The most common cause of sinus infection is the common cold, reports the health education website of the Mayo Clinic. If you have a sinus infection you are most likely experiencing drainage from your nose, difficulty breathing through your nose, pain around your eyes and nose and a cough.There are many over-the-counter medications that may relieve you symptoms, but there are also several foods that may bring relief without the use of medicine. Add a few of these foods to your diet while your sinus infection is active and you may reduce the duration and severity of your illness.
Chicken Soup
A steaming bowl of chicken soup -- or any broth -- may help relieve and treat a sinus infection, note Debra Fulghum Bruce and Murray Grossan, authors of The Sinus Cure: 7 Simple Steps to Relieve Sinusitis and Other Ear, Nose, and Throat Conditions. Bruce and Grossan suggest that hot soup may work to loosen the mucus associated with a sinus infection, making it easier to remove it from your body. Steam from soup aids the cilia in your nose in moving mucus through more quickly so you are able to rid your body of the bacteria that caused your sinus infection. A bowl or two each day while you have a sinus infection may bring some relief.
Spicy Peppers
Spicy peppers, such as jalapenos, may also help thin the mucus in your sinuses so you can recover from your infection more quickly, notes Michael T. Murray, Joseph Pizzorno and Lara Pizzorno, authors of The Encyclopedia of Healing Foods. A compound in spicy peppers, called capsaicin, increases the blood flow in your nose so you are able to remove the mucus from your body, as well as the germs that lead to a sinus infection. Add a few sliced jalapenos to a bowl of soup or sprinkle a little cayenne powder on eggs or potatoes to help clear your sinuses and help you breathe easier.
Apricots
Apricots are high in beta-carotene, which converts to vitamin A once consumed. Vitamin A is essential for the health of your mucus membranes, note Bruce and Grossan. Vitamin A may also work to help treat your sinus infection because it can boost your immune system so you are able to fight the germs causing the infection more quickly. Other foods high in beta-carotene include carrots, cantaloupe, pumpkin and spinach. Add a few servings of these foods to your diet while you have a sinus infection and continue eating them after the infection has cleared, to help prevent future sinus infections.
References
- Mayo Clinic: Acute Sinusitis
- "The Sinus Cure: 7 Simple Steps to Relieve Sinusitis and Other Ear, Nose, and Throat Conditions"; Debra Fulghum Bruce and Murray Grossan; 2007
- "The Encyclopedia of Healing Foods"; Michael T. Murray, Joseph Pizzorno and Lara Pizzorno; 2005
