Evaluation of dietary supplementation and/or herbal food consumption habits and common beliefs on their effectiveness during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Since 2020, COVID-19 has affected the entire world. Various dietary supplements/herbal foods are recommended to protect against and/or treat COVID-19 through social media and conventional media platforms, although their effects are unproven. Hence, this study aimed to investigate dietary supplementation and/or herbal food consumption habits intended to protect against and/or treat COVID-19, as well as common thoughts and beliefs about these products during the COVID-19 pandemic. This cross-sectional study was conducted as an online survey via the "SurveyMonkey" platform between June and December 2021. Participants were invited to participate in the study via social media (Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, WhatsApp) and the questionnaire was administered online. A total of 1767 participants were confirmed to be eligible. Overall, 35.3% used dietary supplements/herbal foods for protection against COVID-19 and 67.1% used them for treatment. Most believed that certain dietary supplements/herbal foods have an effect on the prevention and treatment of COVID-19. According to the COVID-19 infection status, participants differed in their opinions regarding the protective effects of vitamin D supplementation against COVID-19 (P = .02). It is important to raise public awareness of this issue and to avoid the unnecessary use of dietary supplements before sufficient evidence has been presented.

Effects of the Mediterranean diet adherence on body composition, blood parameters and quality of life in adults.

BACKGROUND: It has been reported that Mediterranean diet (MD) may improve quality of life and may reduce the risk of chronic diseases such as metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases (CVD), some neurodegenerative diseases and cancer. Therefore, this study aimed to determine adults' adherence to the MD and evaluate the effect of the adherence to the MD on anthropometric measurements, specific biochemical parameters and quality of life. METHODS: A total of 142 volunteer adults were included. Food frequency questionnaire, MD adherence with 14-item scale, quality of life, anthropometric measurements via bioelectrical impedance analysis and certain blood parameters were evaluated. RESULTS: Out of 14 points, the mean MD adherence score of the participants was 6.89. The mean fat mass was significantly higher in those with low MD adherence (p=0.024). The results of other anthropometric measurements (except height) were higher in those with low MD adherence, though results were non-significant. The participants with high adherence to the MD had lower levels of fasting blood glucose (FBG) (p=0.041), insulin (p=0.019) and triglyceride (TG) (p=0.012) compared with those with lower adherence. No significant relationship was found between the MD and quality of life and other blood parameters. CONCLUSION: According to our study, MD adherence was associated with decreased fat mass, FBG, insulin and TG levels which suggests that the MD may be useful in the treatment of some chronic diseases such as obesity, diabetes, metabolic syndrome and CVD. However, more clinical trials may be performed to determine the relationship between MD and chronic diseases.