Healthy Diet Amidst COVID 19

Maintaining a healthy diet remains an important part of boosting your immunity. While there are no specific foods that can help protect you from the pandemic COVID 19, a nutritious diet can boost your immune system and combat the symptoms.

Let me remind you that a healthy diet is not about strict restrictions from food, staying unrealistically thin, or depriving yourself of the foods you love. It's not about leaving you starving; rather, it's about feeling great, having more energy, improving your health, and boosting your immune system.

Healthy eating is very simple. Though easier said than done; what's important is your overall dietary pattern. In fact, a healthy diet is replacing processed food with real food whenever possible.

In other words, we just need to have a balance of protein, fat, carbohydrates, fiber, vitamins, and minerals in our diets to sustain a healthy body. No need to eliminate certain types of food from our diet. Instead, we choose the healthiest options from each category.

Switching to a healthy diet doesn't have to be an all or nothing proposition. You don't have to be perfect, you don't have to completely eliminate foods you enjoy, and you don't have to change everything all at once. A better approach is to make a few small changes at a time. Keeping your balance diet modest without feeling deprived or overwhelmed by a major diet overhaul will make you achieve more.

Eating a healthier diet doesn't have to be complicated. Instead of being overly concerned with counting calories, for example, think of your diet in terms of color, variety, and freshness. Avoid packaged and processed foods and vie for more fresh ingredients whenever possible.

It's important to replace unhealthy foods with healthy alternatives. For example, switching fried chicken for grilled fish will make a positive difference to your health. This will help foster healthy new habits and tastes. The healthier the food you eat, the better you'll feel after a meal.

Aside from that, staying well hydrated will also help you find healthier food choices. However, we don't always eat just to satisfy our hunger. But most of us turn to food to relieve stress or cope with unpleasant emotions such as sadness, loneliness, or boredom. Learning healthier ways to manage stress and emotions can help you regain control over the food you eat and your feelings.

You can also add fruits and vegetables to your diet. Fruits and vegetables are low in calories and full of nutrients such as vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and fiber. Focus on eating a healthy doze of fruits and vegetables; it will naturally fill you up.

While plain salads and steamed veggies can quickly become bland, deeper colored vegetables contain higher concentrations of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. For example, combining fresh tomatoes, spring onions and carrots to name a few, in your lettuce salad makes it more appealing and appetizing. You can also drizzle your salad greens with olive oil, mix it with a spicy dressing, or sprinkle it with almond slices, chickpeas, a little bacon, and cheese to make it more flavory and savoury.

It's hard to cope with being home quarantined or locked down. People are feeling a lot of stress. Unfortunately, stress worsens feelings of low mood or angst, and it also suppresses our immune systems. Therefore, targeting immune-boosting foods will make us feel less anxious and it will also boost our immunity.