This week both me and my mother have been laid low with a cold…and while its absolutely awful because we’re coughing as though we’re auditioning for an anti-smoking advert and have legs as wobbly as jelly,  it’s still just a cold. But have you noticed how due to the dramas of social media nobody seems to suffer colds anymore? It’s flu, pneumonia or bubonic plague?........

             Watford Observer:

Anyway, still awake at 2am  courtesy of my own coughing I had a brainwave (always a dangerous occurrence in my case) Marshmallows….I’m sure I’d read somewhere that if you have a cough and you eat some marshmallows it stops, this was quickly followed by jubilation on remembering I had some bags of Marshmallows under the bed woo hoo! Can I just point out they weren’t being kept there for any 50 shades of grey sort of bawdiness?

So I stumbled out of bed, ripped the bag apart and clambered back with two marshmallows in hand. Having been propped up with pillows; I was suddenly snuggled back down under the covers and fast asleep. They felt really nice on my throat…..…but then so does chocolate, so I decided to do a bit of research.

Turns out the marshmallow plant grows in damp marshy conditions across Europe and Western Asia and the active ingredient in its leaves and roots is said to help sooth coughs and sore throats and loosens catarrh from the lungs. The key ingredient is called Mucilage which is a gel like substance that coats and protects inflamed mucous membranes and other tissue. 

Doctors In the 19th century would mix up this Mucilage with egg whites and sugar until it formed small white frothed mounds, and treat children, and that’s what lead to the marshmallows we love & eat today, but due to its medicinal properties and the concern that it could interfere with absorption of other medicines and also lower blood sugar, the plant extract was stopped years ago and replaced with gelatine. Although you can purchase vegetarian ones where the gelatine is replaced with gum from seaweed.

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So by rights just eating marshmallows shouldn’t work, and to get any real benefit you’d need to take the capsules but there are those that claim it still works as it did in my case…so the jury’s  still out so it seems? 

Staying on the topic of cold, a little update for you on the two Mikes I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, Mike Shepherd is just getting over a cold and back in training for the North Pole Marathon In April, not long to go now and boy that will be cold. Mike posted after one of his training sessions that he’d covered 9.26 miles at 8mins 50 secs a mile.  As someone with ME  there are days when I can’t cover the landing from my bedroom to the bathroom in that time, So it sounds mega impressive.  Don’t forget that you can follow Mikes amazing challenge on his website: http://www.shepherdfitness.co.uk/          Watford Observer:

Another update on the other Mike, Mike Harley, who is also training hard in readiness for  his next marathon in Prague on Sunday May 3rd, some of you might remember in an earlier article I mentioned that Mike was Running a marathon in every EU country, 28 in all. Mike doesn’t consider himself a natural runner, his last marathon was in 2001 so another mighty challenge I’m sure you’ll agree?  You can follow Mikes Journey on his website too.  http://www.mikeseumarathons.com/

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Both are raising money for Charity Invest In ME in fact the Lets Do It For ME team have just published their latest blog to fill you in with what’s been happening and why  http://blog.ldifme.org/2015/03/lets-march-on-million.html

Moving from a Cold spell to a  Godspell, the legendary musical is back,  coming to Watford  Colosseum June 23rd & 24th complete with a modern day score, starring X-Factor finalist Andy Abraham & former sugababe Jade Ewen amongst others, tickets are on sale now https://watfordcolosseum.co.uk/ so why not head over to their site and check out this and many other shows? For anyone that’s not been before it’s a great venue and a great night to be had.

Somehow from starting this column to finishing it, my throats gone septic, my chest is on fire and I cant breathe, which might be a tad of a problem?….Back to bed me thinks, I wonder if another  Marshmallow…….or two, would help?  Purely medicinal of course.

                                    Til Next Week, Stay Blessed

                                       Back Before Elvis   XXX

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