Healthy Plant-based Diet Helps Protect Against Covid-19

A recent study by Harvard Medical School and King’s College London has revealed that eating a plant-based diet rich in whole foods can help with COVID-19. The study was run through health-tech company ZOE’s Covid Symptom Study app, which has been downloaded more than a million times since the pandemic started.

Results from nearly 600,000 respondents indicate those on a high quality healthy plant-based diet were not only less likely to catch the virus but less likely to be hospitalised from it.

Researchers tracked the volunteers for nine months and asked them to report what they were eating before the pandemic began. They also asked them if they caught the coronavirus and how severe the symptoms were. They divided the respondents into five groups based on how healthy their diets were.

Healthy food keeps Covid-19 away

Results showed those who consumed the most vegetables were 40 per cent less likely to be hospitalised and needed oxygen if they were infected. The same group was 10 per cent less likely to catch the virus in the first place.
It is the first major study of diet and Covid-19 correlations and the first to show that a healthy diet minimises the risk of contracting the virus and developing the disease. Rather than looking at specific foods or nutrients, the survey was designed to examine broader dietary habits that reflect how the UK population actually eats. Dr Sarah Berry, the co-author of the study, said: “For the first time we’ve been able to show that a healthier diet can cut the chances of developing Covid.”

High-quality plant-based diet

Scientists determined that the highest quality diet is the one containing the most plant-based foods such as vegetables, fruits, whole grains, nuts and healthy fats such as olive oil. A high-quality diet also means fewer processed foods and products with refined carbohydrates (sugars). Following a plant-based diet that includes gut-friendly foods helps boost immunity and is the best ‘weapon’ in the fight with COVID-19.
A low-quality diet is associated with increased consumption of ultra-processed foods, products with meat and dairy, snacks and low amounts of fruit and vegetables. The study found that the impact of diet was amplified by socioeconomic factors. People living in low-income communities with the lowest quality diet are around 25 per cent more at risk from Covid-19 than people in wealthier communities who were eating in the same way.
The researchers concluded that nearly a quarter of Covid-19 cases in the UK could have been prevented if these differences in diet quality and status had not existed.

Buy more plant-based food

Professor Tim Spector, professor of genetic epidemiology at King’s College London, said: “You don’t have to go vegan, but getting more diverse plants on your plate is a great way to boost the health of your gut microbiome, improve your immunity and overall health, and potentially reduce your risk from Covid-19.”