0 Natural Remedies to Help You Bear Your Stomach Flu

It was bound to happen eventually. There’s been a nasty bout of the flu going around, well, basically, everywhere. It’s at your workplace. It’s at your kids’ school. Most everywhere you turn, there it is, the stomach flu.

And it’s not like you were exactly vigilant about getting your flu shot, either.

But just because you’ve succumbed to the flu doesn’t mean that you have to suffer. In fact, there are a number of great remedies out there to help you live through the symptoms until the bug eventually passes.

Remember: the Flu Is a Virus

It’s important to remember that, once you’ve contracted the flu, there’s little that can be done for you to actually get rid of it. It’s a virus.

There are no cures.

Now, vaccines can help your body build up immunity to certain viruses so that you don’t contract them in the first place. But once you do, you’re unfortunately stuck.

That said, as mentioned before, there are still a number of great ways to help you live through it. Because without that, even seven to 10 days can be unbearable.


Clear Fluids

One of the most important things to remember is that the flu is going to dehydrate you fast. So you need to drink lots and lots of water. Even if you don’t feel like you’re thirsty, drink. Also: you might want to stick to only water, because a lot of other drinks, be it the processed sugar in soda or acidity in orange juice, aren’t likely to sit well.

BRAT

Bananas, (white) rice, apple sauce, dry toast. That’s probably your best bet in terms of putting something in you that (a) you’ll be able to keep down and (b) is actually nutritious. The bananas and apple sauce especially, because they’re packed with vitamins and water that, when you’re not eating much, you absolutely need.

Ginger

Ginger is a great way to help you start feeling better. This is because of its anti-inflammatory properties. There are a number of different types of ginger you can get in you. Some come in capsules; others are just simply the root itself. And who can forget ginger ale, which, yes, has ginger and is actually quite good for you.

Mint

Believe it or not, peppermint is actually a great herb that helps people out when they’re suffering from the flu. This is because it helps settle the stomach. Matter of fact, a number of people have found that using mint actually helps with irritable bowel syndrome, which, while it’s not the flu, presents many of the same symptoms as the flu. Since you’re treating the symptoms, you might as well give this a shot.

Probiotics

Probiotics are not only something that you can take to help you get through the flu, but something you should absolutely take after battling the flu. This is because the flu – not only the virus itself, but also many of the GI tract-clearing symptoms – tend to deplete your body’s natural stores of probiotics, which are good bacteria that help out significantly with your digestion and overall health. Since you’re going to need these eventually, and since they’re actually helpful, you might as well get them now.

Teas

There are many teas, particularly rooibos tea and chamomile tea that can be very helpful with helping ease some of your symptoms. Like many of the other remedies, they’re unfortunately not going to be able to do much by way of the underlying problem – for that, there’s only time – but they might be able to help you get through it.

As should most of the items on this list.

Valerie Johnston is a health writer located in Lake Fork, Texas. She is passionate about running and clean eating and writing for Healthline.com ensures she stays up-to-date on the latest trends and news in the health and fitness industry.