virus

Eat Real Food

Protect the NHS

Save lives

How do we best look after ourselves during the pandemic?

It is likely that most of us will be exposed to the coronavirus at some point, so what can we do NOW to minimise the impact?

Real Food can help us boost and balance our immune systems but our metabolic health is also vitally important. The disease is having the worst outcomes in those with poor metabolic health and the diseases associated with this such as heart disease and diabetes. 

We want to share our top 5 food tips for improving immune AND metabolic health.

  1. EAT a RAINBOW  incorporating a wide variety of seasonal berries and organic vegetables 
  2. CHOOSE protein from wild fish, pasture-fed animal sources, mushrooms, organic whole grains, nuts, seeds and pulses
  3. INCLUDE more herbs, spices, garlic, condiments & ferments for immune-supporting phytonutrients and microbes
  4. AVOID ultra-processed foods, refined carbohydrates, sugar and vegetable oils
  5. FAST occasionally or practise time-restricted feeding

ALSO:

  • Optimise Vitamin D levels by getting adequate sunshine and eating oily fish, outdoor raised eggs & animal fat

For more tips on how to improve your health and immune system naturally see our parent BHMA COVID-19 page

And check out our other pages such as Food as Medicine, Fats & Oils and Eating Meat for more information on healthy, sustainable eating. 

Evidence

There is plenty of evidence to support these 5 tips and more and we will be collating some of this from research papers, articles and blogs over the next few weeks. If you have any you would like to share please do get in touch. 

Healthy diet with nutritional supplements support body in fight against COVID-19 – Neuroscience News, April 23rd 2020

Endocrine and metabolic link to coronavirus infection – Nature Reviews Endocrinology, April 2nd 2020

Covid 19 and the elephant in the room – European Scientist, April 16th 2020

Boost your immune system with Real Food – blog

Association between berries intake and cardiovascular diseases risk factors: a systematic review with meta-analysis and trial sequential analysis of randomized controlled trials 2018

Time-Restricted Eating to Prevent and Manage Chronic Metabolic Diseases – Annual Review of Nutrition, Aug 21st 2019

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It’s not just about health

Let’s use this opportunity to support a better future not only for our selves and our families but also for our communities, countryside and planet. 

  • Buy local, organic and regeneratively farmed foods
  • Cook more from scratch
  • Waste less food
  • Grow your own