Are potato chips bad for you when sick? Why comfort food can make things worse

October 13, 2025 •

4 min read

While the salty crunch of a potato chip can feel comforting, health experts almost universally advise against them when you're under the weather. Their high salt content can exacerbate dehydration, their abrasive texture can further irritate a sore throat, and the processed fats can be difficult for a compromised digestive system to handle. Understanding why your go-to junk food is a bad idea during illness can guide you toward more healing food choices.

Quick Summary

Eating potato chips when sick is generally not recommended due to their high salt and fat content. Chips can dehydrate the body, irritate a sore throat with their hard texture, and upset a sensitive stomach, potentially prolonging recovery. Better options include bland, hydrating, and easily digestible foods.

Key Points

Abrasive Texture: The hard, rough edges of potato chips can irritate and exacerbate a sore throat, causing discomfort and delaying healing.
Exacerbates Dehydration: High sodium content in chips can contribute to dehydration, which is counterproductive when the body needs fluids to fight infection.
Strains Digestion: The high fat from fried chips is difficult to digest and can worsen stomach issues like nausea and diarrhea.
Lacks Nutrients: Chips offer minimal nutritional value and empty calories, failing to provide the immune system with the proper fuel it needs for recovery.
Promotes Inflammation: Processed foods containing unhealthy fats and high salt may contribute to inflammation, hindering the body's healing response.
Better Alternatives Available: Opt for soft, bland, and hydrating options like soup, broth, mashed potatoes, or bananas that are easier on the body.

When illness strikes, the body redirects its energy towards fighting infection, making proper nutrition crucial for a speedy recovery. Many of us reach for familiar comfort foods like potato chips, but this choice can often hinder the healing process rather than help it. The typical potato chip is a trifecta of high salt, processed fat, and an irritating crunchy texture that can worsen symptoms and tax your already stressed system.

The Negative Impacts of Eating Potato Chips When Sick

The drawbacks of consuming potato chips while sick are varied and depend on your specific symptoms. Understanding these negative effects can help you make more informed decisions when it comes to your diet during recovery.

Dehydration and Salt Content

Your body needs to stay well-hydrated to recover from illness, especially if you have a fever, are vomiting, or have diarrhea. Potato chips are notoriously high in sodium, which can draw water out of your cells and contribute to dehydration. While some electrolytes are beneficial for rehydration, the excessive amount of salt in chips can upset the delicate balance your body is trying to maintain. Focusing on water, broths, and oral rehydration solutions is far more effective and less taxing on the body.

Irritation for Sore Throats

For those suffering from a cold, flu, or any illness involving a sore or scratchy throat, crunchy foods like potato chips are one of the worst choices you can make. The abrasive, sharp edges of the chips can feel like sandpaper on an inflamed throat, causing pain and delaying the healing process. This is in direct contrast to soothing, soft foods like oatmeal, yogurt, or soups that can provide nourishment without further irritation.

Strain on a Sensitive Digestive System

When you're ill, your digestive system may become sensitive, leading to nausea, diarrhea, or a general upset stomach. The high fat content in fried potato chips is difficult for the body to digest, putting extra strain on your gut and potentially exacerbating these symptoms. Processed foods also often lack the easily absorbed nutrients your body needs, providing empty calories that don't support your immune system.

Healthier Alternatives to Potato Chips

When a craving for a salty snack hits while you're sick, there are many better, more nourishing options available. These alternatives provide nutrients and hydration without the negative side effects of processed junk food.

Broth or Soup: A warm, savory broth is hydrating and can provide a small amount of electrolytes. Chicken noodle soup, in particular, has been a time-honored remedy for a reason.
Saltine Crackers: Unlike chips, plain saltine crackers are bland and easy on the stomach, making them a good option for nausea.
Mashed Potatoes: A simple, homemade mashed potato (without excessive butter or cream) offers potassium and is gentle on the digestive system.
Baked Vegetable Chips: For a healthier, less processed crunch, consider baked vegetable chips made from sweet potatoes or kale. They are often lower in fat and sodium than their fried counterparts.
Protein Shakes: If you have no appetite, a protein shake can be a way to get essential nutrients without taxing your digestive system.

Comparison Table: Chips vs. Healing Foods


Feature	Potato Chips (Fried)	Chicken Soup	Saltine Crackers	Mashed Potatoes
Effect on Sore Throat	Irritating and abrasive	Soothing and warm	Bland, but can be dry	Soft and comforting
Impact on Dehydration	High sodium content can cause dehydration	Excellent for hydration (fluid intake)	Neutral, helps settle upset stomach	Good source of potassium to balance electrolytes
Digestibility	High fat content is hard to digest	Easy to digest, gentle on stomach	Very easy to digest	Easily digestible
Nutrient Density	Low nutritional value, empty calories	Provides protein, vitamins, minerals	Minimal nutrients, but easy to tolerate	Good source of potassium, vitamin C
Inflammation	Processed fats may increase inflammation	Anti-inflammatory properties (garlic, onion)	Neutral	Neutral

The Bottom Line on Snacking During Sickness

While the urge for a comforting, familiar snack is understandable when you're sick, are potato chips bad for you when sick? The answer is unequivocally yes, for most illnesses. They are not a good choice, as they offer little to no nutritional support and actively worsen symptoms like a sore throat, dehydration, and an upset stomach. Your body is a machine working overtime to recover, and it needs high-quality, easily digestible fuel, not processed junk food. Instead, reach for bland, hydrating, and soft foods that will genuinely help you feel better, faster. The temporary satisfaction of a crunchy, salty chip is not worth the potential setback in your recovery. Listen to your body and give it the gentle care it needs to heal.

For more information on nutrition during illness, consider consulting resources like the National Institutes of Health.

Key takeaways

Avoid Crunchy Foods: The hard, sharp texture of potato chips can severely irritate an already painful sore throat, potentially prolonging your misery.
High Sodium Causes Dehydration: Chips are loaded with salt, which can draw fluid from your body and worsen dehydration, especially when battling a fever, vomiting, or diarrhea.
Processed Fats Upset Stomachs: The high fat content in fried chips is difficult for your digestive system to process, which can intensify nausea and other stomach-related symptoms.
Prioritize Healing Foods: Opt for bland, hydrating, and easily digestible foods like broth, bananas, toast, or saltine crackers to provide energy and nutrients without hindering recovery.
Nutrients Over Empty Calories: When your immune system is working hard, it needs nutrient-dense foods to function properly. Potato chips offer mostly empty calories that don't support the healing process.
Moderation is Key (Post-Recovery): While chips are not recommended while sick, remember that they are also an unhealthy snack in large quantities when you are well due to high fat, salt, and calories.

Frequently Asked Questions

The hard and crunchy texture of potato chips can be very irritating to a sore or inflamed throat, much like sandpaper. This can cause pain and further delay the healing process, so soft and soothing foods are a much better choice.

Yes, potato chips are high in sodium, which can contribute to dehydration by drawing fluids from your body. When you're sick with a fever, vomiting, or diarrhea, staying hydrated is crucial, and salty snacks work against this goal.

Potato chips can worsen symptoms such as a sore throat, dehydration, nausea, and an upset stomach. The high fat content is hard to digest, while the salt and hard texture are irritating and dehydrating.

There is generally no good time to eat potato chips when you are actively sick. It's best to wait until you are fully recovered and your digestive system and throat are no longer sensitive before indulging in processed, high-salt, and high-fat foods.

Baked potato chips might be slightly better than fried ones, but they are still often high in sodium and can be abrasive for a sore throat. Healthier alternatives like homemade sweet potato chips or soft, hydrating foods are still preferable.

Instead of chips, try having some warm broth or soup, plain saltine crackers, or a simple mashed potato. These options can satisfy a salty craving while providing hydration and being gentle on your digestive system.

While potatoes themselves contain some vitamins and minerals, the processing involved in making fried chips drastically reduces their nutritional value. The resulting product is mostly empty calories, fat, and salt, which do not support a recovering body.