Once infected with the new crown, our body is the battlefield, and when the immune system fights the virus, diet is the logistical support.
If the hips are stretched in logistics, the body’s energy and nutrition will be insufficient, the self-healing ability will decrease, and the recovery will also become slow.
Of course, everyone knows the truth about eating well when you are sick, but how can you eat well? What should I eat if I am really infected, and what are the taboos? What should I do if I have no appetite? These specific questions still confuse many people at the moment.
How do you eat when your appetite is good?
If your symptoms are not serious and your appetite is okay, in fact, there is nothing special to pay attention to, just follow the balanced diet pagoda in the dietary guidelines.
Diverse food, balanced nutrition, less oil, and less salt are nothing more than the three elements of a healthy diet.
Some friends may still have no concept of “balanced nutrition”, let’s translate it as eating every day👇
High-quality protein + high-quality carbohydrates + vegetables and fruits
Ensuring an adequate supply of high-quality protein
Guaranteed every day:
1 egg
1-2 cups of milk or yogurt
150 grams of meat (about the size of the entire palm, if you can’t eat the meat, you can use a piece of tofu instead)
The normal operation of almost all immune functions is inseparable from protein. When the immune system clears the virus, the consumption of protein is also increasing, so meat, eggs and milk cannot be lacked at this time.
Eat enough high-quality carbohydrates
Guaranteed every day:
1 serving of refined grains (such as white rice, steamed buns, and noodles)
1 serving of whole grains (eg, multigrain rice, whole wheat bread, corn)
1 serving of potatoes (potatoes, purple potatoes, sweet potatoes, etc.)
High-quality carbohydrates not only have starch that can provide energy for the sick body but also can ensure a certain intake of B vitamins and dietary fiber to make up for the loss of fever and sweating and body consumption.
Eat as many fruits and vegetables as possible
Guaranteed every day:
A pound of vegetables, half a pound of fruit
Vegetables and fruits are rich in vitamins, minerals, and dietary fiber. It is the best way to make up for the depletion of nutrients during illness.
Most people usually don’t eat enough, so while at home to recuperate from an illness, try to eat as much as possible!
The above recommendations are relatively general references, and you can make adjustments according to your own physical needs, and there is no need to compare them one by one.
Loss of appetite, digestive function significantly decreased, how should I eat?
Eat nutritious, digestible food
Many friends said that when they were infected with a fever, they were powerless to eat.
This is a normal phenomenon: when the body temperature rises, the activity of digestive enzymes in the body will also decrease, and the secretion of digestive juice will decrease, resulting in a loss of appetite.
Some friends have more serious symptoms: swallowing pain or significant decline in digestive function, and easy bloating and nausea after eating.
How do you keep up with your nutrition when eating becomes difficult?
At this time, we can make some adjustments to the diet to make them more “digestible” and help the digestive system reduce the burden. Or you can add something that “stimulates appetite”.
There are three main ways:
1. The overall diet is mainly based on carbohydrates, supplemented by protein, and less fat
The approximate ratio is 2 servings of staple food, 1 serving of fish and eggs, 2 servings of milk, and 3-4 servings of fruits and vegetables.
Carbohydrates are not only highly efficient in energy supply, but also easier to digest than protein and fat, and the “gastric emptying time” from the stomach to the small intestine is shorter.
Moreover, when carbohydrates are chewed in the mouth, there will be salivary amylase to help digest part of the food in the mouth, and the digestive pressure on the stomach will be less.
Protein and fat require more digestive enzymes and are harder to digest than carbohydrates. Although you need protein especially when you are sick, you can’t be greedy for too much.
Eat as little fat as possible. In fact, our bodies are also very smart, knowing what to eat and what not to eat at this time.
Think about it, when we are sick, don’t we usually want to eat too greasy things?
2. Chop the ingredients as much as possible, and cook until soft
This is easy to understand. The larger and thicker the food, the more times you need to vomit. The finer the food is cut and the softer it is cooked, the less work the stomach will have to do.
Moreover, foods with smaller particles and looser tissues have a wider contact surface with digestive enzymes, and faster digestion and absorption.
3. Add some appetizing seasoning or side dishes to the dish
For example, use hot and sour vinegar, lemon juice, tomato juice, kimchi, sour radish, and spicy cabbage to properly stimulate the taste buds.
You can also use your favorite spices, black pepper, curry powder, fennel powder, and basil powder… to increase the flavor and make the meal more delicious.
Although these things can’t really promote digestion, it is also a good thing if it can make you more appetite.
Of course, if you have a sore throat, it is best not to eat spicy food to reduce irritation to the pharynx.
If diarrhea, vomiting, gastrointestinal discomfort, etc. have occurred, beans can be removed, and coarse grains should also be reduced.
There is nothing special about vegetables and fruits. Most of them have no digestive bugs. Just pick what you like and buy it.
If you must be more particular, bacteria, algae, stems, and leaves are more difficult to digest than solanaceous fruits and melons. Therefore, choose more vegetables such as solanaceous fruits, young leafy vegetables, and root tubers, such as winter melon, radish, zucchini, eggplant, tomato, potato, and yam.
If you have no energy to prepare in the same way, and just want to finish a nutritious meal as quickly as possible, these “fool” cooking methods can take turns:
A bowl of noodles: boil any vegetables in it, cut a few slices of sauced beef at home, and then crack an egg.
One-pot porridge: chop up vegetables and put them in, add some minced meat, pure meatballs, instant chicken breast, etc., and cook in one pot.
A bowl of fried rice: vegetables, shrimp, beef, eggs, peas, etc., put what you have, and fry it out of the pan.
One-pot stewed rice: When cooking rice, put vegetables and meat directly into the rice cooker, and you can also beat an egg and simmer until cooked.
Quick-frozen dumplings: Quick-frozen dumplings with meat fillings have both carbohydrates and protein. When cooking, just blanch some green leafy vegetables.
If the symptoms are uncomfortable, eating these will make you feel better
In addition to providing nourishment to the body, some foods can make us feel better.
When you feel uncomfortable, eat these things if you can——
What to eat for a sore throat:
Cooler, moister, sweeter, this kind of food can numb the throat for a while, and there are no adverse reactions.
Such as ice cream, refrigerated yogurt, chilled tomatoes mixed with sugar, and canned yellow peaches…comfortable and can replenish water.
What to eat for loss of taste:
Put some hot and sour seasonings and side dishes when cooking, such as vinegar, lemon juice, tomato juice, kimchi, pickled radish, and spicy cabbage.
Note that if you have a sore throat or cannot eat spicy food, do not choose spicy condiments or side dishes to reduce irritation to the throat.
What to eat if you sweat a lot and have diarrhea:
If you are not seriously dehydrated, you can drink some electrolyte water and sports drinks. If you have dehydration symptoms (such as decreased urine output, etc.), it is recommended to drink rehydration salts (you can buy them in advance).
What to eat if you have problems with mastication and digestion:
Make the ingredients as liquid as possible. For example, eat milk, yogurt, egg custard, etc. for protein, eat porridge and drink paste for carbohydrates, chop vegetables and put them in porridge, and eat fruits after they are boiled and mashed.