best foods to eat if you start feeling sick

While there isnt a general consensus on this, most believe that dairy encourages the development of mucus. Its probably not something youre craving when you have a stomach bug either. If youre searching for something cold to soothe your throat, opt for natural popsicles before hunkering down with a pint of Ben & Jerrys cookie dough.

Foods that ease muscle aches depend on the specific reason for the body aches, says Kristine Arthur, MD, internist at Orange Coast Memorial Medical Center in Fountain Valley, Calif. For general muscle aches, food containing magnesium or calcium may help ease soreness, she says. Best foods: Magnesiumcontaining foods include nuts, bananas, beans, leafy greens, and avocados. Foods high in calcium such as canned salmon, yogurt, darkgreen leafy greens, and orange juice fortified with calcium also lessen muscle cramping and pain.

Pres an olive and you get one of the healthiest fats in the world. The main benefit of olive oil is that it lowers

Consider broccoli your number one cancer fighter, thants to its sulfur compounds, such as sulforaphane, which you can smell as broccoli cooks. These compounds signal our genes to boost production of enzymes that detoxify potentially cancercausing compounds. Eat more broccoli and you could slash your risk of everything from breast and lung cancer to stomach and colon cancer.

A tablespoon of ground flaxseed sprinkled over cereal or yogurt provides an easy 2.3 grams of fiber, often more than whats in the cereal itself. But flaxseed is most revered for its lingans. These act like estrogen in the body, blocking estrogen receptors on cells and contributing to reduced rates of certain hormonerelated cancers, such as breast cancer. Their antiinflammatory power may also help keep conditions from acne to asthma at bay.

Cinnamon is one of the most powerful healing spices. Its become most famous for its ability to improve blood sugar control in people with diabetes. The apple pie spice can help prevent blood clots and has antibacterial and antiinflammatory properties. It has been shown to conquer E. coli, among other types of bacteria.

Filling up on green beans, and other highfiber foods, can help you prevent weight gain or even promote weight losswithout dietingsuggests new research inThe Journal of Nutrition. Researchers found that women who increased their fiber intake generally lost weight while women who decreased the fiber in their diets gained. The scientists boiled the findings into a single weightloss formula: boosting fiber by 8 grams for every 1,000 calories consumed resulted in losing about 4 1/2 pounds over the course of the study. Try it for yourself. If youre consuming 2,000 calories per day, aim to increase your fiber by 16 grams. Raspberries, chickpeas and strawberries can also help you get your fill.

The omega3 fatty acids in oily fishsuch as salmon and tunacan boost your skins defenses against UV damage. In a study published earlier this year in theAmerican Journal of Clinical Nutrition, researchers found that those who ate a little more than 5 ounces of omega3rich fish each week decreased the development of precancerous skin lesions by almost 30 percent. Scientists think the omega3s act as a shield, protecting cell walls from freeradical damage.

Research shows that eating foods that are full of water, such as watermelon, helps keep you satisfied on fewer calories. (Interestingly enough, drinking water alongside foods doesnt have the safe effect.) At 92 percent water, watermelon is a good source of vitamin C. When its the red variety (some are orange or yellow), it also has lycopene, an antioxidant that may help protect against heart disease and some types of cancer. Other foods that are made mostly of water include cucumbers (95 percent), salad greens (90 percent) and strawberries (91 percent).

Eating more vitaminC rich foods, such as oranges, tomatoes, strawberries and broccoli, may be a secret to smoother skin. Research in theAmerican Journal of Clinical Nutritionlinks consuming plenty of vitamin Crich foods with youthful skin. The findings suggest that a higher intake of vitamin C from foods is associated with a lower risk of having wrinkled skin and agerelated skin dryness in middleage women. Vitamin Cs youthful effects on skin may be due to its antioxidant properties, which help protect against ultraviolet rays, and its role in keeping skin firm via collagen synthesis, say the researchers.