The Best Foods for When You're Sick

One of the worst things about being sick to the point of throwing up or having diarrhea (or, heaven forbid: both) – aside from vomiting and having diarrhea, of course – is that the cycle can be very difficult to break. If you can’t keep food inside your body long enough to benefit from the nourishment it can provide, your body won’t have the fuel it needs to help fight off what’s ailing you. Saltines and Sprite may help you feel like you’re “settling your stomach,” but they won’t give your body the nutrition it needs to restore your health.

It sounds really gross, but a general rule to follow when you’re having bowel problems like diarrhea and a good way to help your body get back to normal is to eat food that has about the same consistency as what’s coming out of you. This allows your gastrointestinal (GI) system to take baby steps toward getting healthy instead of being overtaxed by trying to breakdown the regular food you eat. One of the best ways to follow this advice and get some nutrients in the process is to follow the BRAT diet. And, no, we’re not talking about going to Octoberfest to have as many wursts as you can.

The BRAT Diet

The “BRAT” in the food plan’s name is an acronym with each letter representing food that is part of the diet. All of these food items are relatively easy for the body to digest and they have a relatively soft consistency while still providing needed nourishment to a taxed immune system and body.

Bananas

Nearly everyone knows how much of a “superfood” bananas are, but they – and the nutrients they provide – can be critical when you are sick.  Some fruits may not be palatable when you’re sick (especially when you’re vomiting), and others can be too acidic for your body to tolerate them well (like citrus fruits and juices). However, eating a balanced diet from all (or nearly all) of the food groups is important when you’re sick, as this variety will help you more than drinking a sports drink and eating pretzels.

Bananas are good sources of Vitamin B6 (aids in the metabolism of proteins) and potassium (helps balance the amount of excess water you have in your body, among other things). They also provide protein and dietary fiber which will help your body restore normal functioning.

Rice

Rice offers a wider range of choices than bananas, to allow for some variety when you’re eating a limited diet while sick. While it’s fine to choose brown or white rice, long or short grain, you should avoid flavored – especially spiced – rice or rice dishes with other foods or sauces in them. Although eating plain rice may not be the most enjoyable, it is a good food to eat if you’ve tried everything else and have been unable to keep it down.

When you’re first starting out with the rice, you would do best to steam your own rice, rather than to make instant rice from a box or package since these often have other food, chemicals, or artificial flavorings in them. Once you’ve had a few successful meals, you can start to progress the BRAT diet toward your regular diet by adding in some flavors and mild spices to your rice. But, as common sense would tell you, you shouldn’t go straight for the Cajun or Curried rice dishes.

*You can substitute quinoa or couscous in place of the rice, just be sure to follow the same guidelines given above.

As an added benefit, if you have trouble swallowing pills, rice can help you mask the feeling of the pill in your mouth and throat, which can contribute to the gag reflex.

Applesauce

The great thing about applesauce when you’re sick is that it requires very little effort. Because, let’s be honest – who actually wants to do anything when they’re sick? When you have to roll yourself off the couch in order to get up to go to the bathroom, you don’t really want to do any kind of food preparation. Plus, it takes essentially no effort to consume, either – you can practically drink it if you want!

Applesauce is also great for when you’re sick because its cold temperature can feel amazing if you have a fever or sore throat (or if your mouth is raw from stomach acid as a result of vomiting). Providing a quick source of energy (aka sugar) and a type of hydration (applesauce is generally around 80% water) that helps break up the flavor and texture monotony of water, sports drinks, and chicken broth, applesauce should be a go-to for you anytime you’re sick but you should definitely reach for it if you’re suffering from diarrhea.

Stick with plain applesauce (all-natural, sweetened, unsweetened, etc. is up to your personal choice) instead of cinnamon or other flavored varieties.

Toast

While toast may not seem to fit the bill of having a consistency that matches what’s coming out of you, it is still bland enough not to disrupt your already reeling gastrointestinal system. Just like the rice, you should start with plain varieties of bread rather than something like cinnamon raisin bread/toast. However, this doesn’t mean that you have to eat the least nutritious bread you can find. Unless you’re eating super-fiber bread that resembles particle board, you can eat your regular choice of bread including whole grain and whole wheat varieties. The toast can help settle your stomach, just like the age-old “remedy” of saltine crackers, but the toast can provide significantly better nutrition and benefits to the body.

You can eat the toast plain or with a small amount of light toppings, but avoid spicy or overly-sugary toppings on your first day or two of eating (and keeping down) food. As your health improves, you can progress into eating sandwiches that are intuitive progressions from the BRAT diet, like a peanut butter and banana sandwich on toast (yum!).

Add-ons

The BRAT diet is a good guide, but certainly does not need to be the only thing you eat while treating diarrhea. However, if you ignore the consistency rule mentioned above, you will have continued (or worsening) GI problems.

Other things you can eat with or instead of the BRAT diet include:

• Oatmeal: follow the same guidelines that apply to rice and toast in terms of additional things that go into and with the oatmeal
• Scrambled eggs: don’t eat too many of them at a time or too early on in your recovery, as they are denser and more taxing on your digestive system than applesauce and toast; these are usually a good addition or substitution on your third day of eating food and keeping it down
• Graham crackers: if you don’t mind the texture of mushy or soggy crackers, eating graham crackers like cereal (i.e. in a bowl with milk) when they’ve been soaking for a while can be very easy to get down and the cold temperature of the milk can feel good if you have a fever or sore throat. A warning: if you’ve been throwing up, wait at least one day after the last time you vomit before trying to consume milk and don’t drink an entire cereal bowl’s worth in your first attempt at drinking milk again.