Foods and supplements to help with the Coronavirus

Today I had a chat with my friend and colleague Alli Godbold  is a nutritional therapist.  We were talking about what food and what supplements we should be eating and taking during this coronavirus pandemic. Alli came up with her top 10 tips – so here they are

1. Zinc – which is good for the immune system. This is found in white fish and also in seafood especially scallops.  It is also found in seeds (particularly sesame seeds) cashew nuts and dark green leafy veg.  You can also take a supplement of 15mg daily.

2. Omega 3 fish oils – found in oily fish. Good for the central nervous system but also has anti-inflammatory properties.  Eat mackerel pate for example or salmon.  You can also buy omega 3 supplements. 

3. Water – keep really well hydrated especially if you do get coronavirus. At least 2 litres a day.  The virus really dries up your mucous membranes.

4. Avoid food with processed sugars e.g. sweets and biscuits. They are very pro-inflammatory.

5. Eat lots of berries especially raspberries and blueberries. They are high in vitamin C.

6. Eat plenty of cruciferous veg – broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, kale, sprouts…these are good for liver support and your liver might be busy detoxing your body right now.

7. Don’t drink too much alcohol. It may be tempting but it is inflammatory, it depresses the mood and can negatively affect your sleep. 

8. Probiotics – really essential right now. Good gut health supports the immune system and we all need all the help we can get right now.  Probiotics seems to reduce inflammation, and may reduce duration of an infection.  There seems to be a link between gut and lung health so keep your guts healthy.  You can take a probiotic and it should have 25 billion acidophilus and Bifidobacterium in it.

9. Vitamins A, C and D. Vitamin A is found in full fat dairy foods, eggs, butter and liver.  Vitamin C is found in fruits, papaya, melons,  kiwi, red peppers.  We get most of our vitamin D from sunshine.  Given the stay at home rule,  I would recommend that everyone takes 2000 units of vitamin D daily for at least the next 3-4 months and thereafter 1000 units daily.  Vitamin C dose is 1g daily and 2g daily if you have had Coronavirus.  Vitamin A dose is 3000 units daily.  These are all to enhance your immune system. 

10. Finally, for the ladies, hormones are good for you.  Progesterone helps with sleep and anxiety and oestrogen has anti-inflammatory properties. In animal studies on SARS and MERS ( two previous respiratory viruses ), female mice with oestrogen on board had a lower mortality rate than female mice without….. food for thought.

Here is our supplement first aid kit.

Most of these can be bought from Nutriadvanced

You can get a 15% discount by calling them on 0800 043 5777 option 1 and quoting my account number 3185555.

1. Vitamin D with K drops – use 6 drops daily for at least 3-4 months then 3 drops daily. Using Vitamin D with K gives better absorption and is the preferred choice. If these are out of stock, then I would recommend the 5000 unit daily vitamin D tablets also available and take one every other day - 

2. Omega 3 

3. Probiotic 

4. Vitamin C with Zinc – not currently available at Nutriadvanced or seek alternative 1 g vitamin C with 15 mg zinc. An excellent alternative is Megamag Energen Plus – this contains magnesium in combination with vitamin C and Zinc.  This is great for improving energy and reducing fatigue. The dose is slightly lower in my mind a great choice 

5. Vitamin A (not available currently at Nutri-advanced) 

Please follow Alli at www.feedyourhealth.co.uk – she has lots of great information, recipes, books and will be doing live cookery demos using store cupboard ingredients. 

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