What to Eat When You Have a Cough

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When a throat tickle strikes in the middle of a meeting or a crowded elevator, you’re likely longing for any way to make your cough go away. While not an instant cure, adjusting your diet as you recover from a cough can soothe your throat, helping to prevent uncomfortable hacking before it derails your day.

Let’s explore what to eat when you have a cough to calm your throat discomfort ASAP.

H2: Soothing Foods for a Cough

As you consider what to eat when coughing, hone in on foods that naturally soothe the throat, including honey, soup, broth, and soft fruits.

H3: Honey-Infused Foods

Honey has natural cough-soothing properties, making it one of the most popular home remedies for throat irritation. Its thick, sticky texture coats the throat, helping to keep the dreaded tickle at bay. Research also shows that honey may reduce mucus production and has antimicrobial properties to help fight bacteria.¹

You can stir honey into warm tea or water with lemon, eat a teaspoon straight off a spoon, or drizzle it onto foods like oatmeal or yogurt. Along with other must-have essentials when you have a chronic cough, we suggest keeping a bottle of honey in your cabinet as a quick, natural remedy for a nagging cough.

H3: Warm Soups and Broths

If you’re searching for savory meal options to help soothe a cough, soups and broths are your best bet. These warm liquids offer a few key benefits when you’re sick and struggling with an irritated throat:

Inhaling the steam from the warm liquid can help with congestion by moistening your airways and thinning mucus, making it easier to expel.²
The warm liquid can soothe irritated throat tissue, temporarily calming the tickle in your throat and preventing the urge to cough. This makes broth an MVP in lists of what to eat when you have a dry cough.
Soups and broths are hydrating. When you’re managing a cough, hydration is crucial to keep the throat moist and thin mucus.

With their ability to thin mucus and open up your airways, soups and broths are also often recommended as home remedies for chest congestion.

H3: Soft Fruits

Soft fruits are naturally sweet and packed with nutrients, making them a valuable addition to this list of what food to eat when coughing. Examples include:

Bananas
Blueberries
Pears
Avocados
Kiwis

H2: Immune-Supporting Foods

As we evaluate what to eat when you have a bad cough, we can’t forget foods with natural immune-boosting benefits, like citrus, leafy greens, garlic, and onions.

H3: Citrus Fruits

Citrus fruits like oranges, clementines, grapefruits, lemons, and limes are rich in vitamin C, a crucial nutrient for your immune defense.³ They’re also a good source of folate, a B vitamin that supports immune cell function.⁴

But while citrus fruits contain immune-boosting nutrients, proceed with caution if you have a raw, inflamed throat. In recommendations of what not to eat when coughing, acidic fruits like citrus and pineapple are sometimes mentioned, as the acidic juice can irritate a sore throat.

H3: Leafy Green Vegetables

Leafy greens like spinach, kale, bok choy, and collard greens are chock-full of nutrients that promote immunity and overall health, particularly vitamins C and A. Keep in mind that cooking these greens can diminish their vitamin C content, so eating them raw is the best way to maximize your nutrient intake.⁵ Use them as a base for salads or stir them into chilled dishes.

If you don’t enjoy eating leafy greens raw, they still offer health benefits when cooked. For example, heat doesn’t damage their vitamin K content, which supports wound healing and heart health.⁶

H3: Garlic and Onions

As members of the allium vegetable family, garlic and onions are known for their strong flavor and versatility in the kitchen. But did you know that they’re also rich in health benefits?

Onions provide a hefty dose of quercetin, a type of flavonoid with potent antioxidant benefits.⁷ It can also curb histamine, the chemical your immune system releases in response to an allergen.⁸
Garlic increases immune cell activity and the production of immune-supporting compounds, like immunoglobulins.⁹

Garlic and onion serve as key base flavors in soups, stews, curries, pastas, and other dishes from all over the world. This makes them simple to add to savory meals while you’re managing a cough.

H2: Easy-to-Digest Foods

In lists of what not to eat when you have a cough, you’ll often see foods that are difficult to digest, like fatty, spicy, and acidic foods. Sticking to easy-to-digest foods, like those listed below, helps prevent reflux, which can further irritate your throat.

H3: Mashed Potatoes

Mashed potatoes are soft, smooth, and pleasing on the palate, making them a sick-day favorite. Potatoes are also a good source of vitamin C and potassium, an electrolyte that can help keep you hydrated.¹⁰ Keep the potato skins on for an extra dose of fiber.

H3: Oatmeal

It doesn’t get much more comforting than a warm bowl of oatmeal. Oatmeal is a great source of beta-glucan, a type of soluble fiber that helps keep you regular, as well as antioxidants in the form of polyphenols.¹¹ It’s also highly adaptable—you can add your favorite toppings, from fruits to spices to honey to nut butters, to make it a craveable morning treat.

If you’re wondering what is good to eat when you have a cough, don’t hesitate to dig into this pantry staple, no matter the time of day.

H3: Steamed Vegetables

If you’re looking to hit your recommended daily vegetable intake without digestive discomfort, opt for steamed veggies. This cooking process softens plant fibers, making veggies easier to chew and digest. It also preserves more nutrients than boiling, although certain nutrients (like vitamin C) tend to break down with steam exposure.

You can steam virtually any vegetable, but broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, and leafy greens are all firm favorites. Simply boil about an inch of water in a pot and place the veggies in a steamer basket on top, covering them with a lid and letting them cook for a few minutes.

H2: Anti-Inflammatory Foods

Inflammation can make your throat feel swollen and painful, provoking the cough reflex. While eating foods with anti-inflammatory properties may not directly ease throat inflammation, they can support your body’s general healing process.

H3: Ginger

Ginger is a root that contains anti-inflammatory compounds, making it one of the most popular spices for natural healing benefits.¹² There are countless ways to enjoy it, from teas to smoothies to soups to sauces and curries.

Bonus tip: Looking for ways to clear chest congestion symptoms? Try sipping on ginger tea. It couples ginger’s anti-inflammatory properties with steam, which helps thin excess mucus.

H3: Turmeric-Spiced Foods

Turmeric is another root prized for its anti-inflammatory benefits, which come from a compound called curcumin. Curcumin is a powerful polyphenol that’s even been shown to help calm the cough reflex.¹³

Traditionally used in South Asian and Middle Eastern cuisines, turmeric has a distinct earthy flavor with a slight bitter note. It helps deepen the flavor of many soups, stews, curries, and rice dishes.

H3: Nuts and Seeds

Nuts and seeds are little anti-inflammatory gems, rich in fatty acids, antioxidants, and other beneficial nutrients.¹⁴ They make nutritious snacks, with ample fiber to keep you feeling full between meals. Nut and seed varieties with the highest concentrations of anti-inflammatory compounds include:

Almonds
Walnuts
Pistachios
Chia seeds
Flaxseed

Now you know what foods to eat when you have a cough, but it’s still crucial to monitor your symptoms closely. If your cough doesn’t improve after a week or so, reach out to your doctor. You may need an evaluation to rule out more serious conditions that could be causing your cough.