Sore Throat: Foods To Eat And Avoid

Living with a sore throat can be painful and annoying. It bothers you with throat irritation, pain and swelling, and difficulty in swallowing food may affect your quality of life. At times, a sore throat affects along with allergies and infection. It often results due to bacteria, viruses, respiratory infections, pollution, smoking, and other factors. Developing a sore throat can affect your quality of life adversely, and you may experience difficulty while speaking and devouring food. Fortunately, you can manage the condition by adding certain healthy foods to your diet, as they will ease your discomforts. Also, eliminating certain foods from your diet will help prevent the aggravation of your sore throat symptoms and help you obtain relief. So, if you are wondering which healing foods for sore throat you should eat and which foods you should avoid for a speedy recovery from the condition, think no further. Read on to learn about the best and worst foods for sore throat.

10 Healthy Foods to Add to Your Diet When Dealing with a Sore Throat:

Here’s a list of some of the best foods for sore throat.

1. Honey:

Honey is known for its outstanding medicinal benefits since ancient times, and it’s one of the natural home remedies for sore throat. It helps comfort your sore throat, particularly if you are suffering from a cough. Honey is also effective in staving off infections. You can add a teaspoon of honey to your tea to relieve the discomforts of a sore throat. Or, you may simply swallow a teaspoon of honey all by yourself.

2. Ice-cream

Consuming cold foods can help soothe your throat and relieve the throat pain temporarily. So, you can have a bowl of ice cream to obtain relief from the pain in your throat. However, be sure you don’t eat cold foods having an excess of sugar, as it may hamper your immune system from healing you, particularly if an infection is the cause of your sore throat.

3. Smoothies:

Soft, moist, and nutritious foods are easy to swallow and they nourish your body well to help you heal when you are suffering from a sore throat. So, smoothies can be one of the best foods for a sore throat. Mix fresh fruits and vegetables in a blender, add fresh yoghurt and ice to it, and savour the delicious, nutrients abundant smoothie pleasantly. Choose to add fruits low in sugar to your smoothies and lots of green vegetables to boost your immunity.

4. Oatmeal

Oatmeal is another great food for sore throat. It is not just easy to swallow but also abundant in nutrients, such as potassium and antioxidants. Eating oatmeal helps boost your energy levels. So, add oatmeal to your daily breakfast. Choose honey to sweeten it instead of sugar for better benefits.

5. Mashed Potatoes:

Being a great source of vitamin C, calcium, and magnesium, potatoes are nutritious options to add to your diet. When suffering from a sore throat, choose to have mashed potatoes as they are soft and sticky so easy to swallow without hurting your throat. Sweet potatoes are also a healthy option as they are abundant in antioxidants.

6. Bananas:

Bananas are soft and easy to chew and swallow. Additionally, they are packed with nutrients, such as vitamin C, vitamin B, and potassium, that help maintains your body healthy and strong when you are down with a sore throat. So, you can add bananas to your throat pain treatment with the right diet. Have one banana a day. You can also add it to your smoothie.

7. Yoghurt:

Having cold yoghurt can soothe your throat when you are suffering from a discomforting sore throat. High nutrient content in yoghurt, which includes proteins, magnesium, potassium, and carbohydrates, nourish your body to heal naturally. Yoghurt also contains good bacteria, i.e. probiotics, which assist your immune system to combat infection. So, yoghurt is great healing food for sore throat. You can have it in your breakfast or meals, but be sure you do not add a lot of sugar to it.

8. Coconut Oil:

A sore throat may make you suffer from throat inflammation and infections. Virgin coconut oil can be a great option to alleviate your inflammation and combat the infection. Also, it acts as a lubricant and eases your sore throat discomforting symptoms, such as irritation. Being abundant in healthy fats, coconut oil is good for your overall health. You can have a spoonful of coconut oil and allow it to coat your sore throat to experience some relief naturally.

9. Ginger:

   The anti-inflammatory properties of fresh ginger are beneficial for mitigating the pain and swelling resulting due to a sore throat. You can add fresh, chopped ginger to the boiling water in a small saucepan, let it boil for some time to prepare ginger tea, and have the ginger tea as a soothing home remedy for sore throat.

10. Turmeric:

    Turmeric is a common spice in your kitchen but offers several medicinal benefits. So, it’s one of the best healing foods for sore throat. Turmeric offers anti-inflammatory and antiseptic effects that help soothe your throat and promotes a speedy recovery. You can have turmeric tea and feel the relief.

5 Foods to Avoid When Managing Sore Throat:

While you have these nutritious foods to soothe your throat, you also need to eliminate certain foods from your diet when following throat pain treatment. Check out the list of foods to avoid when dealing with a sore throat.

1. Acidic and Citrus Foods:

When down with a sore throat, avoid eating citrus and acidic foods. The acid content in these foods can irritate your throat and worsen your discomfort of a sore throat. So, stay away from oranges, lemon, tomatoes, grapefruits, and other acidic foods. Instead, add nutritious fruits, such as peaches, bananas, kiwis, and watermelons, to your diet as they are nutritious foods for sore throat. If you wish to have vitamin C, choose to add red pepper kale to your diet in place of citrus fruits.

2. Spicy Foods:

Eating spicy foods can aggravate the symptoms of sore throat and worsen the condition. So, keep chilli powder, spicy curry, hot sauce, and pepper away. You can add fresh ginger to flavour your cooking preparations, as it’s one of the best foods for sore throat due to its anti-inflammatory properties. Also, spice up your culinary delights with garlic, as it helps alleviate the symptoms of cold and prevent its recurrence.

3. Coarse and Crunchy Foods:

Rough-textured and crunchy foods can scratch your affected throat and worsen the discomforts of a sore throat. Chips, crackers, and other crunchy foods may feel sharp in your throat and may aggravate the pain and irritation. Dry toast, granola, and uncooked vegetables may also irritate your throat. So, avoid these coarse and crunchy foods. Instead, have easy to swallow foods, such as yoghurt, cooked cereals, soups, and mashed potatoes. You can boil or steam vegetables and eat their well-cooked food preparations that are easy to swallow.

4. Fatty, Deep-Fried Foods:

Foods high in fats are hard for your body to digest, and they may end up suppressing your immunity. As a result, you may experience worsening in your discomforting cold symptoms, such as a sore throat. So, it is wise to avoid eating fats abundant foods, such as deep-fried foods, full-fat dairy products, and baked sweets. Deep-fried foods happen to have a dry and rough coating, which may cause an increased irritation in your throat. So, avoid them. In place of full-fat foods, opt for lean meats. Replace full-fat dairy products with low-fat options.

5. Alcohol:

Having drinks containing alcohol may make you suffer from a stinging sensation in your sore throat. Also, alcohol is responsible for dehydration, which is not good when you are down with a sore throat. So, stay away from alcohol and mouthwashes and drinks containing alcohol. Also, you should avoid smoking and second-hand smoke when dealing with a sore throat.

If a sore throat is bothering your quality of life and you are looking for natural ways to heal, making the right dietary modifications can work wonders. Experienced nutritionists, such as health experts at Health Total, can help you have a customised throat pain treatment with your diet by including the right nutritious foods and eliminating harmful foods to promote your speedy recovery from a sore throat. Health Total experts also specialize in helping you fight the throat infection with home remedies for sore throat, manage your weight, and boost your immunitywith nutritious foods. So, wait no more, get in touch with us online or over a call on 1-800-843-0206 and heal with our personalized diet containing the best foods for sore throat.