sick...

[synthetic]

should i keep by normal calorie intake or jsut sleep more

[DBarcelo]

Depends on what you have. Some things should be fed and some things should be starved. Depends on what bug you have. Some bugs feed off of what you eat and the more you eat, the stronger the bug gets and the more it multiplies. Some things your body needs energy to fight, and the more you eat the more energy your body has to fight it. Mothers used to say, "feed and cold and starve a flu".

[AMsupafly]

Sorry, but that is an old wive's tale. Today's doctors say that it should read "feed a fever, feed a cold." You immune system needs the strenght to fight whatever you have. I think a good rule of thumb is, if you feel like you are ok to eat, go ahead and eat. Obviously if you are throwing up and cannot hold anything down, you should stick with fluids. Make sure you stay hydrated and you get plenty of rest. Gatorade is good since you could probably use the fluids. Maybe try sippping on some clear, thin soup (i.e. chicken noodle).

[DBarcelo]

Your immune system does need energy to fight whatever you have, but like I said, some things can get worse with food, like a stomach virus, cartain fungal infections, etc. The more you eat, the worse it will get. Certain foods can also make things worse, like if you have a runny nose and/or a fever, dairy products will make you much worse. And Gatoraide may not be the best thing in the world for certain ailments as well.

Even though this is the wrong forum for this question, I still think it's pretty important to not use any blanket statements. like I said before, it depends on what you have. Just because you can eat doesn't mean that you should eat. You may be able to eat, but you may be better with restricting the kinds of food that you eat. Too many variables. See a doctor and see what they say.

As far as old wives tales, a lot of them are very true. We just don't see it as much now a days because of all of the drugs we take (penacilin, ibuprofin, acitaminafin, etc.)

[cb25]

true - foods will aggravate stomach virus, etc. For illnesses like the common cold, flu, etc it is better to feed it. Keep taking your vitamins, make sure you're getting enough fluids (this is where gatorade comes in) and get plenty of rest.

A lot of old wives tales are true, but a lot of them have been disproven...not just because of drugs.