarrhoea, abdominal⁶ pain, and even kidney stones. And it wouldn't be worth it: Doctors say the body can only absorb about 500 mg at one time, whether it comes from food or a pill.

还有一个警告：研究综述表明，感冒初期吃下8000毫克的维生素C会让你好很多——等于64杯橙汁。但是喝下64杯橙汁肯定会让你进入昏迷状态（糖摄入量过多）或是长胖10磅。那么以补充形式摄入同等量的维C行不行呢？对不起，维生素C片摄入量超过2000毫克会引起呕吐、腹泻、腹痛、甚至是肾结石。而且还会不值得：医生说人体一次只能吸收500毫克的维C，不管是来源于食物还是药片。

Coconut⁷ oil

椰子油

Like apple cider vinegar, coconut oil boasts antimicrobial properties, but as you just learned, that won't help with cold or flu viruses. Also like ACV, if you actually wanted to try to cure a bacterial⁸ infection with coconut oil, you'd probably have to drink an insane amount of it, which would leave you feeling even more awful than you already do.

和苹果醋一样，椰子油也有抗菌特性，但正如你刚刚学到的，这并不能让你好得快点、也不能抵御流感病毒。如果你真的想用椰子油治疗细菌感染，那和苹果醋一样，你要喝大量的椰子油，这只会让你的感觉更糟。