Proper nutrition and hydration are vital. People who eat a well-proportioned diet tend to be healthier with robust immune systems and a lower risk of chronic illnesses and infectious diseases. So you should take a variety of fresh and unprocessed foods every day to get the sufficient amount of vitamins, minerals, dietary fiber, protein, and antioxidants your body needs. Drink enough water. On the other hand, you must avoid sugar, fat, and salt to lower your risk of overweight, obesity, heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and certain types of cancer.
If you have come in direct or indirect contact with someone who has a coronavirus infection, you need to quarantine yourself for at least 14 days. This measure is imperative to reduce the infection spreading around. You need to take extra care of your health during this crucial time so that even if you have contracted the virus, your body remains strong and in a good health to fight against it efficiently and stop the infection from becoming severe.
To do that, one of the most right ways is to eat the right food items. If you are on self-quarantine and wish to know what to eat when you have COVID, read further.
What to Eat If You Have COVID 19 Symptoms?
The following dietary recommendations may not be able to cure you from COVID-19, nor can they eliminate the possibility of becoming infected. However, when it comes to preventing and fighting viruses, the positive effects they can have on the immune system are important.
- Anti-Inflammatory Foods
One of the best measures that we can take to strengthen the immune system is to reduce inflammation. Inflammation is the natural response of the body to viruses and infections, but chronic inflammation can be dangerous. According to the NIH, obesity is a risk factor for coronavirus patients, in part because of the chronic inflammation that is caused by excess weight.
That’s why including anti-inflammatory foods – which is known to be the best food for COVID 19 patient – into your diet can help you stay healthy and fight against the virus. Harvard University states that some helpful foods are onions, turmeric, berries, and kale.
Furthermore, consuming high levels of Omega-3 fatty acids has the capacity in order to decrease inflammation, so you must try eating more walnuts, chia seeds, olive oil, and fatty fish like salmon, sardines, and mackerel.
- Probiotic
Fermented foods contain high levels of probiotics, which are good bacteria to strengthen your immune system and these foods can your best choice if you’re looking for what to eat with COVID 19 symptoms. The University of Nebraska recommends consuming foods that are rich in probiotics like yogurt, kefir, sauerkraut, miso, and kombucha can help you treat the digestive problems.
- Vitamins (A, C, and E)
Increase the vitamin consumption is one of the best strategies to take on when it comes to combatting viruses. Specifically, the University of California-Davis mentions that we should consume more foods that contain Vitamins A, C, and E. Since Vitamin A helps with the healthy functioning of the respiratory system, one of the parts of the body most affected by Coronavirus, you can find it in carrots, sweet potatoes, spinach, broccoli, and bell peppers.
Vitamin C helps to stimulate antibodies creation and is found in high concentrations in citrus fruits, strawberries, and kiwi. Further, Vitamin E acts in the body as an antioxidant, and to up our consumption, we should eat more nuts, seeds, and avocado.
These are the foods that fight infection when you have COVID symptoms. You need to eat them during the time of infection to prevent it from getting worst. There are certain foods that you need to avoid as well.
Foods to Avoid When You Are Infected with Coronavirus
- Salt
Since we got to know that inflammation can be a risk factor when it comes to the severity of the virus, and the excess consumption of salt can intensify the inflammation of blood vessels. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that we must consume less than five grams of salt daily, something that can be achieved by preparing and consuming fresh foods.
- Sugar
Minimizing sugar consumption can help to reduce inflammation. Often, foods made of simple sugars only offer empty calories, meaning that they don’t provide any nutritional value. Additionally, the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition advises that processed sugar can increase the secretion of cytokines, thus causing inflammation. If we feel like eating something sweet, we should try and turn to fruit or jaggery instead of eating food processed with high levels of refined sugar.
- Fat
Fats, specifically saturated one, are another element that can increase inflammation, given that saturated fats cause inflammation of the fatty tissues. Therefore, eating foods that are saturated with fats shouldn’t exceed 10% of our daily caloric intake. Instead of eating saturated fats that are usually found in cheese and red meats, our fat consumption should be based on healthier fats, like eggs, fatty fish, nuts, and avocado.
There still aren’t any official recommendations when it comes to making a diet to protect us against COVID-19. However, we can follow these guidelines to strengthen and take them as best immune boosting foods.
Final Thought
Taking food at home can help you reduce your rate of contact with other people and lower your chance of being exposed to Coronavirus. We recommend maintaining a distance of at least 1 meter between yourself and anyone who is sneezing or coughing. That is not always possible in crowded social gathering environments like restaurants and cafes. So you must avoid going outside and eat healthy foods to fight COVID to bring symptoms down.
