What To Eat When Sick: The Top 5 Remedy Foods

by Bob Sassone, Posted Oct 17th 2005 @ 4:00PM

I woke up yesterday with a toothache, a massive headache, and just a general rundown feeling. And it got me thinking: what are the top eat-or-drink foods when you're sick?

Tea: soothing, coats the throat, opens up airways.
Soup: easy to go down, good to eat if you can't eat solid foods.
Juice: not really sure, maybe the vitamin C?
Gingerale: because my mom always told me to drink it when I was sick
Pizza: because pizza cures everything

What do you eat/drink when you're sick?

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Reader comments (Page 1 of 2)

11-04-2005 @5:41PM jeshi said... Egg drop soup. My mother's Japanese friend always brought it over when I was ill...nothing makes me feel better!
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11-05-2005 @9:46AM Okie said... For a tummy issues, my grandmother swears by taking a laxitive, then drinking lots of water. She says this cleans all the bacteria or virus out of your system....She has always done this. Grandma is 95 and still does this!
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11-15-2005 @10:46AM Beth said... For an upset stomach my mom gave me syrup of coca-cola over cracked ice, which always worked! And when I'm feeling better, two poached eggs do the trick.
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12-06-2005 @2:17PM joe said... Depends on the sickness....

Tea, emergen-c for typical cold, ill feelings

Adrenotonic and tinctures for allergies, well, pre-allergy to be exact

Kefir for stomach/digestion problems

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10-17-2005 @4:28PM Dulce said... Tea, yes, but it's ginger tea: I cut thin slices of ginger, throw it into a pot and boil it with a little brown sugar for about 10 minutes. It's great for a sore throat - hot and spicy, but it soothes whateve ails you!
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10-17-2005 @4:33PM Ming said... Hawaiian Sweet rolls and Chinese rice soup (congee)
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10-19-2005 @1:53PM Whisper said... My 2nd child always asks for a 'Fluffy-Nutter' sandwich. Kraft marshmallow fluff and creamy peanut butter, spread thick on whole wheat bread. (Cut in triangles, crust on.) I am almost 30 and when feeling ill, pistachio pudding, v-8 and old Tom and Jerry cartoons make me feel a few degrees better instantly.
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10-17-2005 @5:23PM mmw said... Herbal or green tea, vegetable soup, ginger ale, yes, and also: jello and lightly buttered toast cut into four small pieces.
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10-17-2005 @7:29PM Nick said... I cook up some wicked hot pasta - using lots of fresh habaneros or whatever I have laying around. The peppers clear out your sinus (and the remainder of your system) as well as packing some serious Vitamin C.
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10-17-2005 @7:49PM Jay said... Seltzer and crackers keeps the spew down.
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10-17-2005 @8:42PM Devin Lussier said... Oriental flavoured Ramen noodles and/or buttered toast. Also just plain hot lemon juice and honey always make me feel a little better.
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10-17-2005 @7:24PM Derek said... Red Popsicles. My Mom gave me popsicles whenever I had a fever. I naturally thought they they were some sort of voodoo magic healing product but I guess sucking on ice does a good job of lowering body temps.

And yes, color DOES matter. The purple ones never did anything... =]
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10-17-2005 @7:25PM Emily said... Green chile stew made with hot green chiles for a cold. It's spicy enough to clear up the worst congestion, and tasty, too. For stomach ailments my mom always used to fix French toast as soon as I felt like eating, so that's still what I crave.
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10-17-2005 @8:05PM sarah gilbert said... I'm with you on the tea, but I like mine black (Trader Joe's Irish Breakfast is my current pick). I also do hot lemon and honey - hot water, a teaspoon of honey, a 1/4 lemon squeezed in good.

the other comfort food I've discovered recently is Trader Joe's gnocchi with gorgonzola sauce. it has the benefit of being tasty, filling and (best of all) really easy to cook.
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10-17-2005 @10:03PM Sir Not Appearing in this Blog said... In college I had a girlfriend would would make me some concoction of ginger ale (and ginger is supposed to be good for what ails ya, har-de-har), honey and a few other ingredients she never told me because she didn't want to scare me.

In the last four years I've never been seriously ill once, so I've lost track of any foods I like to eat when sick.

Just remember kids: WASH YOUR HANDS. If there's anything I remember from my Santiation and Food Safety class, it's this: cleanliness is next to healthiness. 8^)
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10-18-2005 @12:16AM Ann Adams said... If it's just a cold without tummy problems, I love hot and sour soup. Clears out everything. If it's the tummy, I don't bother eating anything - just live on water and maybe a little warm milk toast or crackers. Fortunately, that doesn't happen often.
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10-18-2005 @1:19AM Mark said... Two shots of whiskey. Repeat.
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10-18-2005 @2:31AM Terry Bain said... 1. ramen (chicken, usually)
2. toast (lighly buttered with actual butter)
3. saltines
4. cranberry juice
5. emergen-c
6. shotwhiskey+hotwater+dashlemonjuice+dashsugar... repeat until well
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10-18-2005 @4:16AM Ari Spool said... When I was a kid, it was the BRAT diet when you were puking: Bananas, Rice, Applesauce, and Toast (you could only have jelly on the toast after digesting one of the former items correctly).

It worked like a charm.
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