Covid Diet: Here's what you should eat while recovering from coronavirus
New Delhi, Apr 25: Eating a healthy diet is very important during the COVID-19 pandemic. What we eat and drink can affect our body's ability to prevent, fight and recover from infections. So, if you are wondering about the ways you can increase your immunity in this fight, here is a list of food items that you must include in your diet.
Early morning
1 glass of milk, Almonds- 5
For Breakfast:
Idly-4/Ragi Dosa/Dhalia Khichadi-2 cups/Pongal- 2 cups/Dhokla- 5 peice/ Moong dal sprouts boiled-1/2 Sambar/Dal 1 cup/Onion tomato chutney/Mint chutney-1/2 CUP
Mid-morning
Khada-1 cup
Mixed fruit bowl (orange,papaya,apple and guava)
Mid afternoon
Lentil soup-1 bowl
Lunch
Brown rice/hand pound rice-3 cups sambar or Mango dal otr cowpea curry-1 cup/ Spinach or green sabji-1 cup/Carrot/Potato/pumpkin/caouliflower-dry sabji/poriyal-1 cup/Curd-1 cup
Mid evening
1 fruit bowl, turmeric tea
Tea time:
Boiled legumes-1 cup/Sweet potatoes boiled-1 cup/Poha with jaggery-1 cup/Bombay toast-2 slices/Dry fruits trail mix
Early dinner
Pumpkin soup-1 bowl
Dinner
rown rice/hand pound rice/Varagu rice-2 cups or Dhalia khichdai-2cups/broken wheat pongal-2cups/wheat dosa-4/idiyappam-5 dal or channa curry-1 cup vegetable dry-1 cup
Here is a list of measures you can undertake to boost your immunity:
Calories
As the body has been drained a lot, it is a must to add calorie-dense foods to get energy levels back to form. Include whole-grain cereals like wheat, millets, oats, brown rice and starchy roots such as potato, sweet potato, yam and tapioca in your daily meal plan. These foods are extremely beneficial for your immune system and give you a sudden boost of energy. It is important to avoid taking foods with empty calories like all types of junk food.
Proteins
Proteins are the building blocks of life that help in faster recovery, the essential amino acids guard you against harmful pathogens. Consume a high protein diet about 75-100 g of protein is needed per day. Take as much as lentils, legumes, milk and milk products, soy, nuts and seeds as you can in the diet regimen. Animal sources such as lean meat, chicken, fish and eggs can be included for non-vegetarians.
Eat fresh and unprocessed foods every day
Eat fruits, vegetables, legumes (e.g. lentils, beans), nuts and whole grains (e.g. unprocessed maize, millet, oats, wheat, brown rice or starchy tubers or roots such as potato, yam, taro or cassava), and foods from animal sources (e.g. 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 and also unsalted nuts.
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.
Drink enough water every day
Water is essential for life. It transports nutrients and compounds in blood, regulates your body temperature, gets rid of waste, and lubricates and cushions joints.
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 moderate amounts of fat and oil
Consume unsaturated fats (e.g. found in fish, avocado, nuts, olive oil, soy, canola, sunflower and corn oils) rather than saturated fats (e.g. found in fatty meat, butter, coconut oil, cream, cheese, ghee and lard).
Choose white meat (e.g. 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, margarines and spreads.
Eat less salt and sugar
When cooking and preparing food, limit the amount of salt and high-sodium condiments (e.g. soy sauce and fish sauce).
Limit your daily salt intake to less than 5 g (approximately 1 teaspoon), and use iodized salt.
Avoid foods (e.g. snacks) that are high in salt and sugar.
Limit your intake of soft drinks or sodas and other drinks that are high in sugar (e.g. fruit juices, fruit juice concentrates and syrups, flavoured milks and yogurt drinks).
Choose fresh fruits instead of sweet snacks such as cookies, cakes and chocolate.
Avoid eating out
Eat at home to reduce your rate of contact with other people and lower your chance of being exposed to COVID-19. We recommend maintaining a distance of at least 1 metre between yourself and anyone who is coughing or sneezing. That is not always possible in crowded social settings like restaurants and cafes. Droplets from infected people may land on surfaces and people's hands (e.g. customers and staff), and with lots of people coming and going, you cannot tell if hands are being washed regularly enough, and surfaces are being cleaned and disinfected fast enough.