So I’m sick again. After getting over a nasty flu a few weekends ago, I woke up yesterday morning with a seriously scratchy throat, a terrible headache and a stuffy nose. Ah, cold season! Can there be anything more exciting?

And what did I do today? I went out and ate spaghetti for lunch. After eating a very light dinner last night and “sleeping” in a state of delirium from my cold medicine and apparent insomnia, I was actually starving by lunchtime.

But mid-bite, that old adage came back to haunt me . . .

Feed a fever, starve a cold.

I asked Palmer if he thought there was anything truth to it, and we both agreed that we had no idea! It’s an old wives’ tale, to be sure, but I’d never actually heard anyone discuss whether or not we should actually starve ourselves when we’re ill.

That doesn’t really seem like a good idea — I know that when you’re sick and not eating well, your body is deprived of nutrients and electrolytes and all those… important things. And dehydration is not your friend. But I needed to know the answer to this, of course, since I’m alternating between eating next to nothing and stuffing my face!

And, of course, the answer to whether or not you should “feed a fever, starve a cold” is… false! Big time false. It’s important to keep up your energy and not get dehydrated while you’re ill — you need those nutrients to help your body get rid of the virus.

So pig out! I have my spaghetti leftovers waiting patiently in the community fridge. And hopefully the magic sauce will have restorative powers to un-cloud my head in no time!