Is curd bad for throat?

Dear Pooja,
I have been suffering from cold and cough since more than a week now. There are some diet advices that i have been getting from people that i really need a professional opinion about….
Does having lemon and citrus foods help? People say khatta is bad for throat but isn’t the vitamin C in them, good? What about curd and bananas? Is curd bad for throat? And another confusion is – fried and oily food? How is that bad for cough and cold?

If it’s free – its advice; if you pay for it, it’s counseling – right? Well having said that, yes I do agree that most advice you get can be confusing and difficult to decipher without some guidance. Do note that different schools of medicine have different core principals and thus the advice can get confusing. My views and suggestions are purely from a nutritional standpoint with no disregard to other schools like Ayurveda or naturopathy. Citrus foods are rich in antioxidant and flu fighting Vitamin C which markedly help relieve a cold but may aggravate a sore throat– my suggestion however would be eat the fruit and not drink it. Fresh yogurt at room temperature helps build the healthy intestinal flora, which help combating the unwanted bacteria, improves internal immunity, which also help wards off viral infections. Bananas contain vitamin B6 that helps the body fight infections.  Fried and oily food on the other hand worsen the cough as frying releases a compound called acrolein, which acts as allergen that aggravates the cough and causes an itch in the throat. Other don’ts would be to avoid alcohol and smoking. Avoid excess caffeinated beverages (although warm fluids temporarily ease the throat) as they increase acid reflux that worsen the throat. Focus on good hydration levels (just plain warm water or clear soups) as that helps dilute the mucus and possibly ease the congestion. Roots like garlic (Allicin being the active compound) and ginger both help alleviate common colds and sore throats. Hope that helps Shreya – take care!