When you’re sick, your body burns more energy fighting infection, but your appetite often drops at the same time. The best foods to eat depend on your specific symptoms, but the general priority is the same: stay hydrated, get enough protein and calories to support your immune system, and avoid anything that makes your symptoms worse. Here’s what works for different types of illness.
Hydration Comes First
Fluids matter more than food when you’re sick, especially if you have a fever, vomiting, or diarrhea. Water is fine for mild illness, but if you’re losing fluids quickly, you need to replace electrolytes too. The most effective oral rehydration works on a simple principle: your gut absorbs sodium and water best when glucose is present in a 1:1 ratio with sodium. That’s the basis for products like Pedialyte and the WHO’s oral rehydration solution.
You don’t need to buy a special product. A basic homemade version uses water, a small amount of salt, and a small amount of sugar. Broth-based soups accomplish something similar by providing sodium, water, and a modest amount of calories in a form that’s easy to keep down. Coconut water is another option, though it’s lower in sodium than ideal for true rehydration.
Both hot and cold liquids can help. Warm tea or broth may feel soothing for a sore throat, while cold water or popsicles can numb throat pain temporarily. Either works, so go with whatever you’ll actually drink.
What to Eat With Nausea or Vomiting
When your stomach is unsettled, the goal is getting something in without triggering more nausea. Plain, starchy foods tend to be the easiest to tolerate: white rice, plain toast, crackers, and bananas. You may have heard this called the BRAT diet (bananas, rice, applesauce, toast). It’s a reasonable starting point, but the CDC notes that it’s unnecessarily restrictive and doesn’t provide enough nutrition for recovery on its own. Once you can keep bland foods down, start adding protein and other nutrients back in.
Ginger genuinely helps with nausea. Research on chemotherapy patients found that doses up to 1 gram per day for at least four days significantly reduced vomiting. You don’t need supplements to get that amount. A thumb-sized piece of fresh ginger steeped in hot water makes an effective tea, or you can use ginger chews. Ginger ale is less reliable since many brands contain minimal actual ginger and a lot of sugar.
Eat small amounts frequently rather than full meals. A few bites of toast every hour is easier on your stomach than a full plate of food every six hours.
What to Eat With Diarrhea
Diarrhea depletes fluids and electrolytes fast, so rehydration is the top priority. For food, you want things that are easy to digest and won’t make loose stools worse. White rice, boiled potatoes, plain chicken, eggs, bananas, and oatmeal are all good choices. Yogurt is particularly useful because it contains live cultures that can help restore the balance of bacteria in your gut.
If your diarrhea is related to antibiotics, probiotics can cut your risk of ongoing symptoms roughly in half. The strains with the strongest evidence are found in many commercial yogurts and probiotic supplements. For children taking antibiotics, European pediatric guidelines recommend starting a probiotic at the same time as the antibiotic course.
Avoid high-sugar drinks like juice, soda, and sports drinks with heavy sweetener loads. The sugar draws water into your intestines through osmosis, which can actually worsen diarrhea. Dairy (other than yogurt) and greasy or fried foods are also common triggers for loose stools.
What to Eat With a Cold or Flu
Chicken soup isn’t just comfort food. The warm broth helps with hydration and loosens nasal congestion, while the chicken provides protein your immune system needs. During an acute infection, your body needs roughly 20 to 25 percent more protein than usual to maintain muscle and fuel immune cell production. That means prioritizing eggs, chicken, fish, Greek yogurt, or beans at every meal you can manage.
For a cough, honey is one of the most effective home remedies available. Studies show it works about as well as common over-the-counter cough suppressants. Half a teaspoon to one teaspoon is the tested dose. You can take it straight, stir it into warm tea, or mix it with lemon and hot water. Never give honey to children under one year old due to the risk of botulism.
Citrus fruits, bell peppers, strawberries, and other foods rich in vitamin C won’t cure a cold, but they support immune function. Garlic and onions have mild antimicrobial properties and add flavor to soups and broths when nothing else tastes good. If you have congestion, spicy foods containing chili peppers or horseradish can temporarily open nasal passages.
What to Eat With a Sore Throat
Anything smooth, soft, or cold tends to feel best on an inflamed throat. Good options include smoothies (a great way to pack in fruit, protein powder, and yogurt when chewing hurts), mashed potatoes, scrambled eggs, oatmeal, applesauce, and ice pops. Warm broth and herbal tea with honey also coat and soothe the throat.
Avoid anything with sharp edges or acidic punch. Chips, crackers, dry toast, and raw vegetables can scratch irritated tissue. Tomato-based sauces, citrus juices, and vinegar-heavy foods can sting. If your throat is severely swollen, stick with liquids and very soft foods until swallowing becomes easier.
Foods That Can Slow Recovery
Some foods actively work against your immune system when you’re sick. A classic study published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that consuming 100 grams of simple sugar (from glucose, fructose, sucrose, honey, or orange juice) significantly reduced the ability of white blood cells to engulf and destroy bacteria. This effect kicked in within one to two hours of eating and persisted for at least five hours. The sugar didn’t reduce the number of immune cells; it impaired how well they functioned.
That doesn’t mean you need to avoid all sugar, but it’s a good reason to skip soda, candy, pastries, and sugary cereals while you’re fighting an infection. The sugar in a piece of whole fruit comes packaged with fiber and vitamins, which slows absorption and provides nutritional benefit, so fruit remains a good choice.
Other foods worth avoiding while sick:
- Alcohol dehydrates you and suppresses immune function
- Caffeine in large amounts can worsen dehydration, though a cup of tea or coffee is generally fine
- Greasy or fried foods are harder to digest and can worsen nausea
- Dairy doesn’t actually increase mucus production (that’s a myth), but full-fat dairy can feel heavy if you’re nauseated
When You Have No Appetite at All
It’s normal to lose your appetite during illness. Your body redirects energy toward fighting infection, and inflammatory signals in your brain can suppress hunger. You don’t need to force full meals, but going days without eating slows recovery because your body starts breaking down muscle for fuel.
Focus on calorie-dense liquids if solid food feels impossible. Smoothies blended with banana, nut butter, yogurt, and a handful of spinach can deliver several hundred calories in a form that goes down easily. Broth with an egg beaten into it (egg drop soup style) adds protein without requiring much effort. Even a glass of milk provides protein, fat, and calories when chewing is too much.
As your appetite returns, don’t jump straight back to your normal diet. Start with simple, familiar foods and rebuild over a day or two. Your digestive system slows down during illness, and eating too much too fast can cause bloating or nausea even after your infection has cleared.