Over the course of the coronavirus pandemic, there has been no end to the fake news and bad science about the best ways to treat or prevent covid infections.
From untrue claims by tobacco-funded scientists that smoking cigarettes made you safer to insane rumours that cocaine could actually boost your immune system, it has been difficult to know how best to protect yourself.
The experts at ZOE, the research app that run the world's largest studies into both covid symptoms and covid-related nutrition, have said that their data shows that making some simple changes to your diet could lower your chance of hospitalisation by up to 40 per cent. So, you don't have to live like Scarface to boost your chances against spiking covid cases.
The best way to boost your immune system's response to covid is to be fully vaccinated, however, you can get an additional boost from changing your normal diet.
"The gut and immune system are mutually supportive." Experts at ZOE said, continuing: "your immune system helps keep your gut healthy, and what you eat and drink can have a significant impact on your immunity."
Want to get the latest health news direct to your inbox? Sign up for the Mirror Health newsletter HERE
Your immune system is a complex system of cells, organs and tissues that detect and neutralise foreign pathogens, like the coronavirus. Though scientists are still exploring the complex way this immune system destroys foreign bodies, ZOE research found a link between good gut health and a more robust natural defence against serious infection.
In their long-term study, ZOE found that there were 15 microbes in your gut that boost this process. So, having an unhealthy diet, or taking antibiotics, can strip away the helpful bacteria and lead to a reduced immune response.
To maintain these healthy microbes, their research suggests eating a healthy diet, rich in:
- Fruits
- Vegetables
- Whole grains
- Oily fish or nuts and seeds
- Plenty of gut-friendly fermented foods
Eating a healthy diet, with these microbe-boosting foods, goes hand in glove with weight loss and better overall physical health. A British Medical Journal review of 54 different studies found that obese people were 45 per cent more likely to catch covid, as well as more likely to develop serious symptoms and die from the virus.
There are plenty of supplements that claim to boost the body's immune system response to the coronavirus, but the data experts at ZOE have a word of warning about attestations of health benefits, saying: "Manufacturers that claim their supplements fight COVID are likely just looking to make money.
"This isn’t to say that their supplements are harmful, but they are not a replacement for getting vaccinated and taking other proven precautionary measures, like wearing a mask."
