What's the role of nutrition for both preventing and beating COVID-19?

Nutrition-related myths on protection and treatment have been widely prevalent in this pandemic.

And while there's no diet that completely prevents infection, there are certainly dietary

steps we can take to minimize risk. Those with healthier diets in general seem to suffer less

serious courses. But this appears to be an indirect benefit of lower rates of obesity

and pre-existing medical conditions. I mean, that's great, but is there any diet that may have

direct effects on the course of disease or susceptibility to infection in the first place?

Well, plant-based diets have been shown to decrease the risk of suffering from other respiratory infections.

In fact, plant-based seminaries during the pandemic of 1918 appeared to have been relatively spared.

Why might a plant-based diet help?

Vegetable nitrates concentrated in dark green leafy vegetables, can be used to make nitric oxide, which is part of our lungs' first

line of defense against infection. There are also polyphenol phytonutrients and plants that

may directly inhibit viral infection. Then there are beneficial effects on our microbiome,

which plays a key role

in our system-wide immune function. Fiber-containing foods facilitate more of a symbiotic

relationship with our gut bugs, whereas processed junk in animal foods can have the opposite

disbiotic effect. Fiber, concentrated in whole plant foods, is the single most anti-inflammatory food component,

whereas saturated fat, concentrated in meat, dairy, and junk, is the most pro-inflammatory

food component.

And so, no surprise, those consuming more pro-inflammatory diets were at greater risk of suffering

a sphere course and of getting COVID-19 in the first place, up to nearly 12 times the odds,

even after taking into account

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