Doctor’s Recommendation: What To Eat When You’re Sick?
When you’re down with a cold or flu, the last thing you want to do is contemplate what to make for dinner. At the same time, the foods and drinks you choose to consume can make a difference in how you feel while you’re still sick and how long it takes for you to recover from the virus. After all, the last thing you want to do is hinder the recovery process and make the symptoms worse. To add more clarity to the situation and make choosing the best flu diet an easy task for you, we explain what foods and drinks doctors generally recommend or warn against during an upper respiratory infection.
The drinks to choose and avoid when you've got the Flu
As you already probably know, increasing
your fluid intake is crucial when you’re down with a cold. As doctors
explained: "During an infection, the body's basal metabolic rate
increases, which can lead to increased loss of fluids, and you need to
increase hydration with water to mitigate these losses." Therefore, the
recovery process can be quite dehydrating, and drinking plenty of fluids
can really help support your health and flush out those germs from your
system as soon as possible.
However, it’s important to choose the right
kinds of drinks, as certain beverages can actually be dehydrating for
the already weakened body. The absolute best choice is sipping on some
plain room temperature water, warm herbal tea, or ginger tea to warm up
the throat, as these drinks provide plenty of hydration and
antioxidants.
What about the quintessential vitamin C rich orange juice, you say?
Doctors actually recommend avoiding it when you’re sick, as juices can
be quite high in sugar, which, in turn, can cause diarrhea that further
dehydrates the body. Other sugary drinks, such as energy drinks, sweet
tea, and soda are best avoided as well.
Alcohol and caffeinated beverages, such as coffee, tea, and sports
drinks are off the table, too. As Alpert, a certified dietitian, stated
in an interview, “Not only are caffeinated beverages very dehydrating to
the body but drinking these beverages as a replacement for hydrating
drinks puts you even further behind on your overall hydration status."
If you drink coffee every day, try limiting your intake to just one cup a
day when you’re sick and drink plenty of water afterward.
The Best Foods to Eat When You’re Down With
a Cold
Although dehydration is a major concern when you’re sick and it should
be the top priority, the recovery process also drains your body from
necessary nutrients at a quicker rate, and symptoms like muscle aches
and fatigue are evidence of that. Therefore, it’s our job to get as many
beneficial nutrients back into our bodies in order to feel better as
soon as possible.
This doesn’t mean that you have to eat all the time. After all, you may
be nauseous, and getting food to stay in the stomach may be difficult as
is, so don’t push yourself. Instead, look for specific nutrient-dense
foods instead of junk foods and snacks. Dr. Charles Peters recommends
foods like chicken soup, leafy greens, yogurt, oatmeal, broccoli,
pepper, and horseradish in a statement. Here’s why:
Chicken soup or broth- soups are not just
easier to slurp down when you’re feeling ill, but they’re also full of
beneficial nutrients and water that will help replenish and rehydrate
your system. Be careful with canned soups, though, as most of them are
too high in salt, and hence, dehydrating, so opt for low-sodium options
if you have to get canned soup.
Plain white yogurt - not only is it pleasantly cooling for an inflamed
throat, but yogurt is also a great source of proteins, vitamins, and
minerals (calcium and zinc), so it can replenish the much-needed
nutrients in your body. Yogurt also contains probiotics, which will help
with digestion, therefore, it’s a great choice for those who feel sick
on their stomach when they have the flu as long as you’re sticking to
sugar-free plain white yogurt, of course.
Fruit and veggies - particularly leafy
greens like spinach or kale, as well as broccoli, bell peppers, berries,
apples, and mangoes - are full of vitamins and antioxidants that help
you fight the cold. An added bonus is that most of these foods you can
just eat as-is or blend up into a smoothie, no cooking required.
Oatmeal - easy and quick-to-make, oats will fill you up in no time and
alleviate any digestive discomfort, too, as they have plenty of fiber.
Foods with a bit of spice, such as horseradish or ginger can clear up
your airways if your nose is feeling clogged.
Foods to Avoid When You’re Feeling Ill
If you like to have your chicken soup with a few saltine crackers on the
side, or you’re really eating as many citrus fruits as you can when
you’re sick, we have bad news for you - both of these habits may be
hindering your recovery or just make the process of recovering more
difficult than it has to be. Here are the foods you should avoid when
you have the flu, and why:
Acidic foods, such as citrus fruits or tomatoes, are not the best
choice for those who are experiencing nausea and stomach flu, according
to experts. These foods may cause heartburn and could hurt your throat.
Saltines are considered to be a staple food
for upset stomachs, but these crackers actually contain a lot of
sodium, high fructose corn syrup, and soybean oil, which can drive up
the inflammation in your body according to dietitians. An equally crispy
and low-calories alternative to saltine crackers is rice cakes.
Junk food. Let's face it, we should be eating this stuff even when we're
healthy, so try to resist the temptation of ordering takeout when
you're sick. The main concern with junk foods, like in saltines, are
unhealthy fats, which can drive up inflammation and hinder the recovery
process.
Dairy. Yogurt is the only dairy food nutritionists recommend because the
rest of the foods, such as ice cream, milk, and even cheese may make
the saliva and phlegm become thicker and hence cause additional
discomfort when you're sick.
Potato chips, toast, and other crunchy
foods may likewise scratch and aggravate a sore throat, so doctors
advise against them if you have a painful throat.
Sweets and other high-sugar foods. As we've mentioned earlier, sugar
can be dehydrating, but Sharon Palmer, a registered dietitian, also
mentioned to the Insider that refined sugar can also potentially
increase inflammation levels and reduce the ability of some immune cells
to function as they should. Therefore, avoid sweets like ice cream,
popsicles, cookies, and cake until you get better.
We hope you found this information useful, and if you're currently
suffering from a respiratory infection, we'd like to remind you to stay
hydrated and wish you a speedy recovery!