New diet patterns to reduce Covid-19 risk

A new study published in the journal of BMJ Nutrition, Prevention & Health has found that plant based, fish based meals could reduce the risk of severe Covid-19.

According to the study, healthcare professionals consuming a plant-based diet had been found 73% less prone to moderate to severe COVID-19, and those who eat a plant- or fish-based diet had been 59% less likely to get seriously ill.

The study is based on the experiences of doctors and nurses with heavy exposure to SARS-CoV-2.

The researchers studied 2,884 doctors and nurses who work with patients exposed to SARS-CoV-2. The participants were from the United States, the United Kingdom, Spain, Italy, France, and Germany. The survey was designed to show “the association between self-reported diets and COVID-19 infection, severity, and duration of symptoms.”

Of the entire group, 2,316 of the participants had not experienced any COVID-19 symptoms or tested positive for the virus. These individuals served as the study’s control group.

The remaining 568 individuals either had symptoms consistent with COVID-19 or a positive swab test. Of these, 138 people reported moderate to severe COVID-19. The rest had only mild or very mild cases of the illness, a Medical News Today report said.

As requested by the researchers the participants selected a diet similar to their last year diet. The researchers then urged them to follow a specific dietary patterns which included whole food, plant-based diets; vegetarian diets; or pescatarian diets.

Compared with those following plant-based diets, people who reported eating a low carb, high protein diet were four times more likely to develop moderate to severe COVID-19 symptoms, the report said.

The study found no link between diet and the likelihood of developing COVID-19 or the duration of the illness.

Dr. Scott Kaiser, of Providence Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, CA, told Medical News Today: “Studies like this are really great, because they’re hypothesis-generating. It’s important to do these population-level studies and look at associations and generate additional hypotheses to investigate further.”