5 Best Foods to Eat While Sick

By this time of year, you or some­one you know has prob­a­bly been hit by at least one win­ter ill­ness, which can take many forms. The com­mon cold, the flu, RSV, pneu­mo­nia, strep throat, COVID and norovirus (the stom­ach bug) are just a few. 

Dur­ing any time of year when you’re sick, nutri­tion and hydra­tion are keys to eas­ing dis­com­fort and keep­ing you on the road to recovery. 

Unfor­tu­nate­ly, stay­ing nour­ished and hydrat­ed can be tough when you’re feel­ing under the weath­er. Here are 5 foods to eat while you’re sick that are eas­i­er on your body and can help you heal. 

1. Feel­ing gen­er­al­ly sick? Try soup, espe­cial­ly those that are broth-based. 

Soup is many people’s go-to for any kind of ill­ness, from colds to the flu to feel­ing gen­er­al­ly unwell. Whether you opt for chick­en noo­dle soup (pro­tein and iron from the chick­en are immune sys­tem boost­ers), pasti­na (the steam from the broth can com­bat con­ges­tion), arroz cal­do (the high gin­ger con­tent can help soothe a sore throat), or some­thing else, soup is a great way to nour­ish your body while fight­ing illness. 

Soup — par­tic­u­lar­ly those that are broth-based — gives you much-need­ed liq­uid for hydra­tion. Mean­while, it has calo­ries and nutri­ents that can help you recov­er. When it’s served hot, soup can also help soothe a sore throat. 

2. Deal­ing with diar­rhea? Opt for bland foods. 

An upset gut can make it hard to get any nutri­tion in. But your body still needs fuel to fight ill­ness. To help keep your food from mov­ing too quick­ly through your diges­tive sys­tem (also known as diar­rhea), stick with bland foods that have sol­u­ble fiber to slow down the process. 

Ide­al foods to com­bat diar­rhea include bread, crack­ers, dry cere­al, baked pota­toes, pas­ta, and rice por­ridge. Some peo­ple like to adhere to the BRAT diet (bananas, rice, apple­sauce, and toast) to make it eas­i­er to remem­ber what will be easy on the stom­ach. If you’re feel­ing up to it, include some pro­tein by adding baked chick­en to the rice. 

Also, it is help­ful to drink or sip Pedi­alyte or flat 7up with crack­ers for elec­trolyte replen­ish­ment. Good old Pep­to-Bis­mol can help with the symp­to­matic treat­ment of abdom­i­nal cramps, nau­sea, vom­it­ing and diar­rhea. Avoid milk prod­ucts (cheese or ice cream) and junk food. 

3. Nav­i­gat­ing nau­sea? Incor­po­rate some ginger. 

If you’re deal­ing with nau­sea or vom­it­ing, the last thing you prob­a­bly want to do is eat. To keep your body nour­ished, start by try­ing to eat every few hours as opposed to full meals that might send you over the edge. Also, be sure to sip liq­uids, do not drink an entire glass at once. 

Sim­i­lar to diar­rhea, nau­sea can be com­bat­ed with bland foods, like pret­zels, toast, and crack­ers. But you may also want to add some spice — par­tic­u­lar­ly gin­ger. Gin­ger has anti-nau­sea effects, includ­ing in prod­ucts like gin­ger snaps, gin­ger ale, and gin­ger tea (be sure to make sure they con­tain real gin­ger). You can also boil fresh gin­ger for anoth­er ver­sion of gin­ger tea. Gin­ger can­dy is anoth­er option that can be easy to stom­ach while also sooth­ing your symptoms. 

4. Bat­tling a sore throat? Use hon­ey or salt water. 

A scratchy, tick­ling, or painful throat might auto­mat­i­cal­ly make you reach for the med­i­cine cab­i­net. But there are also a few approach­es to ease your dis­com­fort through food. 

Hon­ey can soothe both a sore throat and a cough. It can address inflam­ma­tion, irri­ta­tion, and even mucus build-up. How you ingest the hon­ey is up to you. You can eat a spoon­ful on its own or stir some into warm water or tea. (Note that chil­dren under 1 year old should not eat hon­ey due to the risk of infant botulism.) 

Gar­gling with warm salt water can also ease sore throat symp­toms. Mix about ½ tea­spoon of table salt with 8 ounces of warm water. Gar­gle the solu­tion, then spit it out. Keep in mind — this approach should only be used for chil­dren over 6 years old and adults to avoid swal­low­ing the solution. 

If your sore throat won’t sub­side, make an appoint­ment with your Duly pri­ma­ry care provider to find out what’s caus­ing your pain. 

5. Wor­ried about dehy­dra­tion? Pair flu­ids with fruit or liq­uid-based food. 

Flu­ids are a key com­po­nent in pre­vent­ing dehy­dra­tion and recov­er­ing from ill­ness. One of the pri­ma­ry rea­sons peo­ple go to the emer­gency room when they’re ill is due to dehy­dra­tion. With­out treat­ment, it can lead to seri­ous com­pli­ca­tions, like kid­ney prob­lems, seizures, and death. 

Water is a great way to pro­vide your body with hydra­tion. But if water isn’t appeal­ing and you’re con­cerned about dehy­dra­tion, try sip­ping drinks with elec­trolytes, Pedi­alyte, sports drinks, flat 7up, tea, or juice through­out the day. 

You can also increase your flu­id intake through food. Fruit and veg­eta­bles, such as mel­ons, grapes, berries, oranges, and cucum­bers, all con­tain plen­ty of water. Oth­er liq­uid-based foods that can help you hydrate include pop­si­cles, ice cream, and pudding. 

Pri­or­i­tiz­ing Nutri­tion While Sick 

When you’re unwell, you might want to curl up under a blan­ket and ignore the world for a while. While that’s okay to do as you heal, it’s also impor­tant to make sure you stay nour­ished and hydrat­ed as your body fights off your illness. 

By focus­ing on foods and bev­er­ages that help you heal and are appeal­ing while you’re sick, you can ensure your body has the ener­gy and nutri­ents it needs to recov­er. Once you’re feel­ing well again, you can re-enter the world refreshed and ready to explore the vast options of food once again.