What NOT to Eat When You're Sick

Olivia Borer
Sep 7, 2015
3 min read

Fair warning - this is a full-fledge RANT that I'm about to begin.

I'm sorry, but I just cannot understand what "genius" came up with the idea that drinking 7-Up and eating Jello and zero-nutrition saltines were the best foods to consume when you're sick. These three foods are completely carb based and contain little to NO nutrients, nutrients that your body desperately needs to start the healing process. On the contrary, these foods are sugar bombs that spike the blood sugar and leave you often hungrier than before you began eating them. They contain no satiating protein or fat to slow this process down either.

Let's just take a quick peek at the ingredients in these common foods. First up 7-Up.

Okay, 63 grams of sugar (that's almost 16 teaspoons of sugar!), plus a handful of chemicals that you can't pronounce in addition to our friend high fructose corn syrup. NASTY. Tell me again how this helps us feel better? Where are its healing properties?

Next up, Jello. Hello sugar, disodium phosphate, red dye 40, and other fun chemicals. Yum! Who doesn't just want to slurp down a brightly colored serving of pure chemical sugar? DISGUSTING.

Last, the classic saltines: enriched wheat flour, soybean oil, high fructose corn syrup (it just won't go away now will it), partially hydrogenated cottonseed oil (aka trans fat), and other lovely chemicals. Let's also look at the % daily values for the listed vitamins. Oh, 0% for all? Big shocker there.

Oh, and please don't think that the sugar-free versions of the above foods are somehow "healthier." On the contrary, they are loaded with artificial sweeteners, which, as many studies are now revealing, can be more harmful to our health than regular sugar.

Okay, rant over. Yet that begs the question, what should we consume to help us heal while we are sick?

For starters, homemade chicken broth is the best place to start. Now, I'm not talking about the Campbell's Chemical Chicken Broth - I'm talking the good HOMEMADE broth. It's super easy (just throw it into a slow cooker and let the magic happen), and it freezes well. Here's a simple recipe: Slow-Cooker Chicken Broth

Another option is soup (again, not Campbell's Chemical Condensed Soup), made from homemade broth and full of gently cooked meats and tender vegetables (notice I did NOT say enriched OR whole wheat noodles). The nutrients from the broth and vegetables, along with the protein from the gently braised meat of choice, will help aid the body's defenses while trying to fight off an illness. Again, soup is simple, easy to double and freeze healing food to keep on hand. Here's a simple recipe: Chicken and Vegetable Soup

And an additional healing chicken soup recipe can be found here: Healing Chicken Soup

Additionally, any fermented food or probiotic-rich food will be greatly needed during and after an illness, especially if you took any form of an antibiotic. An antibiotic will greatly delplete your good and bad gut bacteria, so in order to innculate the good bacteria, you must consume a fair amount of probiotics. Examples include sauerkraut, kefir, kombucha, fermented vegetables, and/or a high-quality probiotic supplement.

Finally, here is an amazing recipe round up full of recipes and ideas for when you are under the weather: Healing Foods Round Up. It's the perfect resource to bookmark and save for the future.

When in doubt, avoid processed garbage and focus on nourishing, real foods when you are sick, and your body will do the rest. Your body is amazingly smart: if you give it the proper resources, it will heal itself. All it needs is time, love, sleep, and nourishment.

Questions? Comments? Concerns? Criticisms? What do you do when you're sick to feel better?