Carbs and illness

[Cooper27]

I've been slightly off colour this week, and it occurred to me that when we're ill, the first foods we feel like eating, tend to be carbs (popcorn, rice, toast). I'm curious why. Is it an evolutionary thing, or is it a habit?

[Nomash]

You are right, not sure why. Maybe it's because it's easier for our bodies to use sugar instead of fat.

[Cooper27]

Well bread, grains and rice have been around long enough for me to consider it an evolutionary response in the hunter/gatherer days, I imagine you would still have just eaten what you could get?

[TheAwfulToad Ambassador]

I have the same experience. When I have a cold, I get an immediate urge to load up on carbs. Which I do. I don't stick to LCHF as a matter of religious belief. A big part of LCHF is listening to your appetite, and if your appetite demands carbs (as long as it's a temporary thing) then it's probably best to assume there's a good reason for it, even if science hasn't figured out what it is yet.

On occasion I have tried to remain LCHF instead of bingeing on carbs. Honestly, it doesn't seem to make any difference either way to the course of the illness. But since it doesn't seem to have any positive benefit either, I'm going with the comfort-food approach.