[Article updated on 19/09/2023]
Having been infected with covid-19 is generally experienced as a real psychological shock. Especially since with the infection, we are not in great shape!
Before reading on
I’m not an expert in this field, but I am passionate about nutrition and health.
The articles you’ll find on my site are the result of in-depth research that I’d like to share with you. However, I would like to stress that I am not a health professional and that my advice should in no way replace that of a qualified physician. I’m here to guide you, but it’s important that you consult a professional for specific questions or medical concerns. Your well-being is important. So be sure to consult the appropriate experts and take the best possible care of yourself.
- We are doing less sport, with the closure of collective and indoor sports activities.
- We fell into a sometimes unbalanced diet routine, with a less diversified diet.
- We tend towards dietary excesses, such as sweets, fatty foods and alcohol consumption.
The paradox of this infection, the snub of this virus, is that the containment measures and measures to limit the spread of the virus cause us to gain extra pounds, and if we are infected, we risk a more severe form. serious infection, as described here: https://www.chu-lyon.fr/fr/une-etude-francaise-confirme-limportance-de-lobesite-dans-les-formes-graves-dinfections-covid -19
Then, when we are already weakened, we are told:
“Your test is positive.”
What are the dietary recommendations to get through this ordeal?
During the infection phase,
- Stay hydrated: Water is the essential drink for the body!
- Maintain a balanced, varied and diversified diet that provides nutrients and micronutrients and antioxidants necessary for the immune system to do its job.
- Seasonal fruits and vegetables are best eaten raw, as vitamin C will be destroyed when cooked. Vitamin C is one of the most important for the immune system.
- A good distribution of fat by reducing saturated fatty acids (fatty meat, butter, palm oil) by consuming rapeseed oil, nuts daily and fatty fish once a week, important sources of omega 3 which strongly strengthen the immune system and have an anti-inflammatory action.
- Boost your intestinal flora! These bacteria are involved in the immune system. For this, fermented products such as yogurt, sauerkraut, kombucha are interesting.
Then, at the end of this phase, the stage of physical recovery occurs, called convalescence.
If you have no after-effects, then you must continue a balanced and varied diet which is naturally rich in minerals, vitamins and antioxidants.
On the other hand, if you are anosmic, that is to say if you have lost your sense of smell, things get complicated!
With the loss of smell, also comes the loss of a part of taste linked to olfaction: flavor, that is to say the part of the olfactory molecules released by chewing and captured by the nasal mucosa: l retro-nasal olfaction. This loss of taste pleasure is very traumatic on a psychological level.
We are left with the basic sensations of taste, i.e. sweet, salty, sour, bitter and umami. Gone are the pleasures of the flavor of a fresh fruit, of an intoxicating spice, gone are the pleasures of analyzing the finesse of a good bottle of wine!
What will we do then? Well to compensate for this loss and repair this injustice, we will all have the same adaptation reaction: eat more fat and sweeter.
Double paradox!!!
This virus will make us gain extra pounds, even though we already had them since the gyms closed, and the risk of serious illness is greater when we are overweight… This virus is evil.
But that’s not knowing us well! We will react together and keep our heads held high, and control over our nutrition.
- by making a olfactory training, that is to say the re-education of the sense of smell. Because it is possible to recover, it is a question of training and self-hypnosis! The virus has disrupted the electrical circuitry of the infection, but fortunately our brains and nerves have a great capacity to recover. To recover, you must either consult a rehabilitation specialist, or order an olfactory rehabilitation kit such as on this site: https://perte-odorat.com/.
Two out of three people manage to recover with olfactory training, which is an effective technique, such as science has shown us.
- using aromatic herbs and spices as much as possible such as rosemary, thyme, chives, cinnamon, cumin, turmeric, chili pepper, paprika, pepper, and especially turmeric: the latter is rich in antioxidants, and simultaneously stimulates taste and smell.
While limiting sugary, fatty products and salt. Indeed, to enhance the taste we tend to add sugar, fat and salt, which can promote cardiovascular and metabolic diseases.