Nutrition and Covid 19 - There has never been more urgency for a move towards plant based eating.
Vivienne Aronowitz MPH, RDN, CDES. Hawaii Island Dietitian and Diabetes Educator
As we find ourselves in this time of crisis with the Covid 19 pandemic, it is urgent for us to think seriously about how changes to our lifestyle can promote the greatest resiliency in the current situation and also protect us against future pandemics, as surely there will be more and possibly even worse ones.
We understand that people who have chronic conditions like diabetes, hypertension, obesity, cardiovascular and lung disease have been found to more at risk for complications from covid 19 infections and it consequences.
We also know that our system of meat, poultry and dairy production in confined animal operations, where animals are raised in extremely cramped conditions and disease is rife, is a breeding ground for more and more potent bugs. Our neglect of the environment and incursions into wild life sanctuaries has also created more opportunities for zoonotic( animal to human) virus transfers.
While we are still searching for many answers of how to address this current pandemic, there are some very concrete steps we can take as a nation that can reduce our collective and individual risks. It is well documented that eating a more plant based diet improves our immune system and reduces our chances of getting some of the chronic diseases that put us at higher risk for Covid 19 complications.
A whole food low fat diet high in vegetables, fruit, legumes and whole grains can even help to reverse some of these diseases, so its never too late to start to make these changes.
As many people find their food budgets reduced, eating more legumes is a great way to get more nutrition for less money. While fresh vegetables and fruit may be harder to come by in these times, frozen is a great alternative. As the weather warms, planting a garden so we can have our own ready supply of vegetables is a great idea and “victory gardens” are starting to take hold. While we don’t have specific studies showing the impact of flavonoids( protective and immune boosting substances in plant foods like leafy greens, cruciferous vegetables, onions garlic, berries, apples, citrus and herbs,) they are likely beneficial against the current virus and help reduce inflammation in general. We do know that, for example, sulforaphane, which is found in broccoli improves lung health, and that aliins in onions and garlic and curcumin in turmeric reduce inflammation.
Another component of this whole food plant based diet its large amount of fiber. Fibers in food have multiple roles, but what is very pertinent to our current concern is how fiber supports our immune function. Prebiotics in fiber are the food substrates for probiotics which form the base of our immune function.
People often rush out to get vitamins or supplements to help protect themselves, but we don’t yet have studies showing the benefit of these against Covid 19. There are possible benefits from taking Vitamin D, Zinc, Vitamin C, melatonin among other nutritional supplements, but the relationships are not yet clear. This is one initial study which shows that having your Vitamin D in a good level correlates with better outcomes if you do get the virus. This virus does jump on part of our immune response so we have to be careful not to increase its effectiveness inadvertently.
Plant based eating has a much lower impact on the environment and a reduced demand for animal agriculture will possibly help to reduce the financial incentive to cut down more rain forests and wild life sanctuaries.
Dr Michael Greger, a world recognized expert in plant based nutrition, previously worked in pandemic disease prevention at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. He has a book coming out at the end of May entitled, “How not to die in a Pandemic”. All his work is throughly researched and evidenced based. Given his experience and excellent previous books, I think this would be a good one to watch for.