How can a well-balanced diet help us to fight the pandemic?

Food is an extremely important aspect of our lives. Constantly evolving and always cherished, food brings together cultures, civilizations, and makes the world a happier place to be in. Food has always been the most important aspect of all festivities, celebrations, repasts, and moods and has helped us define seasons, pinpoint cultural differences and culinary habits, and much, much more.

Food provides our body with vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates, fats, and proteins that are necessary for our body to stay fit and healthy. Consuming the right kind of food with all the nutrients is crucial for us to keep our bodies healthy and fight highly infectious diseases such as the novel coronavirus.

The importance of a balanced diet in fighting infections

Infections such as the novel coronavirus primarily affect those with underdeveloped or compromised immune systems—which includes the elderly and young children, making them exceptionally susceptible to develop a more severe form of such diseases. A balanced diet ensures that we consume the right amounts of vitamins, minerals, fats, carbohydrates, and proteins. These ingredients help our body to ward off illnesses, resulting in holistic well being.

How does eating junk food impact our immunity?

Food that is highly processed and contains excessive amounts of sugar, salt and trans fats is known as junk food. Junk food has little to no nutritional value and can put us at a risk of developing life-threatening conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, obesity and sleep apnea. Regular consumption of junk food can result in health complications and adversely impact our immunity.

How does eating a balanced diet help to boost your immunity?

A strong immune system is essential to lead a healthy life. A proper diet plays a major role in boosting our immune system. Foods that are rich in nutrients such as vitamins C and E, beta carotene and zinc can help to boost the disease-fighting superpowers of your immune system, helping you get better faster.

Staying healthy for life with a healthy diet

A lifestyle fortified with a healthy diet and a routine that includes enough sleep and at least an hour of physical activity can help us lead a long, healthy and happy life. Our health is often judged from our physical appearance—our hair and skin are the first indicators of our well-being and they are the first thing that is impacted with a well-balanced diet. The visible benefits of switching to a healthy diet include supple, glowing skin, reduced dark circles and shiny, strong hair. Less apparent changes include reduced body odor and better oral health. A healthy diet also helps our bones get stronger, reducing incidents of fractures.

Making the right changes in our lifestyle for good health

Changes to our diet and lifestyle do not need to be drastic. Taking baby steps such cutting down on sodium levels in your food, reducing the amount of simple carbohydrates and sugars, including more fiber in your diet and drinking lots of water will make a lasting, positive impact on our body. When combined with physical activity and adequate amounts of sleep, a balanced diet can help us maintain our BMI and steer clear from life-threatening conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, obesity, sleep apnea and many more. These diseases weaken our organs and impact our immunity, reducing our body’s capability to fight infectious disease such as the novel coronavirus.

Choosing to lead a healthy life that includes a balanced diet, physical activity and adequate amounts of sleep will promote holistic mental and physical well being and boost our immunity. Remember—eating healthy does not mean starving yourself or eliminating the food that you love from your diet; it just means switching to healthier alternatives that improve your health and give your body the ability to fight against diseases.