The Best Foods to Eat When You Are Experiencing Nausea-min

The Best Foods to Eat When You Are Experiencing Nausea

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Nausea is one of the most uncomfortable feelings and thinking about food may just make a person feel worse. Still, taking something is necessary as that stomach needs to settle.

Because of a range of reasons, including food poisoning, pregnancy, viruses, motion sickness, and digestive issues, a person may experience nausea. In fact, nausea is so common that more than 50% of adults have this feeling at least once a year. Anything from cognitive to mental to physical can trigger nausea, bringing the urge to vomit. Eating at such times or just thinking about food can be even more stressful. Still, you need to eat something when you are nauseated to help your stomach settle by catering to the lost electrolytes. Here are some foods you can take if you feel nauseated.

Ginger

Ginger tops the list of the foods you can take to relieve your nausea. This spice from Southeast Asia has been used in folk medicine to relieve an array of digestive issues. The main reason for this is that ginger is rich in many compounds that improve the coordination of the central nervous system and the stomach to relieve nausea. Such compounds include paradol, gingerol, and shoagol. If the main cause of your nausea is chemotherapy, surgery, or motion sickness, ginger may help you. Also, women who have morning sickness due to pregnancy have used ginger and felt better.

Apple

Taking small amounts of fiber-rich foods such as apples can help with your nausea. This is because fibers play a major role in digestion, whereby they slow down bowel movement. As the transit time reduces, the symptoms of nausea also reduce. Care should be taken to eat only small portions of fiber-rich foods, as too many fibers may worsen nausea. For people with trouble digesting solid foods, applesauce or apple juice may help relieve nausea.

Water and clear fluids

Nausea often ends in a person vomiting, and he loses lots of electrolytes in the process. Taking water and clear fluids goes a long way to replace these fluids you lost and helping your stomach settle. However, drinking water may be hard, especially for a person who is also experiencing fever and throwing up or having diarrhea. Still, there is a range of clear fluids that you can drink and improve nausea. These include clear juices, oral rehydration solutions, iced teas, flavored drinks, sports drinks, and soda water. Try avoiding very sweet caffeinated drinks, as they are known to deteriorate the situation. Sipping small amounts that can be tolerated may be helpful than taking large amounts once.

Broth

If you have been vomiting a lot, sweating, and feeling nauseous, the broth is one of the things that will help your stomach settle, improve the coordination between the nervous system and the stomach, and replace the electrolytes you have lost. You can try either chicken broth or vegetable broth, and both of them will be of help to you. Not only are they going to replace the electrolytes, but you are definitely going to benefit from the nutrients in the broth.

Crackers

Crackers are definitely going to improve your nausea, especially since they lack strong smells. Saltines, toasts, and bread are just but three of the many crackers that you can try whenever you feel nauseated. This is because these foods have a way of fighting hunger and bringing satiety, without necessarily making nausea worse. After all, they have a mild smell. Extreme hunger may cause nausea, and a strong smell may worsen it. Crackers fight both of them, significantly making a person feel better. As with the case of the previously discussed foods, moderation is key.

Nuts

Nuts are another food option for people with nausea. This is especially true since nuts are rich in proteins, which are best at boosting satiety. People with nausea induced by hunger, pregnancy, and low blood sugar levels have tried nuts and have significantly improved. Even peanut butter is okay; you can try it as long as you are not allergic to it. You can spread it on the crackers to optimize the benefits.

Cold foods

Hot foods often have strong smells, which are bad and exacerbates nausea. On the other hand, many people can tolerate cold foods and do better with them, reducing nausea. Thus, when you feel nauseous, you may try cold foods. There are numerous options for these, and they include ice cream, Jell-O, yogurt, frozen popsicles, custard, and chilled fruits. What if your nausea does not tolerate any food? Try sucking on an ice cube, and you will replace the lost electrolytes quite fast.

Sports drinks

Even if you don’t fancy sports drinks, you might still have to try them to ease your nausea and queasy stomach. This is because these fluids are packed with sodium and potassium, great electrolytes which will replace the ones you lost while vomiting or sweating. Both athletes and non-athletes have benefited from sports drinks, which is why you might also want to try them to help your stomach settle when you are nauseous.

Dry foods

Dry foods may also go a long way to improve your nausea. This is because they are easy to digest and have mild smells. Remember, strong smells are known to worsen nausea. Such dry foods include saltine crackers, rice cakes, pretzels, and oatcakes.

Bananas

Bananas are definitely an option if you are sick or nauseous. At such times, digestion may be hard, leave alone eating. Often, you may be able to take only small portions of food, which is why whatever you eat should be easy to digest, and a great source of energy. This is true of bananas, eating just one supplies the body with energy, and makes you feel satiated for long.

Noodles, rice, and potatoes

Starchy foods such as noodles, rice, and potatoes are a good option for you if you feel nauseous. These foods are great sources of energy, with little to no smell, which is why the body easily tolerates them even with nausea. The potatoes can be boiled, baked, or mashed with milk, and the noodles can be steamed and served with another food or plain. Rice can also be steamed or boiled and served with another food or plain.

Conclusion

Nausea is one of the most uncomfortable feelings. Having it makes the very thought of food off-putting. Still, eating something is important to replace the lost electrolytes and help the stomach settle. This article has shared some foods that will help you manage and relieve your nausea.

Charlotte Cremers
Latest posts by Charlotte Cremers (see all)

MS, University of Tartu
Sleep specialist

Using the acquired academic and professional experience, I advise patients with various complaints about mental health - depressed mood, nervousness, lack of energy and interest, sleep disorders, panic attacks, obsessive thoughts and anxieties, difficulty concentrating, and stress. In my free time, I love to paint and go on long walks on the beach. One of my latest obsessions is sudoku – a wonderful activity to calm an unease mind.

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