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Apr 2

What should we be eating to help us resist the coronavirus? – Nevada Today

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The COVID-19 pandemic, and our efforts to flatten the curve, present major challenges to people living in Nevada, and the world. Food and nutrition are key issues, as many people are looking for ways to boost their immune system to fend off and fight the virus. David St-Jules is an assistant professor at the College of Agriculture, Biotechnology & Natural Resources who conducts research on how nutrition affects various diseases and medical conditions. He offers the following advice to the public on how diet can, and cannot, help combat COVID-19.

Our current attitudes and beliefs toward healthy eating are largely shaped by nutrition research and marketing designed to address the long-standing epidemics of obesity, and obesity-related chronic diseases in the U.S., not deal with infectious diseases such as COVID-19. When faced with the threat of a currently untreatable, potentially fatal disease, it is common for us to look to diet for a potential cure. However, we must realize that foods and supplements are not drugs, and diet is necessarily limited in what it can achieve. Arguably the best thing that people can do to help combat coronavirus is to follow the evidence-based guidelines for healthy eating designed to provide adequate nutrition, including adequate nutrition to help ensure our immune systems are properly functioning. Here are some clarifications surrounding our efforts to fend off COVID-19 with our food and nutrition choices.

What we know is that diet is one of the most important factors we can control to improve our health, including our immune systems. Nutrients in food are like fuel for our immune engines, necessary to make them run properly. Putting in excess fuel doesnt make the engine run better.

But, it is equally important to recognize: while it is possible that nutritional science will one day identify specific dietary patterns that will reduce the risk of infection in otherwise healthy, well-nourished adults, the field is relatively young, and we simply arent there yet. Just because there is a gap in our understanding does not mean that we should fill it with foods or supplements that have undemonstrated benefits, and uncertain consequences.

For now, we need to focus on what we do know, which is that a balanced, varied diet is the best way to supply the nutritional fuel that our immune engines need. No diet will guarantee protection. Plenty of apparently well-nourished people have already been infected. But, nutrient deficiencies can certainly impair our immunity and increase our risk of infection.

Finally, more recommendations on food- and nutrition-related practices during the coronavirus outbreak are provided by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics on their website. These recommendations are in line with recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Contact St-Jules with questions.

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What should we be eating to help us resist the coronavirus? - Nevada Today

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