Restorative Eating
I don’t think there is a single person out there who can say they enjoy being sick. You feel disgusting, can’t do anything fun and eating becomes difficult. Nevertheless, it’s still important to get nutrients into your body to continue fighting off that yucky cold or flu you’re suffering from. And there are a lot of foods out there that are nutrient-dense and easy to keep down when you’re not feeling great. Although they may be bland, they can help you get better quicker. So let’s talk about the best food to eat when sick.
12 Foods to Speed Up Healing During Illness
1. Chicken Soup
The age-old remedy that is everyone’s go-to sick food is chicken soup. Chicken is packed full of nutrients, it includes protein and it is a fluid that will keep you hydrated while you’re feeling down. One of the most important things you can do while sick is to drink or eat lots of fluids to ensure you don’t get dehydrated. When you’re sick, you can vomit, sweat a lot, or have diarrhea, leading to dehydration. Chicken soup will prevent this from happening. It’s one of the best foods to eat when sick.
2. Bananas
Bananas are a soft and bland food that can make them easy to get down when you aren’t feeling well. They are also nutrient dense and high in potassium. Potassium helps your body store electrolytes which helps to prevent you from getting dehydrated when you have a cold and flu.
3. Rice
Keeping this bland food train rolling, another food that’s great for when you’re sick is rice. Rice is great for helping combat nausea, which can worsen when you have an empty stomach. Since it is bland it is less likely to trigger a bout of nausea and vomiting, and it will help keep your stomach full so that if you do feel sick again, you’re not throwing up bile.
4. Ginger
Historically, ginger has been used to combat colds and is known to help alleviate symptoms like sore throats. Now, you don’t want to go eating a chunk of raw ginger because you’ll likely make yourself sicker. Still, you can make ginger into a nice tea that will soothe your throat and even help to clear out your sinuses and nostrils if you’re suffering from a stuffy nose.
5. Toast
Toast is another bland food that is good to eat when you’re sick. Like rice, it is excellent to help with nausea and vomiting. Toast is very handy for absorbing any excess acid in your stomach if you’re dealing with acid reflux, indigestion, or heartburn. It can also help reduce nausea by replenishing an empty stomach.
6. Applesauce
Have you heard of the BRAT diet before? It stands for Bananas, rice, applesauce and toast, and it is often recommended for people experiencing the cold and flu symptoms of nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. Applesauce is the last element of the BRAT diet that I have to tell you about. It is great for helping alleviate these symptoms because it is very easy to digest and contains a lot of fluid to help keep you hydrated.
7. Oatmeal
Like bananas, oatmeal is nutrient dense with minerals and vitamins that are essential to eat when you’re sick. On top of that, oatmeal has been shown to help decrease inflammation in the gut that could be causing diarrhea.
8. Crackers
Like toast, crackers can be a good way to help soak up any excess acid in the stomach that may be causing nausea or vomiting. Crackers can also be quite bland, which can help combat nausea while eating and help prevent the stomach from hitting empty.
9. Turmeric
Turmeric is another natural remedy that has been used for hundreds, if not thousands, of years to combat cold and flu symptoms. Science also supports it since studies have shown that turmeric can reduce coughing and sneezing, reduce inflammation, boost immune function and even alleviate pain.
10. Garlic
Garlic is another miracle food that has proven to be fantastic for alleviating cold and flu symptoms. On top of that, it has been shown to prevent getting sick in the first place and an overall shorter span of being sick. This is because it has antiviral and antimicrobial elements.
11. Honey
Another age-old at-home remedy for cold and flu symptoms is honey. Like garlic, turmeric and ginger, it has been used for a very long time in combating illness, and science supports this. Honey has been shown to help alleviate the frequency and severity of cough symptoms and even shorten the length of illness.
12. Coconut Water
I always think of coconut water as the ultimate hydration drink. This is because it has high levels of sodium and potassium, which keep your body hydrated faster and for longer. Drinking coconut water has the same hydration effect as drinking a sports drink but without the added sugar, making it a healthier option and better for anyone who is down and out with a cold or the flu.