Top 10 foods to avoid if you have a cold or the flu

When you have a cold and feel unwell, you may tend to eat inappropriate products, instead of healthy foods such as fruits, vegetables, and legumes. Oscar 2019 live: winners and the live gala Okay, you have a bad cold, and you feel bad. It is time to take care of your diet so that you can recover as soon as possible. Think twice before choosing junk food that will only worsen your health, even if you are tempted to do so. It's especially important to stay away from foods that dehydrate, cause inflammation, or disrupt sleep when you have the flu. We tell you what they are, and we warn you that they are already not very healthy. Sports drinks. Most sports drinks contain added sugar, which serves as energy for athletes. However, during a cold, that sugar also causes inflammation at a time when the immune system is already weakened. You are throwing fuel on the fire and diverting resources that should be dedicated to helping your body heal as quickly as possible. Hydrate through water, fruits, vegetables, and soup instead. Pepperoni. Eating pepperoni can, directly and indirectly, cause inflammation and disrupt the proper functioning of the immune system. The saturated fat in pepperoni is a direct trigger, but its fats also disrupt the cell membranes of the immune system, compromising its ability to work at an optimal level. Bacon. There are long-term reasons to limit bacon consumption on a regular basis. The World Health Organization has classified processed meats, including bacon, as carcinogens. However, one short-term reason to cut back on bacon when you have a cold is sodium overload. When you are under a cold, you should focus on hydration. Salty foods undermine that goal. White bread. White bread is food with a high glycemic index. So why is it worse during a cold? Increased blood sugar increases inflammation levels by increasing inflammatory markers called cytokines. Opt for whole wheat bread instead. Ice creams. The combination of fat and simple sugars found in good ice cream is not good enough to give you that cool, relaxing sensation in your throat that feels so good when you have a cold. This inflammatory combination puts more work on your already overtaxed immune system. Instead, try low-fat plain yogurt topped with fresh fruit to satisfy your sweet tooth. Beer Studies conducted on animals and cell cultures found that gluten, which is found in most beers, stimulates inflammation through a protein called TLR4, which triggers an immune response. Although human clinical trials still need to be conducted, the inflammatory effects of alcohol are reason enough to avoid beer when you're home with a cold. Sugary drinks. You already know (or should know) that added sugar in soft drinks isn't good for you, but this is another reason to kick the habit. Especially when you have a cold. Caffeinated soft drinks, at the end of the day, can make it difficult to sleep. Your body craves sleep when you're sick because fighting an infection causes a lot of fatigue in the body. Candy. While a sweet seems like a decent substitute for a cough drop, you're better off having a steaming cup of tea to soothe your throat and moisten your nasal airways. The candies will simply stimulate inflammation and weaken the immune system. Cookies. Cookies are commonly made with little more than a mound of refined white flour and butter. In small doses, this homemade delicacy may not be off the menu when you're feeling well, but it's different when you're fighting back to health. Highly refined flour and excess saturated fat increase your body's inflammation load, which is the last thing you need when you're sick. Pizza Yes, we love pizza, and it would be a good and tasty reward for a flu process. Pizza combines many of the hallmarks of the standard American diet: refined grains, processed meat, saturated fat, and salt galore. It is food that causes a lot of oxidative stress in a body that is trying to heal.