Don’t be depresso — you can still have your coffee when you’re ill.
If you’re someone who needs a cup of joe in the morning, you’ve probably asked yourself if it’s bad to drink coffee when you’re sick.
You might not be able to taste it or smell it, though the caffeine will still give you energy — but will it help your symptoms or just make them worse?
Immunologists say coffee is OK in moderation.
“In moderation, everything is reasonable,” Dr. Sharon Nachman, MD, the chief of the division of pediatric infectious diseases at Stony Brook Children’s Hospital, told Parade.
As a matter of fact, she said not having your daily cup of coffee could actually be more detrimental than skipping it — your body can experience withdrawal symptoms from lack of caffeine.
“If you are an everyday coffee drinker and get sick and go cold turkey, you’ll feel sick because your body isn’t used to it,” Nachman said. “Your body already feels sick [from the illness].”
But unfortunately coffee isn’t the answer to everything, and it won’t help you get better.
Even though it contains antioxidants such as polyphenols — which have been linked to a reduced risk for chronic diseases — coffee won’t cure you.
“Wine has antioxidants; chocolate has antioxidants,” Nachman quipped. “No one is recommending you drink wine all day if you are sick. The antioxidants you get from coffee are negligible.”
Another immunologist, Dr. Linda Yancey, MD, an infectious diseases specialist at Memorial Hermann Hospital, echoed her statement.
“For acute illnesses, there is really no benefit in drinking coffee aside from the psychological benefits,” Yancey told Parade. “However, those benefits are real. I would never deprive someone who is already sick and miserable of the pleasures of a morning cup of joe or a nice milky tea.”
But coffee still can mess with your stomach, so in some cases, a little break could help a latte.
“When you are sick and dehydrated, you swallow a lot of mucus,” Nachman explained. “It’s sitting in the stomach and makes you nauseous to start with, and then coffee makes you more nauseous.”
There are some ways that can help you not only feel better when sick but also balance out your coffee-drinking habits.
Staying hydrated and drinking lots of water will keep you hydrated. Since coffee is dehydrating, this is important to do whether you’re sick or not.
Coffee can also sometimes make a sore throat worse, so stocking up on relievers such as sweet honey tea or pickles. It’s also generally a good idea to lighten up alcohol consumption and smoking.
You can also take a steaming hot shower once or twice a day to loosen up mucus — and make sure to get some sleep.
“The best way to get better faster is to listen to your body,” Yancey said. “If you hurry back to your regular activities too soon, you will stay sick longer. It is worth it to take a couple of days off work, lay on the couch, watch bad daytime TV and give your body a chance to rest and recuperate.”