In order to be a pandemic (which means to spread across countries), there should be no pre-existing immunity of the virus, it must be spread through respiratory tract and its transmission should be before the onset of its symptom. If we look at of the three characteristic, COVID-19 virus fit in well. The incubation period (the period of multiplication) of this virus is about five days, which means we have almost 5 days to a week between the moment we get sufficiently exposed to the virus and show symptoms. Sounds, exactly like covid 19 virus isn’t it? And I am sure many of you relate to this.
Covid 19 pandemic has affected many families across the globe, this virus has impacted the most powerful people in the world to the most underprivileged people, it has not distinguished anyone. This virus even after leaving the host, it has continued to show aftereffects in some people.
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In this article, I am going to discuss top ways, you can recover from the effects of covid 19 virus through nutrition.
- Consume variety of fruits and vegetables. Make sure you wash them thoroughly. I suggest add colours of rainbow to your diet. Add greens like spinach, parwar, snow peas, bitter gourd, ash gourd, beans, capsicums, broccoli, amaranth, fenugreek leaves, radish leaves, mustard laves, they are not only rich in iron, fiber, vitamin c but they are also sources of several vitamins. Red colour fruits and vegetables have a compound anthocyanin which are heart protective and have many other health benefits.
- Avoid fried foods, eating out and take away foods. Our body use 80% of energy in digestion and 20% is used in to make our body heal. Therefore, eat foods which are easy for our body to digest. Fried foods are difficult to digest by our body so avoid them.
- If you are feeling tired or lethargic, I suggest eat small meals and frequently to build the appetite. Consume a small breakfast if you are unable to eat the entire meal and space it over snack or in between meals.
- Energy building foods like soaked nuts, milk-based drinks, khichari, barley water, daal, cooked sprouts, well cooked eggs white, idli, appam, rice porridge, rice konji are nutritious. Hydration is extremely important. If you are unable to maintain oral intake of solid foods get some liquids like barley water, coconut water, lemonade, home prepared fruit and vegetable juices, herbal teas and consume ORS water if need be. Drinking in sips is the key to hydration. Add protein rich foods like daal to chappati or whey water to khichadi, chickpea flour, daal flour to chappati’s, add flaxseed powder to milk to meals or add nut mix to milk.
- Kadha is an excellent drink to build immunity but opt for different variety of decoctions like turmeric with black pepper and honey or a mix of lemon, tulsi and ginger. One can also boil water and add lemon and orange slices and turmeric powder and black pepper and let it steep and sip through. Remember, it is the variety in drinks which is important.
WATCH: Kadha Recipe For Immunity:
- As long as you consume well cooked food it should be safe to consume chicken, eggs and fish. There is no evidence that consuming non-vegetarian foods can increase risk of COVID-19 infection. However, fried foods and fatty cuts of meat and chicken can make it difficult for body to digest these meals. Avoid chicken legs, wings as they are richer in fat and opt for chicken breast and thigh fillets.
- For exercise - Let your body recover well. Give yourself 3-4 weeks to recover completely. Some people continue to have shortness of breath or difficulty in breathing post covid infection, so build the strength and let your body recovery well. If you still want to get some movement, do stretches, light yoga movements and pranayam to improve your lung health.
- It is quite common to have hair fall after an infection. This could be due to loss of several vitamins and minerals from the body. Many times, use of antibiotics brings an imbalance to out gut flora hence it reduces the absorption of certain vitamins and minerals. Diarrhea, lack of food intake can cause hair fall, brittle nails and dry skin. I suggest to prevent hair fall start biotin, zinc and selenium. Check your iron levels too. Along with a biotin supplement I suggest consume a tablespoon of mixed seeds like pumpkin, sunflower and sesame seeds a day.
- Pre-existing health conditions like high blood pressure are at twice the odds of suffering severe course of Covid19 virus then cardiovascular diseases three times the odd, COPD, asthma appear to be at the highest risk with six times the odds of a severe course of Covid 19 and nearly eighteen times the odds of ICU admissions. Other high-risk groups are people with excess weight and exposure to air pollution. Excess weight is an issue because excess body fat may cause restricted breathing caused by excess fatty tissue in the upper body. The main precautions to be taken are social distancing, hygiene, practice safety measures and continue to build immunity by maintaining good levels of serum vitamin D, vitamin c, mild to moderate exercise, stress free.
WATCH: Home Isolation Guidelines:
- Continuous use of antibiotics can disturb our gut microflora. It is necessary for our gut health to be in balance. Consume buttermilk with curry leaves, eat fermented foods like idli, dosa, appam, dhokla, khandvi, pakha rice (cook rice and let it ferment and consume it next day), fermented rice water, miso soup and kimchi. These fermented foods contain probiotics which helps to maintain or replace our gut friendly bacteria back in our diet. Adding some prebiotic foods (what probiotics feed on) also needs to be eaten like oats, banana or garlic.
- It is not a bad idea to supplement with a good multivitamin for a month. You don’t necessarily need to continue zinc and vitamin c supplements if your diet is well balanced. If your diet is balanced it is less likely that you will be zinc and vitamin c deficient.
- Continue to follow protocols mentioned by the AYUSH ministry, WHO and other health organizations. Wash fruits and vegetables thoroughly, sanitize, wear mask and maintain social distancing. There is no evidence that if you develop Covid antibodies, there won't be a relapse. It is better to be safe rather than sorry.
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All the above advise is based on current research and evidence-based information for general population. However, please consult your health practitioner where needed.
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