Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsEating When Feeling IllEating With DehydrationEating With NauseaFoods to Have Handy
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Eating When Feeling Ill
Eating With Dehydration
Eating With Nausea
Foods to Have Handy
Knowing what to eatwhen you feel sickcan be difficult, especially if you are tired, nauseated, or can’t taste certain foods. The right food choices may also depend on the symptoms of your illness and the amount of hunger you feel.
Often, the best foods to eat when sick are those that give you the energy you need to make you feel better. Maybe comforting foods include your grandmother’s homemade soup when you have a cold or rice for an upset stomach.
This article discusses different foods you can eat when you’re sick to help you recover and get the energy you need to heal.
Rebeca Mello / Getty Images
A healthcare provider may recommend specific foods to eat or to avoid when you have a medical condition, including diabetes, heart failure, kidney disease, autoimmune diseases, or other chronic health conditions. Reach out to a provider for information on what you can eat if you become sick and have another medical condition.
What to Eat When Sick to Your Stomach
BRAT Diet
The acronym “BRAT” stands for:
These foods are generally high in carbohydrates but low infiber, bland in flavor, easy to digest, and help to make stool less watery and more firm. These foods contain essential nutrients and energy but should be mild on your digestive system.
Similar foods include saltine crackers, potatoes (plain, without dairy or fat), and broth.
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Bland Foods
Bland foodsare those with low fiber that are soft, low in fat, and not spicy(sometimes nonacidic, too). The goal is to choose foods that are gentle on the digestive system and easy to tolerate.
In addition to the items in the BRAT diet, you can try the following:
Your dietary choices may depend on the intestinal problem you’re addressing. If you have occasional diarrhea, you may be able to tolerate more foods than if you have ongoingulcers,heartburn, or other health conditions.
Additional FoodsIf it’s OK with your healthcare provider, you may want to eat more fruits and vegetables at this time, such as:Potatoes (boiled or baked)Squash (cooked until soft)Apples, (baked or cooked into applesauce)Cooking helps soften fruits and vegetables and makes them easier to digest. Fats such as butter, oils, and those found in nuts can be hard to digest and may move quickly through your intestine, leading to diarrhea.
Additional Foods
If it’s OK with your healthcare provider, you may want to eat more fruits and vegetables at this time, such as:Potatoes (boiled or baked)Squash (cooked until soft)Apples, (baked or cooked into applesauce)Cooking helps soften fruits and vegetables and makes them easier to digest. Fats such as butter, oils, and those found in nuts can be hard to digest and may move quickly through your intestine, leading to diarrhea.
If it’s OK with your healthcare provider, you may want to eat more fruits and vegetables at this time, such as:
Cooking helps soften fruits and vegetables and makes them easier to digest. Fats such as butter, oils, and those found in nuts can be hard to digest and may move quickly through your intestine, leading to diarrhea.
What to Eat When You’re Dehydrated
Being sick can increase your risk ofdehydration. You may feel less inclined to eat and drink your normal amounts.Feverand diarrhea can increase the amount of fluids you lose from your body. Start with small sips ofwater.As you feel better, try slowly increasing the amount.
Beverages
Drink liquids other thancaffeinated beverages(coffee, strong tea, colas, energy drinks) or alcohol. Warm or cold beverages are both helpful. Try to track how much you drink and urinate throughout the day. Seek medical attention if you cannot drink or if you stop urinating.
Soup
Soup can be a tasty way to get some extra fluid. Plain broth or broth-based soups will have more liquid than creamy soups or thick stews. You can also add extra broth to your soup to increase the amount of fluid.
Liquid Foods
Soft foods and those with a liquid base can also provide added fluid. However, aliquid foods dietmay not provide enough long-term nutrition on its own. Examples of liquid foods includes:
Fruit
Many fruits contain fluid in the form of juice, which can help if you’re dehydrated. Fruits with the highest water content include:
There is no consistent way to measure the water content of the specific fruits you eat, but choosing options with a greater amount of water will add to your fluid intake.
What to Eat When You’re Nauseated or Have a Stomachache
When you are experiencingnauseaor vomiting, it can be hard to think about eating and drinking. Nausea is a queasy feeling in the stomach, sometimes related to a feeling like you will need to vomit.
Drinking enough liquids daily is essential to prevent dehydration, even when you feel nauseated.
Ginger
Scientific evidence suggestsgingercan help decrease nausea and reduce vomiting. This has been studied primarily in pregnant persons and people with cancer who are receivingchemotherapy treatment.
Ginger seems to offer potential benefits with very low risk. More research is needed to understand the best way to extract the useful parts of ginger and the best dose and frequency.
Try ginger ale, ginger extract, or ginger candies to see which, if any, work for your nausea.
7 Proven Ways to Use Ginger for Nausea Relief
Dry Foods
Dry, starchy foods like plain toast or saltine crackers can sometimes resolve nausea. These foods are bland and easy to digest. They may also act to absorb stomach acid, which may help with symptoms.
Cold Foods and Low-Odor Foods
You may experiment to see how your body responds to different types of food when you are experiencing nausea. Some people find the smell of food being cooked makes nausea worse.
Some people find that warm to hot foods and foods with strong odors can increase their nausea. Generally, cool foods have lower odor levels and less intense flavor.Keep in mind, foods you can tolerate with a stomach illness may not be tolerable if you are pregnant.
Other Foods to Keep on Hand for Sick Days
You may want to keep other foods in your pantry for sick days. Most of these will stay fresh for a long time and may help you to feel better. Some of the foods include:
Summary
When you are sick, making healthy foods or getting enough to eat and drink can be a challenge. It is normal to have less of an appetite when sick, and most healthy people can tolerate a day or two with less food than usual.
Be sure to see a healthcare provider if you have any medical conditions that need attention or symptoms that arise from eating and drinking less than usual. Your food and drink choices can be customized to help with the symptoms of your sickness and to help you recover.
10 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.American Academy of Family Physicians.BRAT diet: Recovering from an upset stomach.MedlinePlus.Bland diet.National Health Service.Dehydration.American Academy of Family Physicians.Dehydration.Popkin BM, D’Anci KE, Rosenberg IH.Water, hydration, and health.Nutrition Reviews. 2010;68(8):439-458. doi:10.1111/j.1753-4887.2010.00304.xCenters for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).Guidelines for the acute management of diarrhea after a disaster.Viljoen E, Visser J, Koen N, Musekiwa A.A systematic review and meta-analysis of the effect and safety of ginger in the treatment of pregnancy-associated nausea and vomiting.Nutr J. 2014;13(1):20. doi:10.1186/1475-2891-13-20Choi J, Lee J, Kim K, Choi HK, Lee SA, Lee HJ.Effects of ginger intake on chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting: a systematic review of randomized clinical trials.Nutrients. 2022;14(23):4982. doi:10.3390/nu14234982Giacosa A, Morazzoni P, Bombardelli E, Riva A, Bianchi Porro G, Rondanelli M.Can nausea and vomiting be treated with ginger extract?Eur Rev Med Pharmacol Sci. 2015;19(7):1291-1296.Breastcancer.org.Eating when you have nausea and vomiting.
10 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.American Academy of Family Physicians.BRAT diet: Recovering from an upset stomach.MedlinePlus.Bland diet.National Health Service.Dehydration.American Academy of Family Physicians.Dehydration.Popkin BM, D’Anci KE, Rosenberg IH.Water, hydration, and health.Nutrition Reviews. 2010;68(8):439-458. doi:10.1111/j.1753-4887.2010.00304.xCenters for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).Guidelines for the acute management of diarrhea after a disaster.Viljoen E, Visser J, Koen N, Musekiwa A.A systematic review and meta-analysis of the effect and safety of ginger in the treatment of pregnancy-associated nausea and vomiting.Nutr J. 2014;13(1):20. doi:10.1186/1475-2891-13-20Choi J, Lee J, Kim K, Choi HK, Lee SA, Lee HJ.Effects of ginger intake on chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting: a systematic review of randomized clinical trials.Nutrients. 2022;14(23):4982. doi:10.3390/nu14234982Giacosa A, Morazzoni P, Bombardelli E, Riva A, Bianchi Porro G, Rondanelli M.Can nausea and vomiting be treated with ginger extract?Eur Rev Med Pharmacol Sci. 2015;19(7):1291-1296.Breastcancer.org.Eating when you have nausea and vomiting.
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
American Academy of Family Physicians.BRAT diet: Recovering from an upset stomach.MedlinePlus.Bland diet.National Health Service.Dehydration.American Academy of Family Physicians.Dehydration.Popkin BM, D’Anci KE, Rosenberg IH.Water, hydration, and health.Nutrition Reviews. 2010;68(8):439-458. doi:10.1111/j.1753-4887.2010.00304.xCenters for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).Guidelines for the acute management of diarrhea after a disaster.Viljoen E, Visser J, Koen N, Musekiwa A.A systematic review and meta-analysis of the effect and safety of ginger in the treatment of pregnancy-associated nausea and vomiting.Nutr J. 2014;13(1):20. doi:10.1186/1475-2891-13-20Choi J, Lee J, Kim K, Choi HK, Lee SA, Lee HJ.Effects of ginger intake on chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting: a systematic review of randomized clinical trials.Nutrients. 2022;14(23):4982. doi:10.3390/nu14234982Giacosa A, Morazzoni P, Bombardelli E, Riva A, Bianchi Porro G, Rondanelli M.Can nausea and vomiting be treated with ginger extract?Eur Rev Med Pharmacol Sci. 2015;19(7):1291-1296.Breastcancer.org.Eating when you have nausea and vomiting.
American Academy of Family Physicians.BRAT diet: Recovering from an upset stomach.
MedlinePlus.Bland diet.
National Health Service.Dehydration.
American Academy of Family Physicians.Dehydration.
Popkin BM, D’Anci KE, Rosenberg IH.Water, hydration, and health.Nutrition Reviews. 2010;68(8):439-458. doi:10.1111/j.1753-4887.2010.00304.x
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).Guidelines for the acute management of diarrhea after a disaster.
Viljoen E, Visser J, Koen N, Musekiwa A.A systematic review and meta-analysis of the effect and safety of ginger in the treatment of pregnancy-associated nausea and vomiting.Nutr J. 2014;13(1):20. doi:10.1186/1475-2891-13-20
Choi J, Lee J, Kim K, Choi HK, Lee SA, Lee HJ.Effects of ginger intake on chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting: a systematic review of randomized clinical trials.Nutrients. 2022;14(23):4982. doi:10.3390/nu14234982
Giacosa A, Morazzoni P, Bombardelli E, Riva A, Bianchi Porro G, Rondanelli M.Can nausea and vomiting be treated with ginger extract?Eur Rev Med Pharmacol Sci. 2015;19(7):1291-1296.
Breastcancer.org.Eating when you have nausea and vomiting.
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