The best foods to eat when you’re sick are ones that reduce inflammation, keep you hydrated, and give your body enough calories to mount an immune response. Your body burns roughly 11% more energy for every degree Celsius your temperature rises above normal, so eating enough matters even when your appetite is low. What you reach for should depend on the type of illness you’re dealing with.
Chicken Soup Earns Its Reputation
Chicken soup isn’t just comfort food. Lab research published in the journal Chest found that chicken soup significantly inhibited the movement of white blood cells called neutrophils, which drive the inflammatory response behind congestion, sore throat, and that general “sick” feeling. The effect was concentration-dependent, meaning stronger soup worked better. Both the chicken and the vegetables contributed anti-inflammatory activity individually, and the complete soup showed no toxic effects on the cells being studied.
Beyond the anti-inflammatory angle, soup delivers warm liquid, salt, and calories in a form that’s easy to get down when you have no appetite. The steam loosens nasal congestion, the broth replaces fluids lost to fever and sweating, and the protein from chicken gives your immune system raw materials to work with. If you’re making it from scratch, load it with onions, carrots, celery, and garlic for the broadest benefit.
Honey for Coughs, Ginger for Nausea
If a cough is keeping you up at night, honey is one of the most effective options available. A clinical trial in children found that just half a teaspoon (2.5 mL) of honey before bed reduced cough severity more effectively than two common over-the-counter cough suppressants. You can take it straight, stir it into warm water, or add it to tea. One important note: honey should never be given to children under 12 months due to the risk of infant botulism.
For nausea, whether from a stomach bug, motion sickness, or just feeling generally awful, ginger is the strongest food-based remedy with clinical data behind it. A meta-analysis found that roughly 1,000 mg of ginger per day (about half a teaspoon of ground ginger) significantly reduced nausea when taken for at least four days. Fresh ginger sliced into hot water makes a simple tea. Ginger chews, ginger ale made with real ginger, and crystallized ginger all work too, though the sugar content varies.
Garlic May Shorten a Cold
Garlic contains a compound that gets released when cloves are crushed or chopped, and it appears to have real antiviral effects. In one well-known trial, participants taking a daily garlic supplement experienced 24 colds over 12 weeks compared to 65 in the placebo group, with total sick days dropping from 366 to 111. Recovery time per cold was similar between groups (about 4.5 versus 5.5 days), but people in the garlic group simply got sick far less often.
A separate study found that a garlic extract reduced total reported symptoms by 21% and cut the number of days participants felt too unwell to carry out their normal routine by 58%. Raw garlic delivers the most potent dose of the active compound, but cooked garlic in soups and broths still contributes. If you’re already sick, adding garlic to your meals is unlikely to hurt and may help your body fight through the illness faster.
Yogurt and Probiotic-Rich Foods
Your gut houses a large portion of your immune system, and feeding it beneficial bacteria during illness can support recovery. Research on elderly adults found that regular consumption of yogurt containing probiotics reduced both the duration and severity of respiratory infections. The mechanism is straightforward: probiotic bacteria interact with immune cells in the gut lining and help regulate the body’s inflammatory response.
Plain yogurt is the best choice because flavored varieties pack in sugar, which you don’t need when you’re sick. Greek yogurt has more protein per serving, which is a bonus when your appetite is small. Kefir, a fermented milk drink, delivers an even wider range of probiotic strains. If dairy doesn’t sit well with you during illness, fermented foods like miso (dissolved into warm broth) or kimchi offer similar probiotic benefits.
What to Eat With a Stomach Bug
The old advice to stick strictly to bananas, rice, applesauce, and toast (the BRAT diet) has fallen out of favor. The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases now states that most experts don’t recommend following a restricted diet or fasting when you have acute diarrhea. Once you feel like eating again, you can generally return to your normal diet. For children, the guidance is the same: offer their usual age-appropriate foods, and continue breastfeeding or formula for infants.
That said, your stomach will tell you what it can handle. Bland, starchy foods like plain rice, toast, crackers, and bananas are still practical starting points because they’re unlikely to trigger more nausea. The key shift in thinking is that you don’t need to limit yourself to those foods. If you can tolerate scrambled eggs, a baked potato, or some well-cooked vegetables, eat them. Your body needs the nutrients to recover, and restricting your diet unnecessarily can slow that process down.
Zinc Lozenges Can Cut Cold Duration by a Third
Zinc isn’t a food in the traditional sense, but it’s worth mentioning because the evidence is strong. A meta-analysis of seven trials found that zinc lozenges shortened the average cold by 33%. Lozenges providing 80 to 92 mg of zinc per day were just as effective as higher doses, so there’s no benefit to mega-dosing. Both zinc acetate and zinc gluconate forms worked comparably.
The lozenges need to dissolve slowly in your mouth to coat the throat and nasal passages, which is why zinc in pill form swallowed whole doesn’t have the same effect. Starting zinc lozenges within 24 hours of your first symptoms gives you the best chance of shortening the illness. They can cause a metallic taste and mild nausea on an empty stomach, so pairing them with a small snack helps.
Hydration Matters More Than Food
Fever, sweating, diarrhea, and vomiting all pull fluid and electrolytes out of your body faster than normal. Dehydration makes every symptom feel worse and can turn a mild illness into something that lands you in an urgent care clinic. Water is fine for mild illness, but if you’re running a fever or dealing with vomiting and diarrhea, you need to replace sodium and potassium too.
Broth-based soups pull double duty here, delivering both fluid and electrolytes. Coconut water is naturally rich in potassium. Oral rehydration solutions (available at any pharmacy) are specifically formulated for illness-related fluid loss and are the gold standard for moderate dehydration. Sipping small amounts frequently works better than gulping large volumes, especially if nausea is a factor. Popsicles, watermelon, and diluted fruit juice are all reasonable options when plain water feels unappealing.
Calories Count When You’re Feverish
Skipping meals during illness is common, but your body is actually burning more fuel than usual. Research on patients with fever found that energy expenditure increases by about 11% for every degree Celsius above normal body temperature. A moderate fever of 39°C (102.2°F) means your body is burning roughly 22% more calories than it would on a normal day.
You don’t need to force large meals. Small, calorie-dense foods eaten throughout the day keep your energy supply steady without overwhelming a queasy stomach. Nut butter on toast, avocado, oatmeal with honey, scrambled eggs, and smoothies made with yogurt and fruit are all good options. The goal is to avoid running a significant calorie deficit during the days your immune system is working hardest.