The foods we eat can help our immune system to strengthen, recalls the Directorate-General for Health, although recognizing that “there is still little scientific evidence about the relationship between SARS-CoV-2 disease (COVID-19) and food”.
Despite this, DGS developed a manual with guidelines for feeding in isolation situations, which mainly go through planning and a selection of what we are going to buy when it is necessary to leave the house to go shopping, or when we know that we will be in isolation and we want to supply the pantry and the refrigerator.
“There is not exactly a relationship between the covid-19 disease and food, however, there is a set of doubts that both the population and health professionals have raised regarding food.“said this Friday Maria João Gregório, director of the National Program for the Promotion of Healthy Eating at DGS.
It is worth remembering the obvious: optimizing the trip to supermarkets is essential to avoid frequent trips and it is necessary to have a behavior that allows good management of stocks by supermarkets.
How to plan?
Make an organized shopping list – which allows less frequent trips to the supermarket.
To organize the shopping list you must:
• Check the food you still have available at home;
• Check storage capacity at refrigeration and freezing temperature;
• Planning different meals what it intends to do, ensuring the use of the food that it still has available at home and in a way that it is possible not to forget all the specific foods and ingredients necessary for its preparation;
• Consider the importance of mostly include foods that are part of a healthy eating pattern, that is, foods from different groups of the Food Wheel and respecting the recommended proportions;
What foods should you buy?
– Foods with a longer shelf life.
– The shopping basket must have a good balance between foods with less and greater durability. Foods with less durability can be purchased, however must be present in lesser quantity and should be the first to consume.
– Prefer foods with high nutritional value over foods with high energy density;
– Ensure the purchase of fresh products, such as fruit and vegetables, preferring those with greater durability and / or frozen products for vegetables and storage capacity.
Plan your meals using the food you have at home.
Example of a food kit for an isolation period of 14 days
– Buying more bread may be an option if there is storage capacity at home. You can choose to buy flour and make your own bread.
– From the group of vegetables and fruit, preference should be given to those with greater durability. Give priority to the following: carrot, onion, courgette, pumpkin, broccoli, cauliflower, green beans and garlic.
– In a smaller quantity there can be green leafy vegetables and tomatoes – they should be consumed in
first days of quarantine.
– If you have freezer space, buy still frozen vegetables.
– For fruit, the following varieties stand out: apple, pear, orange and tangerine. Other varieties with less durability can also be purchased but in a smaller quantity.
– Breakfast Cereals: DGS reminds that they must be purchased since they have good durability, high nutritional wealth and do not need to be stored in the refrigerator. The same is true with bread.
– Meat, fish and eggs. Eggs have high durability and nutritional richness and do not need to be stored in the refrigerator.
– Canned fish they can also be used for some of the meals.
– Fish and meat can be purchased either frozen or fresh, however fish
and fresh meat should be used for the first two / three days.
The prepared foods are kept well and with quality for a period of 3 days in the refrigerator.
– Legumes (beans, beans, peas, lentils …), both canned and dried versions can be options to consider. Legumes have high quality proteins, which can be alternatives to meat and fish. Like this, you can always try to make some meals without meat or fish.
– For the dairy group, yogurts only in case of cold storage capacity.
It is not necessary to buy water – the public water is suitable for consumption.
Do you have small children? See what to buy
Canned or dried legumes, which in some meals may be alternatives to meat, fish and eggs
Milk, yogurts (evaluate storage capacity in a refrigerator)
Extras. Which ones to take home?
Peeled tomatoes, oil fruits (nuts, almonds …), butter / vegetable cream, jam and coffee.
6 steps to healthy eating in times of covid-19
– Eat more fruits and vegetables. Vegetable soup for lunch and dinner and 3 pieces of fruit.
– Drink water throughout the day and without sugar. Drink 1.5 to 1.9L of water per day (8 glasses of water).
– Take the opportunity to recover the presence of beans, beans and peas the table.
– Keep the routine of daily meals, avoiding snacks with excess sugar and salt throughout the day.
– Take advantage of this opportunity and cook healthy with your children.
– Use your free time to teach the younger ones cooking in a healthy way.
Can SARS-CoV-2 (coronavirus) be transmitted through food?
According to the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and the World Health Organization (WHO) so far, there is no evidence of any type of contamination through the consumption of cooked or raw foods.
However, there are precautions to be taken when preparing meals. Which are they?
– Frequent and prolonged hand washing (with soap and water for 20 seconds), followed by proper drying to avoid cross contamination (for example, close the tap with a paper towel instead of the hand that opened it while it was dirty);
– Proper disinfection of workbenches and tables with appropriate products;
– Avoid contamination between raw and cooked foods;
– Wash raw food properly;
– Avoid sharing food or objects between people during their preparation, confection and consumption;
– During preparation, confection and consumption, adopt respiratory label measures;
– Cook and “plate” food at appropriate temperatures.
Can we strengthen the immune system through food?
There is no specific food or food supplement that can prevent or help in the treatment of COVID-19.
However, to ensure the normal functioning of the immune system, it is necessary to have a balanced diet with the presence of different nutrients, first of all the energy suppliers (carbohydrates, proteins and lipids) and vitamins and minerals (such as vitamins A, B6 , B9, B12, C and D and copper, iron, selenium, zinc) and water. They are all at the Food Wheel.
And what about the elderly? Must it be different?
The elderly are those who have the highest risk of severe covid-19 disease. According to DGS, a worse nutritional status is associated with a worse prognosis and an increased risk of complications in case of acute illness and, consequently, it is associated with a higher risk of mortality.
These are the DGS guidelines for the older population:
– Daily should be consumed two portions of milk or dairy products (1 serving of milk = 240ml), in between meals.
– Should be consumed 2 to 3 servings of fruit per day (1 serving = 1 piece of medium fruit).
– Legumes should be consumed (eg beans, beans, peas, lentils …) at least 3 times a week, for example by adding them to the soup.
– Vegetable soup must be present in the two daily meals. An important source of vitamins and minerals and that can contribute to optimize the hydration status.
– The consumption of meat, fish and eggs should be encouraged in the two main meals (1 serving per meal), in order to ensure an adequate protein intake, and the fatty fish should be consumed twice a week.
– Encouraging the consumption of oil fruits (eg almonds, walnuts …), for those who do not have chewing difficulties should also be considered (1 to 3 times a week)
– Considering the decrease in appetite that is common in this age group and the change in taste, frequent meals throughout the day and of lower volume should be promoted (about 5 to 6 meals).
– A daily amount should vary between 1.5 to 2 liters of waterat least, which is equivalent to about 8 glasses of water.
– D vitamin: if food intake is not enough, to ensure the necessary supply of vitamin D, especially in elderly individuals whose sun exposure is low or zero, it will be important that the elderly can, within the necessary isolation measures, have a few minutes of daily sun exposure. In this case, about 20 minutes a day, at least on the face, forearms and hands, between 12pm and 4pm.
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