Illness can be depressing and debilitating and food is very important part of our every day life. However not every type of food is good when you are sick. Some foods and drinks out there can make you feel even worse. Here are 9 foods and beverages courtesy of MSN lifestyle you should avoid when you’re sick so you can feel better faster.
- Coffee
Coffee is a diuretic, so if you are ill in particular if you have a problem with your stomach it can make you pee a lot leaving you dehydrated.
Caffeine is even worse when you’re dealing with vomiting or diarrhea since both can cause you to lose fluid.
Plus, caffeine can actually stimulate the muscles in your digestive tract and make your diarrhea more intense, Dr. Arthur says.
2. Orange Juice
Orange juice’s tart acidity can hurt your throat if you have a cough or cold.
“It contains citric acid, which irritates the lining of your already-inflamed throat,” says Taz Bhatia, MD, a professor of integrative medicine at Emory University and author of What Doctors Eat.
That means your throat will hurt more and take longer to heal.
3. Cookies/sweets
Eating refined sugar can temporarily suppress your white blood cells’ ability to fight off bacteria, says Dr. Arthur.
For a few hours after snacking on sweets, cookies, candy, or sugary cereal, your immune system is weaker. So if you have an illness particularly a stomach bug your body will be less efficient at fighting off the germs that are making you sick.
4. Soda/Minerals
If you have stomach symptoms Like coffee, caffeinated sodas are make it worse they dehydrate you. And they’re loaded with sugar that suppresses your immune system and mess with your GI tract, says Dr. Arthur.
If you do not like water try a drink with low sugar content and with rehydrating electrolytes like coconut water or a sports drink.
“Many artificial sweeteners are large molecules, which can’t be broken down and digested well,” Dr. Arthur says. That can cause bloating, cramping, and even diarrhoea. So diet drinks are not on the cards either.
5. Crisps/ Crunchy snacks
If you have a sore throat or a cough the rough texture of things like potato chips, granola, or even crispy toast will feel like sandpaper on your raw throat, Dr. Bhatia says.
The more you irritate your throat, the longer it’ll take to heal. So you might end up inflaming your throat causing a longer recovery time.
6. Alcohol
Alcohol, is not good for stomach bugs like coffee, is a diuretic that can worsen illness-related dehydration.
And since you’re probably already dehydrated to begin with, your blood alcohol content will rise faster. This is one of the reasons you would feel drunker quicker
Alcohol can also speed up digestion, causing watery stool or diarrhea, Dr. Arthur says.
7. Milk/ Dairy
Scientist’s advise you avoid dairy when you’re sick because it makes you produce more mucus or phlegm
However “There’s no clear evidence that reducing milk will reduce mucus it’s mostly anecdotal,” According to Dr. Arthur.
Some people find that dairy makes their phlegm thicker and more unpleasant, she says. If it bothers you, go ahead and cut it out until you’re feeling better.
8. Fried or Fatty foods
“Fatty foods take longer to move through the digestive system, which can make nausea worse and trigger acid reflux” Dr. Bhatia says. They also trigger muscle spasms in your intestinal tract and can make diarrhea worse.
9. Peppers
If you have a runny nose chili peppers and hot sauce are a no go as they get their heat from capsaicin, a compound that can irritate your nasal passages and make your nose run.
So if you’re already drippy and runny, all that heat will only make the waterworks worse, Dr. Bhatia says.
However it is also capable of breaking your mucus if your nose is stuffed, making it feel less congested.
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