Best Foods for COVID Recovery: Boosting Your Immune System

Eating to Support Your Immune System

Recovering from COVID-19 is a challenging process for many people. While medical care is crucial, the foods you choose to eat can also play an important role during your recovery. Optimizing your diet provides your body with the vital nutrients it needs to support healing and fend off complications.

Certain foods and drinks have properties that can help ease common COVID-19 symptoms like fever, sore throat, nausea, and fatigue. An overall balanced diet rich in fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, and healthy fats will give your immune system the best chance at overcoming the virus.

The Importance of Hydration

Staying properly hydrated is one of the most vital things you can do while fighting COVID-19. The virus often causes fever, which can lead to dehydration from increased sweating.

Dehydration also commonly causes headaches, dizzy spells, confusion, irritability, and low energy levels - all symptoms you already dont need while recovering. Sipping on water, broths, electrolyte drinks, juices, smoothies, and decaffeinated teas throughout the day can help you avoid becoming dehydrated.

Fruits and Vegetables

Fruits and vegetables should form the foundation of your recovery diet. They provide antioxidants to fight inflammation, fiber to support digestion and gut health, and a wide range of vitamins and minerals to optimize immune system function.

Some especially beneficial fruits and vegetables to incorporate include:

• Citrus fruits like oranges, grapefruits, and lemons offer lots of vitamin C.
• Leafy greens like spinach and kale provide vitamin A, vitamin C, and folate.
• Sweet potatoes, carrots, tomatoes, and red peppers are loaded with vitamin A.
• Broccoli is rich in vitamins C, E, and K.

Lean Protein Foods

Protein plays a number of important roles while you recover from illness. Your body relies on protein to repair damaged tissue, synthesize antibodies, and produce substances that fight infection.

Some nourishing protein foods to include are:

• Bone broth made from chicken or beef provides protein as well as hydration.
• Eggs are packed with immunity boosters like zinc and selenium.
• Yogurt contains probiotics to support your gut.
• Fatty fish like salmon provide omega-3 fatty acids that reduce inflammation.

Soothing Foods and Drinks for COVID-19 Symptoms

Along with generally supporting your body nutritionally, certain foods and drinks have properties that can help ease troublesome COVID-19 symptoms.

Warming Foods for Fever Relief

Spiking fevers are one of COVID-19s hallmark symptoms. While a fever helps fight off infection, bringing your temperature down can relieve accompanying chills and aches.

Warming foods and drinks like soups, bone broths, and herbal teas can gently soothe fever discomfort. Things like fresh ginger, garlic, onions, herbs, and spices added to foods and drinks can also help promote healthy circulation and reduce inflammation.

Soothing Foods for Coughs and Sore Throats

Coughing and sore throats are also common with COVID-19. The right foods and drinks can act as natural cough suppressants and pain relievers.

In particular, cool foods like popsicles, smoothies, ice cream, chilled fruits, and yogurt can temporarily numb sore throat pain. Honey and lemon mixed in tea can also be very soothing.

Foods that naturally thin out mucus like chicken soup, peppermint tea, pineapple juice, and garlic can also calm coughs by making mucus easier to expel.

Settling Foods for Nausea and Diarrhea

Along with respiratory issues, many people suffer from gastrointestinal problems like nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea with COVID-19.

Gentle foods that wont overtax your stomach can help overcome nausea. Things like broths, porridges, applesauce, toast, crackers, mashed potatoes, noodles, and bananas are often well tolerated.

Diarrhea can often be managed by avoiding greasy, fried, and spicy foods as well as caffeine and alcohol. Low fiber foods like white rice, bread, mashed potatoes, eggs, chicken, and yogurt are generally easier to digest.

Energizing Foods for Fatigue and Headaches

Recovering from any illness is exhausting for the body. Feeling constantly tired and run down is common. Headaches and problems concentrating often accompany fatigue.

Natural energizing foods can help overcome low energy and mental fogginess. Things like oats, brown rice, nuts, seeds, beans and lentils, quinoa, fruits, and vegetables provide sustainable energy.

Foods containing electrolytes like coconut water, sports drinks, broths, and citrus fruits can prevent headaches caused by dehydration. Caffeine from coffee and tea may also help but should be consumed moderately.

Avoiding Potentially Harmful Foods

While many foods provide comfort and healing properties, others may do more harm than good while recovering from COVID-19.

Here are some foods best limited or avoided altogether:

• Sugar and refined carbs - Weakens immune defenses and gut health.
• Fried and greasy foods - Hard to digest and pro-inflammatory.
• Alcohol - Dehydrating and taxing for the liver to metabolize.
• Caffeine - Can increase anxiety, insomnia, and dehydration.
• Raw foods - Harder to digest than cooked foods.
• Dairy products - Can cause excess mucus production.

Tailoring Your Diet to Your Specific Needs

While research shows populations that eat diets centered around whole, minimally processed foods tend to be healthier overall, every person is different. You may find certain foods soothing and restorative while recovering that others find problematic.

Pay close attention to how various foods physically make you feel as you reintroduce them. Keeping notes in an app or journal can help you determine if certain foods worsen your unique COVID-19 symptoms.

For example, heavily spiced foods may trigger coughing or upset stomach. Dairy products could create excess phlegm and sore throats. Too much fiber might cause diarrhea if your gut health is compromised.

Let your direct experience guide you toward the foods that optimize your comfort and healing.

Seeking Nutritional Therapy if Needed

If you continue struggling with symptoms like fatigue, digestive issues, or headaches after your main COVID-19 illness subsides, seeking help from an integrative or functional medicine practitioner can be beneficial.

These holistic-minded professionals can offer specialized lab testing to detect nutritional deficiencies, food sensitivities, and gut health imbalances exacerbating lingering symptoms.

Targeted supplementation protocols and elimination diets are often used to help resolve post-viral complications and restore wellness after COVID-19.

Supporting Overall Health is Key

While no particular food or nutrient offers guaranteed protection against COVID-19, supporting overall health is key both in avoiding serious complications and recovering as comfortably as possible if infected.

Emphasizing whole, nutrient-dense foods from diverse natural sources helps supply your body with the tools it needs to function optimally. Limiting processed items supports vitality across body systems.

Listening closely to your bodys signals can further guide you toward nourishing foods that ease your personal COVID-19 symptoms so you can rest and return to health.

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Always consult with a healthcare professional before starting any new treatment regimen.