Food consumption and preferences while infected with respiratory infection.

Human food preferences when fighting an infection pose a paradox: When fighting an infection, humans require more energy to raise their body temperature and protein synthesis levels. However, one major symptom of infections is anorexia or loss of appetite. Recent research has proposed two explanations for that this loss of appetite during infection may be beneficial to fight the disease: It limits the intake of additional pathogens and energy expenditure for digestion. When the body is infected with a specific infection, additional pathogens would place an additional burden on the immune system. In addition, digesting food first requires energy before energy can be derived from it. The energy spent on digestion cannot be allocated to the immune system, which can cause a deficiency that leads to a period when the infection can spread more easily. In this study, we test several aspects of food preferences in participants during infection and after recovery. This provides information about food preferences when someone suffers from an infection and provides us with the opportunity to gather evidence for the possible explanations for the loss of appetite.