Infectious Disease

Herbal and pescatarian diets can lower the chances of developing severe COVID-19

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A case-control study showed that frontline doctors and nurses who ate a plant-based or pescatarian diet were less likely to develop moderate to severe COVID-19.

“While [health care workers (HCWs)] are currently vaccinated in many countries, with the emergence of new varieties and challenges in global access to COVID-19 vaccines, understanding the risk factors related to the susceptibility and disease course of COVID-19 can help doctors and nurses develop supportive strategies for protection these workers develop now and in the future “, Hyunju Kim, PhD, an assistant scientist in the Epidemiology Department at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and colleagues wrote.

A recent study showed that health care workers who followed a plant-based or pescatarian diet were less likely to develop moderate to severe COVID-19. Photo source: Adobe Stock.

The researchers analyzed the survey responses of 2,884 doctors and nurses in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States who had significant exposure to patients with COVID-19 (e.g., those who practice internists, Emergency room or intensive care unit identified doctors working in an intensive care unit and / or intensive care unit who had the presence of COVID-19 symptoms and a COVID-19 test result). The survey was conducted from July 17 to September 25, 2020. Of the HCWs, 568 had COVID-19 – 138 were classified as moderate to severe cases – and the remaining participants served as controls.

The results, published in BMJ Nutrition, Prevention and Health, showed that the doctors and nurses who reported they were on a plant-based diet or a Pescatarian diet adjusted for demographics, smoking, physical activity, BMI, and medical history 73% (OR = 0.27; 95% CI, 0.1-0.81) or 59% (OR = 0.41; 95% CI, 0.17-0.99) lower probability of a moderate to severe COVID-19 severity compared to HCWs who reported not following these diets. Compared to the HCWs who said they followed a plant-based diet, those who said they ate low-carb, high-protein diets had a greater chance of getting moderate to severe COVID-19 (OR = 3.86; 95% CI , 1.13). 13.24). No associations were found between self-reported diets and COVID-19 infection or duration.

“Interestingly, we narrowed the cases down to those with a positive [polymerase chain reaction] or antibody testing, people who reported following a plant-based diet or a pescatarian diet had a lower chance of contracting COVID-19, “wrote Kim and colleagues.

The researchers suggested that a plant-based diet was high in nutrients – “especially vitamins A, C, D, and E” – that support the immune system and may have protected doctors and nurses from respiratory infections. Similarly, the “pescatarian diet is in the spectrum of the plant-based diet” and is “an important source of vitamin D and omega-3 fatty acids” which “have anti-inflammatory effects”. In particular, omega-3 has been shown to improve positive outcomes in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome, they wrote.

Kim and colleagues said, “Future studies with detailed macro and micronutrient data are warranted to investigate associations between food intake and the severity of COVID-19.”

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