When you’re sick, the right foods can ease symptoms, shorten recovery time, and keep you nourished when eating feels like a chore. What you should reach for depends on the type of illness you’re dealing with. A cold or flu calls for different foods than a stomach bug, though staying hydrated matters for both. Here’s a practical breakdown of what to eat, what to drink, and what to skip.
Chicken Soup Really Does Help
Chicken soup isn’t just comfort food. Research from the University of Nebraska Medical Center found that chicken soup reduces the movement of neutrophils, the white blood cells that rush to the site of an infection. While neutrophils are part of your immune defense, their activity in the upper respiratory tract is also what causes congestion, stuffiness, and that heavy feeling in your sinuses. By slowing that migration, chicken soup appears to have a genuine anti-inflammatory effect on cold symptoms.
Researchers couldn’t pinpoint a single magic ingredient. The benefit likely comes from the combination of vegetables, protein, broth, and fat working together. The warm broth also helps loosen mucus, keeps you hydrated, and delivers calories when you don’t feel like chewing much. Homemade versions with onions, carrots, celery, and garlic tend to be more nutrient-dense than canned, but even store-bought soup is better than skipping a meal entirely.
Best Foods for a Cold or Flu
When you’re battling a respiratory illness, your body burns more energy fighting the infection. The goal is to eat foods that are easy to get down, anti-inflammatory, and rich in vitamins your immune system relies on.
- Broth-based soups: Chicken, vegetable, or miso. They deliver fluids, sodium, and nutrients in an easy-to-consume form.
- Citrus fruits and berries: Oranges, kiwi, and strawberries provide vitamin C, which supports immune cell function. They won’t cure a cold, but inadequate vitamin C intake slows recovery.
- Garlic and onions: Both contain sulfur compounds with mild antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties. Cooking them into soup or broth is the easiest way to get them in.
- Oatmeal: Warm, soft, and easy to eat. It provides slow-burning energy and pairs well with honey, which has its own benefits for coughs.
- Eggs: Scrambled or soft-boiled eggs are one of the easiest ways to get protein when you’re sick, and protein is essential for immune cell production.
Honey for Coughs
Honey is a surprisingly effective cough suppressant. For children ages 1 and older, half a teaspoon to one teaspoon before bed can reduce nighttime coughing. Adults can take a tablespoon straight or stirred into warm tea. Never give honey to a baby under 12 months old due to the risk of infant botulism, a rare but serious form of food poisoning.
Honey coats the throat and has mild antibacterial properties. It works well on its own, but combining it with warm lemon water gives you the added benefit of vitamin C and throat-soothing warmth.
What to Eat With a Stomach Bug
If you’re dealing with nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea, eating is harder and the stakes are different. Your priority shifts to preventing dehydration and reintroducing food as soon as your stomach can handle it.
You may have heard of the BRAT diet (bananas, rice, applesauce, toast). It used to be standard advice, but it’s no longer recommended as a strict protocol. The Cleveland Clinic notes that BRAT foods are fine for the first day or two when you’re at your sickest, but the diet lacks calcium, vitamin B12, protein, and fiber. For children, the American Academy of Pediatrics says following it for more than 24 hours can actually slow recovery. The current recommendation is to eat as tolerated, adding soft, bland foods and returning to a normal diet as soon as you’re able. Your gut needs a range of nutrients to heal.
Good options as you start eating again include plain crackers, white rice, boiled potatoes, bananas, plain yogurt, and simple broths. Avoid jumping straight to greasy, spicy, or heavily seasoned food, which can irritate an already inflamed digestive tract.
Ginger for Nausea
Ginger is one of the best-studied natural remedies for nausea. Its active compound works on receptors in the digestive tract that trigger the urge to vomit. Most clinical research has used between 250 mg and 1 gram of powdered ginger root daily, divided into multiple doses. For pregnancy-related nausea, the typical studied dose is 250 mg four times a day.
You don’t need capsules to benefit. Fresh ginger steeped in hot water makes a simple tea. Grate about a teaspoon of fresh ginger, pour boiling water over it, and let it steep for five to ten minutes. Flat ginger ale is a popular remedy, but most commercial brands contain very little real ginger. Check the ingredients or make your own.
Probiotics and Gut Recovery
After a bout of stomach flu, your gut microbiome takes a hit. Probiotic-rich foods can help it bounce back faster. In pediatric studies, children who received probiotics during acute diarrhea recovered in an average of 2.4 days, compared to 3.3 days without them. That’s roughly a full day shorter, which matters when you’re miserable.
Plain yogurt with live cultures is the most accessible source. Kefir, a fermented milk drink, contains an even wider variety of beneficial bacteria. If dairy bothers your stomach, fermented foods like miso soup or sauerkraut are alternatives, though start with small amounts.
Hot vs. Cold Drinks for a Sore Throat
Both work, through different mechanisms. Cold beverages numb the area and reduce swelling by narrowing blood vessels, which provides quick pain relief. Warm beverages relax throat muscles and improve blood flow to the tissue, which can support healing. A small study found that a hot drink relieved sore throat symptoms while the same drink at room temperature did not.
The practical advice: drink whichever temperature feels better. Ice chips and cold smoothies are great when your throat is acutely swollen and painful. Warm tea with honey works well for a scratchy, dry sore throat, especially with a cough. Avoid very hot liquids, which can irritate inflamed tissue. Gentle warmth is the sweet spot.
Staying Hydrated Matters Most
Dehydration is the biggest nutritional risk during any illness. Fever, sweating, vomiting, and diarrhea all drain your fluid reserves fast. Water is essential, but it doesn’t replace the electrolytes you lose. Broth, coconut water, diluted fruit juice, and oral rehydration solutions all help maintain your sodium and potassium balance.
A simple rule: if your urine is dark yellow, you need more fluids. Sip steadily throughout the day rather than trying to drink large amounts at once, especially if nausea is an issue. Small, frequent sips are easier for your stomach to handle than a full glass.
Foods and Drinks to Avoid
Some foods make symptoms worse or slow your recovery. High-sugar foods and drinks are worth limiting. High sugar intake adds stress to your body and forces your immune system to work harder, triggering an inflammatory response that competes with your body’s efforts to fight the actual infection.
Other foods to skip while you’re sick:
- Dairy (with stomach bugs): Milk and cheese can worsen nausea and diarrhea for some people, though yogurt with probiotics is usually fine.
- Fried and greasy food: Hard to digest and can worsen nausea.
- Alcohol: Dehydrates you and suppresses immune function.
- Caffeine in excess: A small cup of tea is fine, but large amounts of coffee act as a diuretic and can worsen dehydration.
- Spicy food: Can irritate a sore throat and upset an already sensitive stomach.
Zinc-Rich Foods and Supplements
Zinc plays a direct role in immune cell function, and getting enough of it during a cold may shorten how long you’re sick. A systematic review found that zinc lozenges taken at doses above 75 mg per day of elemental zinc consistently shortened cold duration, while doses below that threshold had no effect. Timing matters: zinc works best when started within 24 hours of symptom onset.
Food sources of zinc include oysters (the richest source by far), red meat, pumpkin seeds, chickpeas, and cashews. If you’re too sick to eat much, zinc lozenges are a practical option. Look for zinc acetate or zinc gluconate and aim for the higher dosing range, taken every two to three waking hours, for actual cold-shortening benefits.