Job Osazuwa
Nutritionists and dieticians have reiterated the need for regular consumption of the right diet to reduce the chances of coming down with communicable and non-communicable diseases.
With the outbreak of coronavirus, health professionals have been re-echoing the role of people’s immune system in fighting the virus. Specialists in diet and nutrition have maintained that the speed of recovering from COVID-19 largely depends on the strength of the patient’s immune system. This is more crucial, especially as the world is still battling to find a vaccine or drugs to tackle the deadly virus.
The specialists have advised that Nigerians should eat diet-related foods and avoid excessive alcohol and smoking, as well as reckless lifestyles that could put their general wellbeing on the line.
In a chat with Daily Sun, Dr. Chika Ndiokwelu, a nutritionist and dietician, stressed the need for adequate nutrition and healthy lifestyle. She stated that the diet that Nigerians consume in all their cultural variety would define, to a large extent, their health, growth and development.
She has been in the forefront of the campaign of selecting and eating varieties of foods that could serve as medicine to the body. She strongly believes that eating right is one of the cheapest ways to live a healthy life.
But she quickly warned that there were no foods that have been scientifically proven to prevent or cure the novel coronavirus at the moment. She added that there were also no supplements approved by the Dieticians Association of Nigeria (DAN) as well as other professional health associations for the prevention or cure of COVID-19.
“No specific food item, single nutrient or food supplement can boost your immunity, only an adequate diet can strengthen your immune system. Snack on fruits and vegetables, especially coloured fruits in season. Drink at least three litres of water daily. Do not wait until you are thirsty before you drink water.
“Adequate diet is obtained from eating meals, which contain nutrients from a combination of food in different food groups. These are proteins, carbohydrates, plenty water vitamins and minerals, fats and oils. They can be sourced from tubers, cereals, legumes, animal sources, fruits, vegetables which are high in anti-oxidants,” she said.
She advised Nigerians to always consult a registered dietician/nutritionist for dietary advice. She called on people to get medical information on COVID-19 from authorised channels such as the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and federal and state ministries of health.
The clarification is coming as people have taken to social media to promote foods or traditional practices as quick antidotes to COVID-19.
Ndiokwelu, who has been a consultant on nutrition to the World Health Organisation, United Nations Children’s Fund and the Federal Ministry of Health, stated that getting the right information was important in the handling of one’s health.
The expert said that one couldn’t separate social, cultural, political and economic environment from eating habits, which could aggravate the health of populations, unless active measures were taken to make the environment a health-promoting one. She warned that eating the wrong foods could reduce the quality of life of the affected individual and could also lead to death.
She argued that improving nutrition was the most fundamental and impactful way of tackling various forms of diseases. She revealed that the top six diseases that were responsible for 70 per cent of death worldwide were modifiable with nutritional intervention. She listed being underweight, being overweight and obesity as having a direct impact on the global rise in non-communicable diseases.
Ndiokwelu, who was the president of DAN from 2009 to 2013, cautioned against sedentary lifestyles, which she said was associated with many people doing corporate jobs. She said that insufficient physical activity has diverse adverse effects on people, irrespective of age or sex.
Another nutritionist, based in Lagos, Martins Edwards, said that it would have been nice if eating a particular food could magically protect one against all the viruses floating around. He corroborated Ndiokwelu’s position that a combination of essential foods could reduce one’s rate of admission at the hospital. He said something as simple as sleep was a crucial component of a strong defence too.
“We have been telling people that what they eat plays a role in their ability to ward off so many diseases. Eating the right foods and at the right time is a wise investment. The nutrients and other compounds found in your daily diet have an impact on how weak or strong your immunity is. This will not only help the individual but the economy and the society too,” he said.
On eating habits that boost the immune system and help people stay healthy, he said consuming fruits and vegetables every day plays a prominent role because they contain key vitamins.
Said he: “Vitamin C in foods like strawberries, bell peppers, broccoli, and citrus helps immune system cells function, including phagocytes (the kind that engulfs potentially harmful particles). Vitamin A helps keep tissues in the mouth, intestines, and respiratory tract and is found in sweet potatoes, spinach, carrots, and others. It should be noted that eating the actual fruit or vegetable is better than taking single-vitamin supplements because it is likely that all the components in the food interact to offer protection.
“Getting too little protein can weaken your immune system. Protein-rich foods supply the amino acids that everybody needs to build essential proteins in the body, including antibodies. Animal foods like beef and pork also contain zinc, a mineral that your body uses to make T-cells. You can find zinc in cashews and chickpeas too.”
According to him, it is good to season one’s meals. He explained that every plant food has its own unique compounds that offer potential health-boosting benefits. He recommended spices and seasonings like garlic, ginger, oregano and others, saying that they have been researched for intriguing capabilities as anti-microbials and cell-protecting antioxidants.
Other fruits that are loaded with nutrients called anti-oxidants are berries, which help in fighting inflammation. Studies have shown that an extract from berries appears to block flu viruses. But some scientists have cautioned that more study was needed on this.
For oysters, it is said that they have zinc in them, which appears to have some virus-fighting powers. Experts said it is probably because zinc helps create and activate white blood cells involved in the immune response. It also assists the immune system with tasks such as healing wounds.
Nutritionists have noted that watermelon is also good. They explained that besides it’s refreshing attributes, the ripe watermelon also contains plenty of an antioxidant called glutathione that strengthens the immune system needed to fight infection.
Spinach contains nutrients such folate, which helps the body to make new cells and repair deoxyribonucleic acid. It also boosts fibre, antioxidants such as vitamin C, and more. It is advised that eating spinach raw or lightly cooked helps to get the most benefit.
Also, like carrots, sweet potatoes are believed to have beta-carotene that turns into vitamin A, which mops up damaging free radicals. Studies have revealed that it helps bolster the immune system and may even improve the ageing process.
Some people perhaps love ginger for the spicy kick it gives food. But dieticians have said that the knobby root is also a good source of antioxidants. Antioxidants work best in the body when one gets them straight from fruits and vegetables.