Sickness often takes a toll on our appetite. But the fact is the better we eat, the sooner we feel better. Having a nutritious diet and providing your body with the right kind of nutrition can help speed up recovery. The COVID-19 infection disrupts your immune system, so it is necessary to build your immunity and regain your strength.
What Can You Do
- Eat small frequent meals 4-6 times per day or eat every couple of hours.
- Eat foods high in protein first at meal times.
- Eat high calorie and protein foods such as cheese, high fat and Greek yogurts, peanut butter, cream cheese, or cream soups with whole milk.
- Add gravies and sauces to meat, poultry, and side dishes.
- Drink milkshakes or meal replacements/protein drinks between meals.
- Consider a multivitamin supplement if you are not eating enoug.
- Eat foods that are bland to start and then add flavour.
- Try colder foods to start since hot foods can have a strong taste.
- Add sugar, salt, seasonings to flavour food.
- Use sour candies, mints or gum before and after meals if your mouth is dry.
- Brush teeth regularly.
What Type Of Food Intake
- Breakfast should include an oat bran cereal with almond milk; add jaggery and a teaspoon of flaxseed for a wholesome bowl.
- Foods rich in vitamin C include oranges, red bell pepper, broccoli, strawberries, pineapple and kiwis.
- You can try ginseng and garlic to decrease the duration and lessen the severity of your symptoms.
- A cold can dehydrate you and thus it’s important to keep having hot water, teas and broth to prevent dehydration.
- Carbohydrates are essential to get energy levels back and could be consumed in the form of wheat/millets/oats/brown rice/sweet potato. For protein, it’s pulses/legumes/lean meat/fish as their essential amino acids guard one against harmful diseases. Add 1-2 seasonal vegetables playing the role of your protective foods that are rich in dietary fibre, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants.
- Dinner should be bone broth soup/moringa soup/eggs/grilled fish/sweet potato, broccoli cutlets along with Indian seasonal sabzis or vegetables.
