Staying Healthy During Pandemic-NUTRITION

Staying home, social distancing, and washing your hands frequently are all great ways to avoid becoming infected with Coronavirus. 

Health Services will use this time to present other tips for keeping you strong and healthy in body & spirit during these weeks of isolation.  We’ll look at topics like exercise, nutrition, sun safety, and staying connected.

Today we want to talk about nutrition.

Your nutrition might be changing quite a bit during this period of isolation.  While some changes could benefit your health, like fewer fast food meals, access to fresh fruits and vegetables could be limited because of infrequent shopping trips.  Maintaining good nutrition will be influenced by available food choices and a commitment to daily physical activity.  Allowing these factors to get out of balance, could easily lead to poor health and unhealthy weight.  

Perhaps the most important role of healthy nutrition during this pandemic, though, is the boost it will give your immune system!  There are simple things you can do every day to have a healthy gut microbiome.  Do your best to “eat a rainbow” of fruits and vegetables.  (It’s ok to rely on frozen varieties to last until your next shopping trip.)  Whole grains are rich in fiber which is a good source of “prebiotics”.  Fermented foods, such as yogurt, kefir, or kimchi provide probiotics. 

All of these nutritional components will help your body stay healthy and fight off infections!

A word about sleep…

Sleeping 7-8 hours every night is also essential for a healthy mind and body.   For that reason, we strongly recommend limiting your alcohol and caffeine intake.  Both disrupt the body’s ability to sleep deeply, which makes your nightly shut-eye less restful.

https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/how-to-boost-your-immune-system

https://www.healthline.com/health/sleep-deprivation/effects-on-body#1