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The coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic is the defining global health crisis of our time and the greatest challenge we have faced since World War II. The coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) is a highly transmittable and pathogenic viral infection caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which emerged in Wuhan, China, and spread around the world. Coronavirus is one of the major pathogens that mainly target the human respiratory system. This pandemic is posing severe threats to international health and the economy. Undernourished people have weaker immune systems, and may be at greater risk of severe illness due to the virus. At the same time, poor metabolic health, including obesity and diabetes, is strongly linked to worse Covid-19 outcomes, including risk of hospitalization and death. Symptoms include fever, cough, shortness of breath, trouble of breathing, fatigue, body aches, headache, sore throat, loss of taste and smell, nausea, diarrhea, etc. Globally, there have been 151, 803, 822 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in 213 countries, including 3, 186, 538 deaths till date (May 2021), as reported to WHO. As of 28 April 2021, a total of 1, 011, 457, 859 vaccine doses have been administered. In addition to the well-known personal hygiene and preventive measures against the new coronavirus (COVID-19), we can also follow some simple recommendations regarding our nutrition that strengthen our immune system and could better prepare us for an epidemic in which the virus rapidly spreads to many people within a short period of time. One thing we can do is to eat as healthily as possible. Although no food could prevent or treat coronavirus transmission alone, a balanced diet, including all food groups, supports an effective immune system and may provide protection against infections. To preserve organism defense mechanisms, adequate nutritional status should be maintained with appropriate intakes of energy, vitamins, minerals, and water that should be continuously provided by a healthy diet. Hence, the common denominator that drives most of the nutrition and dietary recommendations to combat viral infections, including COVID-19, lies within the link between diet and immunity. Foods rich in vitamins A, D, E, C, dietary fibre, Zn, Se, iron, etc. should be taken. The person should keep himself or herself well hydrated. The responsibility of the individuals during the COVID-19 pandemic lies in making an effort to choose a healthy lifestyle, eat diets high in fruits and vegetables, exercise during free time, try to maintain a healthy weight, and get an adequate amount of sleep. In addition to taking care of one's dietary intake, the collective responsibility of individuals is to avoid the spread of misinformation related to nutrition and dietary intake, and the COVID-19. Since the outbreak, networks of social media were flooded by messages of single foods/herbs promising cure or prevention of the infection. The effects of such unfounded claims could lead to negative implications ranging from giving a false sense of protection against the infection to toxicity. © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021.
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During the last decade, feeding patterns, more specifically those of children, have worsened-affecting dietary habits and Mediterranean diet adherence. Here, we examine the post-pandemic feeding habits of Spanish toddlers. A total of 2465 parents of children aged between 12 and 36 months completed an online 25-item multiple-choice survey asking about dietary habits and Mediterranean diet adherence. Only 34 children (1.38%) had an adequate intake of all of the food groups included in the questionnaire. Adherence worsened as toddlers grew (p < 0.0001). Further, lower compliance was found in children with a higher intake of fast food (p < 0.001), those with siblings (p = 0.0045), and children who were the second or third child (p = 0.0005). The food group with the most commonly reported adequate intake was fish (88% of children), followed by pulses (80%), water (79%), and meat (78%). Cow's milk was the most commonly consumed dairy product among all age groups analyzed. Half of the children exhibited a low consumption of milk and dairy products. These results showed that a lack of adherence to a balanced diet is common among Spanish toddlers in the post-pandemic period and that greater parent education could improve the nutrition of toddlers.
Subject(s)
Diet, Mediterranean , Animals , Cattle , Female , Pandemics , Nutritional Status , Milk , Feeding BehaviorABSTRACT
ABSTRACT Objective: To gain insight into the relationship between dieting and unhealthy eating habits with COVID-19 infections and complications. Study Design: Cross-sectional survey. Place and Duration of Study: Pak Emirates Military Hospital, Rawalpindi Pakistan during the month of Jan 2021. Methodology: This study was carried out through a web-based survey. Google forms were used. It included questions exploring dietary habits, weight changes, weight loss methods, COVID-19 status and severity of symptoms, including ten Open-ended questions and seven closed-ended questions. Results: A total of 314 participants responded to the survey. They were divided into two groups, Group-A and Group-B. The mean age of the participants was 24.3±4.9 years. Group-A participants were doing dieting during last three years off and on as well as had more severe symptoms of COVID-19. On the other hand, Group-B had mild symptoms of COVID-19. Regarding COVID-19 status, 294(92%) participants in the study recovered from COVID-19, and 30(9.5%) participants suffered from COVID-19 at the time of the survey. The results concluded a positive correlation between the type and duration of dieting and severity of COVID-19 symptoms as well as in weight loss of more than 8kg with COVID-19 symptoms. Conclusion: Among various factors contributing to the extension and severity of COVID-19, dieting represents one of the possible causes of the severity of symptoms of COVID-19. Understanding its importance is of paramount significance and needs further evaluation.
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Objective: To gain insight into the relationship between dieting and unhealthy eating habits with COVID-19 infections and complications. Study Design: Cross-sectional survey. Place and Duration of Study: Pak Emirates Military Hospital, Rawalpindi Pakistan during the month of Jan 2021. Methodology: This study was carried out through a web-based survey. Google forms were used. It included questions exploring dietary habits, weight changes, weight loss methods, COVID-19 status and severity of symptoms, including ten Open-ended questions and seven closed-ended questions. Results: A total of 314 participants responded to the survey. They were divided into two groups, Group-A and Group-B. The mean age of the participants was 24.3±4.9 years. Group-A participants were doing dieting during last three years off and on as well as had more severe symptoms of COVID-19. On the other hand, Group-B had mild symptoms of COVID-19. Regarding COVID-19 status, 294(92%) participants in the study recovered from COVID-19, and 30(9.5%) participants suffered from COVID-19 at the time of the survey. The results concluded a positive correlation between the type and duration of dieting and severity of COVID-19 symptoms as well as in weight loss of more than 8kg with COVID-19 symptoms. Conclusion: Among various factors contributing to the extension and severity of COVID-19, dieting represents one of the possible causes of the severity of symptoms of COVID-19. Understanding its importance is of paramount significance and needs further evaluation. © 2022, Army Medical College. All rights reserved.
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Viral infections are contagious and deadly. Many viral attacks in the past decades including COVID-19 have turned into pandemics and cost millions of lives. Treatment to virus is difficult as they transform themselves into many variants. Thus, an intelligent way of keeping oneself out of the trouble is through better nutrition that enhance immune responses. Foods that provide high quantities of nutrients are vegetables, fruits and nuts. They are rich in fibres, fats, protein, vitamins, minerals and plant bioactive compounds like phytosterols, polyphenolics, flavonoids, etc. Many studies and randomised control trials have proven their therapeutic effects and health promoting capacities. These compounds interfere with the pathways of metabolic mechanisms in the human body and work by either providing a protective scope or by destroying any harmful incomings into the body;that would disrupt the homeostasis. In this article, nuts and their nutritive components that administer healthy benefits are discussed. Almonds, cashew nuts, pistachios, peanuts, chestnuts and Brazil nuts are examined and reviewed here. The nutritional composition of these nuts and their mechanism to offer medicinal properties are explained in detail. Apart from nutritional values, these nuts are rich source of antioxidants that confer anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory features. These activities enhance the immune responses by activating the defense mechanisms. Apart from the intake of highly nutritious diet, practising social distancing, isolation and better sanitation procedures are highly beneficial to avoid the severity of the viral attacks.
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Aim and Objectives: This study assessed the knowledge, attitude, and practice of patients with ESIC, who are insured patients with the public health sector about COVID-19. Materials and Method: This was a cross-sectional observational study that used a questionnaire developed for the purpose of the survey. The questionnaire was divided into five parts including the demographic variables and environmental variables that are enablers for positive preventive practices of COVID-19, knowledge, attitude, and preventive practices followed with respect to COVID-19. Results: The mean age of the study population was 36.96 ± 13.05 (18-73) years with almost an equal proportion of males and females. The knowledge about measures to be taken for prevention of corona infection such as Balanced diet, Lockdown, Social distance, frequently wash hands often, using face mask and regularly cleaning with disinfectant surfaces was significantly better among females. Majority of the subjects displaying good attitude toward the corona disease prevention. Preventive practices were found to be satisfactory among the study population. Use of soap and handwashing was more than the use of sanitizer. Hand washing, use of mouth mask, and taking bath after returning home from outside was significantly better among males. Conclusion: There are increased worries and apprehensions among the public regarding acquiring the COVID-19 infection. People have higher perceived needs to deal with their anxiety towards acquiring the infection.
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Health care has been a major concern for everyone right from the inception of mankind. There is no doubt that medical science has done remarkable headway in this arena too. Here, the detection of disease a person is suffering from is a key aspect and hence, in this project we proposed a model which primarily focuses on having easy diagnosis and prediction of the disease. Moreover, the primary objective of this project is to provide remote diagnosis to the patients. In this suggested system the user can provide the input either by speech or entering directly into the UI. The proposed model once detecting the disease also displays the description of the same and a more info link for further elucidation. Along with it the user is also provided with important health tips, a balanced diet plan and required exercises which will help the user to make the required changes in their diet and daily routine which would lead to a potential healthy lifestyle. Apart from this, as per the current situation of the ongoing pandemic we also added few other features other than the above mentioned like a COVID-19 tracker which helps the user to stay updated with the state wise count which gives us the total confirmed,active, recovered and deceased cases according to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare department and it is purely dynamic in nature. Also, we are providing the potential causes of the disease and the preventive measures to be taken by the user as per the government guidelines. By this, we are trying to achieve better health care in a technological aspect. Using the latest technologies will make it much efficient to know about various symptoms and predict the cause at an early stage which will help in taking necessary steps to minimize the damage. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
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BACKGROUND: Restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic limited patients' access to hospital care. The aims of this study were to assess dietary nutritional status, quality of life (QoL), and adherence to dietary therapy before and after 30-day personalized diet therapy through telenutrition tools in patients with systemic nickel allergic syndrome (SNAS). METHODS: Each SNAS patient underwent the following allergological procedures: (a) face-to-face visit (nutritional visit and QoL evaluation) with prescription of one out of five personalized and balanced dietary plans different for calorie intake, (b) video call visit for dietary evaluation and assessment of adherence to diet after 15 days, and (c) video call visit for dietary and QoL evaluation and assessment of adherence to diet therapy after 30 days (end of study). RESULTS: We enrolled 20 SNAS patients. After 15 and 30 days, we found a statistically significant improvement in anthropometric findings after diet therapy, a significant adherence rate to low-nickel diet (60% and 80%, respectively), and an improvement in QoL with an increase in almost all psychometric indices. CONCLUSIONS: Our study demonstrates that telenutrition can be a valid tool to monitor nutritional status and adherence to balanced low-Ni diet positively affecting QoL in SNAS patients during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Subject(s)
COVID-19/epidemiology , Diet , Hypersensitivity/diet therapy , Nickel/immunology , Telemedicine/methods , Adult , Female , Food Hypersensitivity , Humans , Hypersensitivity/etiology , Hypersensitivity/immunology , Male , Middle Aged , Pandemics , Quality of Life , SARS-CoV-2/isolation & purification , Young AdultABSTRACT
The importance of balanced dietary habits, which include appropriate amounts of antioxidants to maintain the immune system, has become increasingly relevant during the current SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19 pandemic, because viral infections are characterized by high oxidative stress. Furthermore, the measures taken by governments to control the pandemic have led to increased anxiety, stress, and depression, which affect physical and mental health, all of which are influenced by nutritional status, diet, and lifestyle. The Mediterranean diet (MD), Atlantic diet (AD), and the Dietary Guidelines for Americans all provide the essential vitamins, minerals, and phenolic compounds needed to activate enzymatic and nonenzymatic antioxidant responses. However, viral pandemics such as the current COVID-19 crisis entail high oxidative damage caused by both the infection and the resultant social stresses within populations, which increases the probability and severity of infection. Balanced dietary patterns such as the MD and the AD are characterized by the consumption of fruit, vegetables, legumes, olive oil, and whole grains with low intakes of processed foods and red meat. For a healthy lifestyle in young adults, the MD in particular provides the required amount of antioxidants per day for vitamins D (0.3-3.8 µg), E (17.0 mg), C (137.2-269.8 mg), A (1273.3 µg), B-12 (1.5-2.0 µg), and folate (455.1-561.3 µg), the minerals Se (120.0 µg), Zn (11.0 mg), Fe (15.0-18.8 mg), and Mn (5.2-12.5 mg), and polyphenols (1171.00 mg) needed to maintain an active immune response. However, all of these diets are deficient in the recommended amount of vitamin D (20 µg/d). Therefore, vulnerable populations such as elders and obese individuals could benefit from antioxidant supplementation to improve their antioxidant response. Although evidence remains scarce, there is some indication that a healthy diet, along with supplemental antioxidant intake, is beneficial to COVID-19 patients.
Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Pandemics , Aged , Antioxidants , Diet , Diet, Western , Humans , Oxidative Stress , SARS-CoV-2 , Young AdultABSTRACT
The new coronavirus pandemic continues to spread causing further public health, social, and economic issues. The disparities in the rates of death between countries poses questions about the importance of lifestyle habits and the immune status of populations. An exploration of dietary habits and COVID-19-related death might unravel associations between these two variables. Indeed, while both nutritional excess and deficiency are associated with immunodeficiency, adequate nutrition leading to an optimally functioning immune system may be associated with better outcomes with regards to preventing infection and complications of COVID-19, as well as developing a better immune response to other pathogenic viruses and microorganisms. This article outlines the key functions of the immune system and how macronutrients, micronutrients, and metabolites from the gut microbiome can be essential in the development of an efficient immune system. In addition, the effects of intermittent fasting on the inflammatory state as well as metabolic parameters will be discussed.