As of today (July 2021) 4 million people have passed away as a result of Covid-19 complications. Hospitals all around the world were swamped by patients needing oxygen and treatments. The entire globe ground to a standstill when national lockdowns were introduced, our every day life has changed dramatically, as we were advised to mostly stay at home.
Plant Based Diet has been scientifically proven to prevent or reverse cardiovascular diseases, some types of cancer, or diabetes type 2. Is it also a magic remedy for Covid-19 ?
The simple answer is No, neither vegan or any other dietary pattern will protect you from Covid-19. Our safest bet is still a vaccine and I sincerely hope to see the entire world population having access to Covid-19 vaccines.
However there is some good news - a plant based diet can reduce severe complications by 73%.......yes 73%!!!. This could be a life changing situation for many people, especially with a preexisting conditions like obesity or diabetes type 2 (both conditions were clearly linked with severe symptoms of Covid-19).
What has been discovered sounds promising to me, those on plant based diets were 73% (and pescatarians 59%) per cent less likely to become severely ill than those who ate meat. 😲 To me, this suggests that a plant based diet can be a significant part of figting off servere Covid-19 symptoms. I really hope this will be an eye opener to many people.
The same studies also concluded that people on low carbohydrate, high protein diets (e.g keto diet) have significantly higher chances of contracting moderate to severe symptoms from Covid-19. I hope it will make you rethink on cutting carbohydrates from your diet, as unrefined and unprocessed carbs are a very important part of healthy eating.
This studies shows that with some lifestyle changes (healthy diet,exercisee, sleeping) we can significantly improve our health.
70% of immune system is housed in our gut, so nutrition is a powerful tool when it comes to strengthening our immune system. According to this research ( Medawar, E., Huhn, S., Villringer, A. et al. The effects of plant-based diets on the body and the brain: a systematic review. Transl Psychiatry9, 226 (2019).) a plant-based diet has health benefits for weight, energy metabolism, and systemic inflammation. These beneficial effects could support a healthy immune system and lower a person’s risk of severe impacts of COVID-19. It has been shown that only within 5 days of following plant based diet we can improve our microbiota diversity (microbiota diversity is the number of species in our gut, the more diverse the microbiota the stronger the immune system is).
It is important to highlight that a plant based diet is not equal to a vegan diet. A vegan diet excludes any animal origin products, while plant based diet eliminates processed foods (including vegan dairy, vegan meats, vegan baked goods and fast food). It's based on fruits, vegetables, legumes, whole grains, nuts and seeds.
I believe it's our duty to look after our health, it's amazing that we have an access to Covid-19 vaccine, and we should all take advantage of this. But our health starts on the plate, and that 's where everything begins. To strengthen your immune system and protect yourself from Covid-19 go mostly plant based.
While a whole foods plant based diet may reduce COVID complications, it is not linked to a reduced risk of catching the coronavirus itself or overcoming the infection any quicker, so remember to get your Covid-19 vaccine.
Keywords: vegan diet vs Covid-19, Covid-19 prevention, how to boost your immune system