A therapeutic fast or liquid diet, followed by therapeutic nutrition, is the most effective dieting approach when you are sick with the flu. There are certain foods that you should avoid when a therapeutic diet for the flu. Certain foods you should avoid even after you start feeling better -- they could reduce your resistance to certain viruses. Always talk to your doctor before treating the flu virus, to get an accurate diagnosis and appropriate follow up care.
Fried Foods
The flu virus already takes a toll on the stomach. Fried foods can upset the stomach even more when you are sick with the flu, warns the University of Illinois McKinley Health Center. In addition, fried and deep-fried foods can slow down the digestive process. This delays the body's ability to excrete the bacteria-causing virus from the body. Wait to you feel better before eating French fries, fried chicken and other fried favorites.
Sugary Foods
You want the virus leaving the body, so avoid sugary foods that bacteria thrive on. Drink plenty of sugar-free fruit juices on a liquid diet, but avoid processed sugary snacks and sugary soft drinks altogether. You may not feel like preparing meals when you have the flu, and it may be easier to open a package and heat it in the microwave, but pre-packaged foods are some of the worse kinds of foods you can eat while you are sick. Instead of eating instant soups or prepackaged soups and stews, opt for homemade chicken soup instead.
Dairy
Avoid foods made with pasteurized milk because milk can increase mucous production. More mucous can make flu symptoms worse. Meanwhile bacteria remains trapped in the mucous, so the flu virus remains in the body. A liquid diet is helpful to the body when you have the flu, cow's milk should not be a part of the liquid diet. Drink soy milk instead of cow's milk if you want to drink milk when you are down with the flu. Soy milk is a non-dairy food and it won't make your symptoms worse.
Junk Foods
Avoid ingesting junk foods no matter how you feel, but especially when you are sick with the flu. Junk foods include all foods that have little, if any, nutritional value. Popular junk foods include salty snacks, such as potato chips, tortilla chips and pretzels. Besides having little nutrient content, the snacks are high in salt content. Salt can dehydrate, and your body needs the fluids in order to flush the virus out. A more notable concern, junk foods may reduce the resistance to the swine flu, according to a 2009 article published in "The Times of India." Eat foods that boost your immune system, not foods that junk it up.
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