My apologies for this - BUT why do people insist on responding to the "best before date"? In my opinion - if it looks OK and it smells OK, then just use it!!! We throw away far too much edible food.
Hello All
My food is all eaten.
Although I am eating my meals to quell hunger, I am after foods which contain vital nutrients, the main amino acids, as naturally as possible and also to calm inflammation (anti-inflammatory).
My natural immune response can be too strong if illness occurs.
I keep the Wholemeal bread out of the sun in a cool place where it cannot sweat inside the bag and it goes in the freezer before the end date.
I toast and butter (unsalted) all my bread anyway since my 2019/2020 illness. Butter contains Butyrate.
Semi-skimmed pasteurised Cows Milk seems to help a lot and I usually consume a pint daily in total.
But if they prescribe me Butyrate cream for my skin, it will react.
At £94 which will last 10 days (by delivery), I don't waste a bit.
Then, I still buy Organic Oats (for Porridge), Nuts, B/fast Tea, Green Tea, Coffee and Dry Red Wine, Cacao, Ground Cinnamon, ground Curcumin and Ground Flax Seed, from Aldi, 0.6 mile away across the field.
Plus top up items from the village Coop weekly, usually berry fruit and bananas (because I can't buy those for all of the 10 days, they won't last).
My Doctor doesn't want me to interfere with what I am doing currently, but I like to have a tried alternative, just in case.
I did go to Holland & Barratt for Echinacea that you mentioned BB, but H & B were closed for a refit.
I think if my immune system went the other way and I started getting colds and sore throats, I would try Echinacea and see how it was. But I also see reports that it does not suit everyone.
"
One of the important effects of Echinacea is to stimulate the immune system including increased chemotaxis, phagocytosis, and oxidative bursts of macrophages or neutrophils [11]."
"
Its products activate macrophages and substances such as TNF " ...
https://virologyj.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12985-024-02586-6#:~:text=Its%20products%20activate%20macrophages%20and,19%20%5B9%2C%2010%5D.
Echinacea as a Potential Force against Coronavirus Infections? ...
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8879308/Some Yogurts stimulate TNF-Alpha (TNF-a is a pro-inflammatory cytokine) and I can't have those Yogurts.
I have 2 brands of (3 Natural) Yogurt that I am perfectly fine with, but another will cause a reaction.
Perhaps it was good H & B were closed for a refit (for me in my particular case), as I don't want an immune driver. I need an immune calmer, (to stop inflammation and the skin, tissue, joints and muscles being attacked by my immune response).
Mark
Note: Certain things I eat to help neutralise viruses, may have contra-indications to those on Heart medication or who have certain allergies.
Some on the immune reset (elimination) diet need to follow their individual advice and what works.
Another crazy thing is what works for one individual, won't work for another.
I told the Advanced G.P. I was eating a tomato daily ... Her animated response ...
Oh that is a nightshade and contains fructose!
I replied I knew, but in my case it seems to neutralise viruses and felt I didn't seem to have a problem with some
natural fructose from a tomato, even though I cannot tolerate sweeteners and added sugars in foods.
