Eating a healthy diet filled with plenty of vitamins and minerals is always important, but it can be especially so when you are at home recovering from COVID. While over-the-counter pain relievers like Tylenol might alleviate some of your symptoms in the moment, it’s also important to fill your body with the nourishing foods it needs to help you make a full recovery.
“Some people rely on supplements to help them recuperate, but nothing is better than fresh fruits and vegetables,” says Bethany Thayer, RDN, a registered dietitian nutritionist at Henry Ford Health. “There are no supplements that have evidence of immune support and recovery. Eating foods that are as close to their natural state as possible is best.”
Here’s what to eat and drink when you have COVID—and how to navigate eating when you have nausea or an altered sense of taste.
If you’re still stuck on what to eat, know that you can’t go wrong with eating whole foods. “Eating foods from the food groups without added sugar, salt and saturated fat are the best sources of vitamins and minerals," says Thayer.
Of course, if you are nauseous, it might be hard to maintain a healthy diet. There are a few natural remedies you can use to tame nausea. “Ginger tea can be really helpful for managing nausea," says Thayer. "You can also try mint tea. Even smelling peppermint or sniffing alcohol pads can help alleviate nausea.” Acupressure, or applying pressure at specific points on the body, can also be helpful, as it stimulates certain nerves that tells the brain to release nausea-relieving hormones.
If you aren’t nauseous but you're experiencing an altered sense of taste, food might not taste great—so you might not care about what you eat. Some might lean toward easy, overly processed foods or sugar. But it’s important to eat healthy foods, as nourishing your body will help you recuperate. And if you have an altered sense of taste or smell, eating may help bring it back.
“One of the mechanisms behind loss of smell and taste is destruction of the cells that support your olfactory (or smelling) nerves, so taking good care of yourself during that recovery period—getting good nutrition, getting good rest, giving your body what it needs to recover—will help bring those senses back,” says Thayer. “Good self-care is absolutely critical.”