Nutritional Advice during the COVID-19 Era

1. Nutritional Advice during the COVID-19 Era

2. Nutritional Advice during the COVID-19 Era

3. COVID-19 scenario • The pandemic COVID-19 has brought a lot of changes in the lives of people all around the world. However, we can do many things to maintain a healthy lifestyle during this difficult time. • As a first step, to protect ourselves from the COVID-19 infection and transmission, we must follow the advice of the government and the WHO (World Health Organization). • The best protection against COVID-19 is to maintain good hygiene and physical distancing. Refer to the WHO guidelines here.

4. Follow healthy nutrition • Healthy nutrition has to be maintained before and after an infection. Our body becomes weak when we have a fever due to infection. • So, our body needs extra nutrients and energy. Hence, during the COVID-19 period, it is very important to maintain a healthy diet. • Any particular food or dietary supplements can’t prevent COVID-19 infection. But, a healthy diet can help in developing immunity • Even in those countries that have implemented lockdown and physical distancing, there has not been any shortage in food supplies. • To know about what every country is doing in this regard, refer to this video link.

5. Nutritional advice from FAO • Consume varied foods in a single food group and among all the food groups. This will give a person the required amount of nutrients. FAO has given some guidelines about what makes an organized, healthy diet. To know your country advice, refer to this link. • Consume lots of fruits and vegetables. We can find plenty of minerals, fibres, and vitamins in fresh fruits and vegetables to make a completely healthy diet. To avoid frequent trips to the market, you can add canned or frozen vegetables and fruits to your fresh vegetables and fruits. You can find the required vitamins and minerals in these also. • Make sure to have a rich diet in unsaturated fatty acids, nuts, whole grains, and healthy fats like peanuts, olive oil and sesame. Diets of this sort help in reducing inflammation, and they boost your immune system.

6. Nutritional advice from FAO 4. Keep track of your intake of salt, sugar and fats. Many people use overconsumption of food as a form of stress relief. Furthermore, these foods are always more delicious as they are high in fat, salt, calories and sugar. It is advisable to avoid or limit such foods in your diet. For a healthy diet, the present amount of these ingredients should be less. • Maintain good food hygiene habit. At a time of a pandemic like COVID-19, you might be concerned about the safety of the food. But, COVID-19 is not a food-borne disease. It is a respiratory disease. Hence, there is no proof to show that the disease can spread through contact with the purchased food. But by following 5 tips we can support food safety: • Cook thoroughly • Make use of safe raw materials and water • Separate the cooked and raw food • Maintain cleanliness • Maintain the food at a safe temperature

7. Availability of food products

8. Time of togetherness • During this pandemic time, many people are at home with their families and children. • So, try to use of this time to develop a good diet habit that will support your health. • You can download and learn about nutrition and healthy diets in the Nutrition Challenge Badge. Here is the link for more details on challenge badges. • Maintaining adequate sleep • Handling stress • Giving up smoking • Doing regular exercise • You can fight and overcome this COVID-19 pandemic to some extent by maintaining social distance, a healthy diet, and by following a good lifestyle method.