Diet determines body protection! Study: Eating more "plant-based diet" reduces the risk of severe Covid-19 by 41%
Eating more meat, fat and animal protein increases the risk of moderate to severe infection by 4 times
The pandemic of Omicron mutant strains has caused a rapid increase in confirmed cases around the world, and breakthrough infections may occur even with vaccination. Dr. Dean Ornish, founder of the non-profit Preventive Medicine Research Institute in Sausalito, California, pointed out in an interview that recent tracking results published in “BMJ Nutrition Prevention and Health” found that different dietary habits may affect Omicron infection. severity.
Dean Ornish said that at present, it seems that vaccination, wearing masks, maintaining social distance and other measures are still unable to completely resist the powerful infectivity of Omicron mutant strains. A study that tracked nearly 3,000 frontline medical staff who were exposed to Covid-19 infections found that those who usually ate a healthy plant-based diet had a 73% reduction in the risk of developing moderate to severe illness after diagnosis; People who eat mainly sexual food and fish intake also have a 59% reduction in the risk of moderate to severe infection.
What surprised the research team was that people who consumed a diet high in animal protein, fat, or a ketogenic diet had a 400% higher risk of moderate to severe infection. Dean Ornish believes that these latest studies have proven that a healthy plant-based diet can not only reduce the damage to the body after infection with the new coronavirus, but also have various beneficial effects on the whole body system.
Diet affects the body’s immune system. Plant-based diet may help prevent severe disease
Another study led by the Harvard School of Public Health had similar results. Dean Ornish pointed out that a research team from Harvard University and King’s College London analyzed big data of nearly 600,000 people and found that people who mainly eat a healthy plant-based diet are also less likely to develop moderate to severe illness from COVID-19 infection. 41%.
In addition, even if the vaccine is also vaccinated, the immune protection caused by the vaccine is significantly lower in people who smoke, are obese, and have high blood pressure. It can be seen that healthy diet has at least two effects on the human body’s protection against COVID-19. The first is the immune system function itself, and the other is chronic diseases or metabolic diseases caused by poor diet, which reduces the protective effect of the vaccine.
Dean Ornish reminded that people who smoke, are obese, and have high blood pressure are not only more likely to be hospitalized, but obesity alone is a risk factor that may nearly triple the risk of death after diagnosis.
The human body’s immunity is actually affected by the interaction of various mechanisms. Dean Ornish pointed out that the degree of inflammation, stress response, and immune system function are mechanisms related to protection that are often involved in gastrointestinal flora, cell telomeres, gene expression, and endothelial cell function. These mechanisms are directly affected by people’s daily diet, stress, exercise and other factors.
Omicron sequelae are less dangerous than long-term effects of brain fog myocarditis
Dean Ornish said that there are now many opinions that Omicron causes a large number of infections and may help human herd immunity. However, it should be noted that the COVID-19 virus may not completely disappear, and the long-term effects of coronavirus (long COVID) after infection include brain fog, myocarditis and other sequelae. A clear decreasing trend is seen.
Has the Covid-19 pandemic validated that a plant-based diet is the best way to eat for humans? Dean Ornish believes that it was only in modern times that humans began to consume large quantities of animal protein, processed foods, sweeteners and other artificial additives. Before that, humans had been eating a plant-based diet—mainly consuming fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and soy products. In particular, vegetables and fruits contain hundreds of thousands of “phytochemicals”, including flavonoids, carotenoids, isoflavones, lycopene, etc., which are not only crucial for protection, but also have anti-cancer, prevent heart disease, Properties such as reducing aging.
Although research has found that a plant-based diet can reduce the severity of COVID-19 infection and also prevent heart disease, Dean Ornish believes that fear of diseases and viruses can only provide a short-term motivation for change. Once the fear disappears, many people People will return to their past eating habits.
On the contrary, happiness, joy and joy are the best answers for human beings to continue to embrace life, and their impact on life will be longer-term. Dean Ornish emphasized that “awareness is the first step toward recovery.” It is not difficult to understand how diet affects your physical condition and choose delicious and nutritious foods.
source:
Plant-based and/or fish diets may help lessen severity of COVID-19 infection
Diet quality and risk and severity of COVID-19: a prospective cohort study
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