Due to the effects of COVID-19 situation, many of the medical professionals fear that the rate of obesity and its associated chronic health conditions will continue to rise, worsening the already established public health crisis. This is such a critical moment and it’s central for us to double down on our nutritional quality in our diet, people are completely neglectful that it is a way of preventing COVID-19. There needs to be a massive public health initiative especially by the government to educate people about the need for improved nutrition in the midst of the pandemic.
Since March, some of the surveys show an increased purchases of processed / packaged foods, calorie-dense comfort foods, alcohol and takeout orders. In addition, the authors of the study used Google Trends data that showed increases in searches for restaurants and baking, with a decline in searches for “healthy eating”. Empty calories mean higher glycemic carbohydrates that increase blood sugar levels, added sugars that lower immune function, low fiber that impairs the gut’s good microbiome.
Scientists and doctors are just starting to understand how people’s microbiome — the billions of bacteria that live within each human body — contribute to this complex balance of nutrition and health.
Especially foods like processed food, fried foods, refined grains and those pre-packaged foods with added preservatives/flavors/colors — causes chronic inflammation and suppresses other aspects of the immune system which help fight viruses like COVID-19.
Paired with sedentary lifestyles, stress and anxiety, it really creates the perfect storm to increased rates of obesity and cardiometabolic diseases, which have been linked to higher rates of death from COVID-19.
Additional stressors such as loss of jobs, the troubles of working from home, child care, schooling responsibilities and the anxiety from the virus itself, can cause individuals to gravitate towards binge eating and emotional eating for comfort, which can lead to severe health issues.
Eating healthy can reverse chronic conditions like hypertension, diabetes and high cholesterol. Beyond that, our immune system and our mental health are best supported when we choose whole foods in their natural form. Just following a normal diet with additional foods rich in antioxidants and anti-inflammatory nutrients can see their blood and lipid markers go towards normalcy. Nutrients are best consumed through food, rather than through supplements.
It is easy to focus on the downsides of the pandemic, but you can focus on the positives, which is more time at home and less traveling for those who travel for work. Now, they have the opportunity to actually control the ingredients in their food.
Healthy eating is expensive, takes too much time and it is too difficult, is propaganda that impedes/stops people from actually taking control of their own health and their diet. People have control over how they maintain social distancing, whether they choose to wear masks and how often they wash their hands and of course they can take their health a step further by following a nutrient-rich diet to make their immune systems more resilient.
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