This week is all about nutrition. Maintaining a healthy diet can boost our immune system and increase our chances of a fast recovery, should we contract Covid-19, so here are some tips to consider.
Here are our top tips for eating healthily during the pandemic:
Make the most of your store cupboard
Whilst avoiding stockpiling, keep your cupboard well-stocked with tinned fruit and vegetables - especially if you don’t have much freezer space.
Canned fruit and veg all count towards your five-a-day, but remember to choose varieties with natural juice or water - and no added sugar or salt.
Swap your ingredients
If you need a certain bean or pulse for a recipe and it’s not in your larder, you can swap for most others in almost any recipe and still produce a delicious meal.
Any kind of green or root vegetable is also interchangeable, and you could swap onions for garlic, leeks or anything else from the allium family. Rice of all kinds is incredibly versatile. If you don’t have the right type, don’t worry as you can use any variety. Lentils, quinoa or couscous are also options if you don’t have pasta and rice. If you can’t get hold of a specific herb, you can try another one - for example swap basil, for parsley or oregano, and rosemary for thyme or tarragon.
Eat oily fish
Canned oily fish, such as tuna, salmon, mackerel and sardines, is really handy to have in your cupboard. It has a long shelf life and is rich in omega-3 acids, which are known for their protective functions and help support the immune system.
Snack healthily
Keeping healthy and nutritious snacks nearby will ensure you don’t head straight to the biscuit tin at the slightest hunger pang. Try fresh fruit, low-fat yoghurt, nuts and dried fruit or humous and vegetable sticks.
Eat the rainbow
Eating a rainbow of fruit and veg is a good way to get a variety of vitamins and minerals we need as part of a healthy balanced diet.
Stay hydrated
Make sure you are drinking enough fluids at all times. Poor hydration puts extra stress on the body at a time when your immune resources need to be at their best.
These articles are for information purposes. Please follow the advice of your clinician / health professional if you have a specific health and wellbeing issue.
