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When you’re feeling under the weather, the right nutrition can ease symptoms and help shorten the duration of the illness. While good nutrition and proper hydration can support the body’s immune system to help fight off a cold and help you recover, eating the wrong foods could make you feel worse or suppress immune function.
No single food can cure a cold, flu, or other sickness. But eating a diet rich in whole, fresh foods and staying hydrated with water, caffeine-free herbal teas, and coconut water are beneficial, natural ways to support the body during sickness.
The following foods may help support immune function and speed up your recovery.
Chicken soup or similar broth-based soups are warming and soothing for a sore throat. Broths are also hydrating and can help thin mucus. Depending on the ingredients in the soup, they may also provide anti-inflammatory benefits and support immune system function. For those who don’t eat chicken, a vegetable and white bean soup made in a wholesome broth is also beneficial.
Ginger has antibacterial and antifungal effects and may help reduce the risk of bacterial and viral infections.1,2 Try ginger tea, fresh or ground ginger added to a smoothie, or add ginger to soup.
Curcumin, the active compound found in turmeric, has strong antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antifungal, and antiviral properties.3 It may help prevent or speed recovery from the common cold. In one well-designed study, healthy adults who consumed 150 milligrams of curcumin daily for 12 weeks had less severe symptoms and were sick significantly fewer days from the common cold than those who took a placebo.4 Try turmeric in tea, a golden milk latte, fresh or ground and added to a smoothie, or add to soup.
Lemons are rich in antioxidant and immune-supporting vitamin C. Fresh lemon juice can be added to cold water, hot water with honey for a soothing sore throat remedy, salad dressings, smoothies, and soups!
Honey has known medicinal and antibacterial properties—especially raw honey that has not been pasteurized by heat, which can diminish its medicinal properties.5 A review of studies examining honey’s effects on upper respiratory tract infection symptoms found that honey helped reduce cough frequency and severity and improved symptoms overall.6 Honey can be enjoyed by the spoonful for a natural throat-soothing remedy or added to tea.
Garlic contains the compound allicin, which has strong antimicrobial properties.7,8 Garlic is excellent in stir-fries, soups, salad dressing, or even diced and added to water with honey, lemon, and ginger for an immune-supporting beverage.
Strawberries are one of the best sources of vitamin C, which has been shown to support immunity and help prevent and treat respiratory and systemic infections.9 One serving—about eight large strawberries—provides 100% of your daily vitamin C. Strawberries are delicious on their own as a snack, in a smoothie, or topped on a salad or cereal.
Kiwis are rich in vitamin C. Eating one kiwi a day provides 100% of your daily vitamin C. Kiwis are a delicious snack all on their own, added to a smoothie, topped on cereal, or in a fruit salad. You can even eat the skin of gold kiwis because they are smooth and fuzz-free.
Though technically fruits because they contain seeds, bell peppers are often referred to as vegetables. They are also the best source of vitamin C, with one medium bell pepper providing approximately 150% of your daily value. Bell peppers are a crunchy snack perfect for dipping in hummus or guacamole, topped on a salad, or added to a stir-fry.
When we think of vitamin C-rich foods, oranges top the list. One medium orange provides 78% of your daily value of immune-supporting vitamin C.10 They’re also water-dense and hydrating to help thin mucus. Oranges are great to peel and eat as a snack, juiced by themselves or with other fruits and vegetables, or in a smoothie!
Chamomile tea is gentle on digestion, calming, hydrating, and has anti-inflammatory benefits to help soothe a sore throat. Herbal teas, in general, are caffeine-free and a great way to hydrate and help relieve cold and flu symptoms.
Salmon and other fatty fish are some of the few foods that provide a natural source of vitamin D. Vitamin D has numerous benefits, from supporting gut health to immune function.11
Cooked oatmeal provides fiber, protein, vitamins, and minerals to support immune function. It’s also an easy-to-digest carbohydrate, which can be comforting when sick.
Vegetables are a staple for gut health, immune health, and overall health. They provide vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and phytonutrients to support immune health. Eating cooked vegetables in soup or pureed vegetable soups can be easier to digest and more comforting when sick compared to raw vegetables.
Carrots are rich in beta carotene, which the body converts into vitamin A. Vitamin A is essential for immune function. Carrots are delicious raw as a snack dipped in hummus or peanut butter, shredded on a salad, or cooked in a soup.
The common cold actually consists of more than 200 different viruses that cause minor infections and inflammation of the nose and throat. Cold symptoms include congestion (a stuffy nose), cough, runny nose, sneezing, headache, and sore throat. Colds typically resolve within three to seven days but can last up to two weeks.
With a cold, it’s important to stay hydrated, soothe a sore throat, and help support a strong immune system. The best foods to eat when you have a cold include broth-based soups, fruits rich in vitamin C, herbal teas, honey, ginger, and oatmeal. Herbal and vitamin support from elderberry, zinc, and vitamin D may help you recover faster. Homeopathic remedies may also help relieve cold symptoms.
Influenza, also known as the flu, is also a viral infection that attacks the respiratory system. Symptoms of the flu include a fever of 100.4 Fahrenheit or higher, sore, aching muscles, chills, sweats, a headache, cough, and runny nose. The flu typically lasts four to seven days. However, symptoms can persist for weeks. Like a cold, it’s important to stay hydrated, soothe a sore throat, and help support a strong immune system when you have the flu.
With a fever, it’s essential to focus on hydrating and eating cooling foods like popsicles, herbal teas, coconut water, and water-dense foods like cucumbers, citrus fruits, lettuce, bell peppers, apples, and grapes.
When you have a stomach bug, eating bland, easy-to-digest foods can help settle the stomach and avoid further aggravating digestion. Good choices include bananas, rice, applesauce, toast, crackers, oatmeal, popsicles, and herbal teas.
Eating the right foods when you’re sick can help support your immune health. But avoiding foods that can aggravate symptoms or hinder immune function is equally important for helping speed recovery.
Eating too much sugar may suppress immune function and trigger inflammation in the body. Naturally occurring sugars from fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and legumes are not of concern. Try to minimize intake of added sugars found in most processed foods and desserts, such as cane sugar, brown sugar, brown rice syrup, agave, and others that provide little to no nutritional value.
When you’re feeling under the weather, it’s best to limit or avoid processed foods and foods high in added sugar. Instead, focus on eating mostly natural, whole, fresh foods.
Alcohol provides no nutritional benefits, is dehydrating, and may weaken the body’s immune system, impairing its ability to fight off infection.
This one may surprise you since citrus fruits are rich in immune-supporting vitamin C! For most people, eating citrus is beneficial when sick. However, for some—especially those suffering from a severe sore throat—the acidity in citrus fruits may further irritate throat soreness.
Dairy foods like milk, yogurt, cheese, and ice cream contain a milk sugar known as lactose. Some individuals with lactose intolerance do not digest lactose well, which may trigger digestive distress, a runny nose, or congestion.
Avoid fatty foods, like those found at most fast-food restaurants, bacon, sausage, whole milk, cream, butter, fried foods, and desserts. These foods are low in the vitamins and minerals the immune system needs during times of illness. They’re also hard to digest and may worsen digestive systems, especially for individuals struggling with a stomach bug.
Viral infections usually need to run their course, and medical intervention isn’t necessary. However, if the following symptoms occur or your gut feeling tells you to seek help, don’t hesitate to seek medical support.
Some of the best things you can do when you’re feeling sick are resting, staying hydrated, and nourishing your body with immune-supporting foods.
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By Megan Roosevelt, RDN