Nutrition and Covid19

If anything, 2020 has been filled with changes in our way of life, brought about by the pandemic. Personal health and wellness have emerged as the main objectives in times of COVID, and nutrition has become a critical factor in achieving and maintaining the desired good health.

Confinement and diet

The confinements we have experienced around the world during these months have impacted humanity and especially consumption habits. The slowdown in the pace of work and life has facilitated reflection on the way we eat. Part of the change can already be seen, for example, in the increasingly common consumption of alternatives to animal meat (1). Also, during the pandemic, there is an increased concern for balanced and sustainable diets, which presumably will continue after the pandemic.

Nutrition and the immune system

Unfortunately, nutritional misinformation and the constant bombardment of healthy eating proposals generate innumerable doubts and, on many occasions, incorrect choices of foods to consume, as can be seen in a recent survey. The people surveyed chose foods under purely aesthetic criteria (2). Fortunately, not everything is negative; a few weeks ago, an encouraging piece of information regarding the influence of nutrition on the immune system concerning COVID was made known. The consumption of legumes has a protective effect against infection by the virus. However, a higher intake of sugar-sweetened beverages resulted in an increased risk of COVID infection and mortality (3). So, as you can see, taking into account the nutritional factor is essential for your well-being.

Nutrients and compounds

We recently learned how a wide variety of foods have protective effects against the virus, for example, blueberries (4). But talking about immunity and COVID19 also undoubtedly leads us to think about vitamins, one of the markets that have experienced a significant boom this year (5). However, there is no proof that all supplements give a real boost to your immunity, so increasing misinformation and noise can lead to deficient or unnecessary supplementation. There has also been much talk about the protective effect of vitamin D against the virus, but there is still no unanimous scientific pronouncement on this fact (6).

Wellness and 24Genetics

Much of this virus (SARS-COV-2) and its pathology (COVID19) remains unknown and raises many questions. The medium- and long-term consequences of the disease or the duration of immunity are some of the questions not clarified. In any case, despite the enormous doubts and uncertainty, at 24Genetics, we know with certainty the critical role that genetics plays in our health and well-being. That is why we are investigating possible genetic factors in susceptibility to the virus (7).

In particular, about nutrition, 24Genetics has a specific nutrigenetics report, in which we can discover which genetic advantages help make more effective decisions. It analyzes, for example, the predisposition to a slimming diet to be more effective. But we also analyze specific genes that may show certain tendencies to gain weight, feel full, and even desire to eat. With nutrigenetics, you can focus your nutrition on achieving your goals, considering the critical information stored in your DNA. So, if you want to lose weight, you will find the most effective way to achieve it and feel better than ever (https://24genetics.com/en/nutrigenetics).

Take control of your health starting today.

Bibliography:

1. Polinsky, M. Is coronavirus accelerating the growth of plant-based meat 2020. FoodDive. https://www.fooddive.com/news/coronavirus-plant-based-meat-growth/585433/
2. Hagen, L. (2020). Pretty Healthy Food: How and When Aesthetics Enhance Perceived Healthiness. Journal of Marketing. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022242920944384
3. Abdulah, D. M., & Hassan, A. B. (2020). Relation of Dietary Factors with Infection and Mortality Rates of COVID-19 Across the World. The Journal of Nutrition, Health & Aging, 1–8. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12603-020-1434-0
4. Laponogov, I.et al. Network machine learning maps phytochemically rich “Hyperfoods” to fight COVID-19. Hum Genomics 15, 1 (2021).
5. Masterson, D. Consumers, are using multivitamin as a ¨silver bullet¨to address specific health concerns: Survey. 2020.Nutraingredients. https://www.nutraingredients.com/Article/2020/10/27/Consumers-are-using-multivitamin-as-a-silver-bullet-to-address-specific-health-concerns-Survey
6. Ali N. (2020). Role of vitamin D in preventing COVID-19 infection, progression and severity. Journal of infection and public health, 13(10), 1373–1380. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jiph.2020.06.021
7. https://24genetics.com/es/covid19/