Nutrition advice for adults during pandemic

It's important to stay healthy. Being physically healthy helps to keep people mentally healthy. People who eat a balanced diet are healthier with a stronger immune system and a lower risk of chronic illness and infectious diseases. Since there is no cure for the novel coronavirus so far, it is very important for everyone to stay healthy during this epidemic. 

Some nutrition advice for adults from the World Health Organization are given below:

Eat fresh and unprocessed foods every day

• Eat fruits, vegetables, legumes (lentils, beans), nuts and whole grains (unprocessed maize, millet, oats, wheat, brown rice or starchy tubers or roots such as potato, yam, taro or cassava), and foods from animal sources (meat, fish, eggs and milk).

• Daily, eat: 2 cups of fruit (4 servings), 2.5 cups of vegetables (5 servings), 180 g of grains, and 160 g of meat and beans (red meat can be eaten 1−2 times per week, and poultry 2−3 times per week).

• For snacks, choose raw vegetables and fresh fruit rather than foods that are high in sugar, fat or salt.

• Do not overcook vegetables and fruit as this can lead to the loss of important vitamins.

• When using canned or dried vegetables and fruit, choose varieties without added salt or sugar.

Eat moderate amounts of fat and oil

• Consume unsaturated fats (found in fish, avocado, nuts, olive oil, soy, canola, sunflower and corn oils) rather than saturated fats (found in fatty meat, butter, coconut oil, cream, cheese, ghee and lard).

• Choose white meat (poultry) and fish, which are generally low in fat, rather than red meat.

• Avoid processed meats because they are high in fat and salt.

• Where possible, opt for low-fat or reduced-fat versions of milk and dairy products.

• Avoid industrially-produced trans fats. These are often found in processed food, fast food, snack food, fried food, frozen pizza, pies, cookies, margarine and spreads.

Drink enough water every day

• Drink 8–10 cups of water every day.

• Water is the best choice, but you can also consume other drinks, fruits and vegetables that contain water, for example, lemon juice (diluted in water and unsweetened), tea and coffee. But be careful not to consume too much caffeine, and avoid sweetened fruit juices, syrups, fruit juice concentrates, fizzy and still drinks as they all contain sugar. 

Eat less salt and sugar

• When cooking and preparing food, limit the amount of salt and high-sodium condiments (soy sauce and fish sauce).

• Limit your daily salt intake to less than 5 g (approximately 1 teaspoon), and use iodized salt.

• Avoid foods  (snacks) that are high in salt and sugar.

• Limit your intake of soft drinks or sodas and other drinks that are high in sugar (fruit juices, fruit juice concentrates and syrups, flavoured milk and yoghurt drinks).

• Choose fresh fruits instead of sweet snacks such as cookies, cakes and chocolate.

Avoid eating out

Although the lockdown has been lifted in many countries and people are going back to their regular life. But there is still a chance of being infected by Covid-19. So it is better to stay at home as much as possible. Eating out is as good as can be avoided. Outdoor foods are unhealthy at first and most of the time are not hygienic. So, it's better to avoid eating out.

Counselling and psychosocial support

While proper nutrition and hydration improve health and immunity, they are not magic bullets. People living with chronic illnesses who have suspected or confirmed COVID-19 may need support with their mental health and diet to ensure they keep in good health. Seek counselling and psychosocial support from appropriately trained health care professionals and also community-based lay and peer counsellors.