Combating Sickness with Hydration

Sneezing, coughing, runny nose—yuck! It’s the time of year where it feels like you can’t escape sickness.

Everywhere you go, someone is either suffering from a nagging cold or the nasty stomach flu.

When trying to prevent sickness or recover as quickly as possible when sick, it is important to think about hydration. It’s very common to become dehydrated when sick, due to not being able to keep fluids down or maybe a lack of appetite.

Hydration is important when sick for a couple of reasons:

• Dehydration – Important to replenish lost fluid due to sickness
• Speed up recovery – can help relieve congestion by loosening up mucus and keep body functioning properly

What fluids should I drink when I’m sick?

• Water – try it hot
• Juice, but watch the sugar content
• Herbal Tea
• Drinks with electrolytes
• Honey and lemon tea
• Broth
• Ginger Ale

What fluids should I avoid when I’m sick?

• Alcohol
• Caffeinated drinks
• Soda

Refer to Sami’s video on Monday for how much you should be drinking on a daily basis and remember it will likely need to be more if sick.

And as always, make sure to eat healthy food to energize the body.