Bayside Dietetics
By Sarah Smith from Bayside Dietetics
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Let’s start with a whack in the face with honesty – your immunity is pretty established already and starting to make change now is unfortunately going to make very little difference to whether or not you contract Coronavirus, the flu or another autumn bug. But right now, even that feels like enough so let’s identify some top foods to include if you can.
Vitamin C has a long history of being recommended around colds. I don’t think there is enough evidence to recommend people go out and have huge doses, but including some vitamin C every day is a good idea. You can use a regular vitamin C supplement without doing harm but I will always advocate for getting nutrients from real foods rather than supplements. Right now you can buy fresh oranges, berries, tomatoes, capsicum and broccoli. Each of these also freeze well, whether you buy them frozen or do it yourself. An orange is great cut into segments then frozen for a future snack.
Zinc is another nutrient high on the list for immune-boosting. I do not recommend you go out and use a supplement for zinc as it can actually build up in the body and cause harm in the long term. Instead food sources are ideal. In Australia a lot of our cereals are fortified with zinc. You’ll see it at the end of the ingredients list. Those stockpiling baked beans are in luck – it’s a great source of zinc too. Other legumes such as chickpeas and nuts such as cashews and almonds are high in zinc. All of these foods carry long shelf life so are great choices to be stocking at the moment.
As for garlic and echinacea, it’s a personal choice. We don’t have good evidence either way.
There is no evidence to support losing weight to boost your immunity. Your body works well the way it is. Instead use your energy to see if you can keep a balanced diet with all the current craziness around food. Continue to find a way to all the different food groups in your day, even if they are from different sources. Milk powder contains just as much calcium as regular milk. Tinned chickpeas and beans are a great alternative to fresh meat. Perhaps for now you dilute the fresh meat you have by adding a tin of lentils or beans to your meal and making the meat last several days.
Someone out there must have rice and pasta and if that’s you then they are great bases for a meal! If you can’t get these however, replace them with a potato, a wrap or fresh bread which seem to be more readily available. Products with long shelf lives include corn chips which you can use to turn into a nacho dinner, or cous cous which you can use at the bottom of any bowl for dinner, think a “cous cous Burrito bowl”.
If you also try to get some dairy food (or a calcium-fortified soy alternative) and some nuts into your snacking you will be building great nutrition for your body over the day.
Hoping you all stay safe.
Sarah
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