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[living-with-abhi]

Diet during Covid? See this 👇

https://www.livingwithabhi.com/post/are-you-aware-of-some-tips-of-healthy-diet-for-covid-19

Are You Aware Of Some Tips Of Healthy Diet For Covid-19?

Overview

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by a newly discovered coronavirus.

Most people infected with the COVID-19 virus will experience mild to moderate respiratory illness and recover without requiring special treatment. Older people and those with underlying medical problems like cardiovascular disease, diabetes, chronic respiratory disease, and cancer are more likely to develop serious illnesses.

The best way to prevent and slow down transmission is to be well informed about the COVID-19 virus, the disease it causes, and how it spreads. Protect yourself and others from infection by washing your hands or using an alcohol-based rub frequently and not touching your face.

The COVID-19 virus spreads primarily through droplets of saliva or discharge from the nose when an infected person coughs or sneezes, so it’s important that you also practice respiratory etiquette (for example, by coughing into a flexed elbow).

What Healthy Diet Can Do During Covid-19?

Eating a healthy diet is very important during the COVID-19 pandemic. What we eat and drink can affect our body’s ability to prevent, fight and recover from infections.

While no foods or dietary supplements can prevent or cure COVID-19 infection, healthy diets are important for supporting immune systems. Good nutrition can also reduce the likelihood of developing other health problems, including obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and some types of cancer.

For babies, a healthy diet means exclusive breastfeeding in the first six months, with the introduction of nutritious and safe foods to complement breastmilk from age 6 months to 2 years and beyond. For young children, a healthy and balanced diet is essential for growth and development. For older people, it can help to ensure healthier and more active lives.

What Are The Tips for maintaining a healthy diet Against Covid-19?

1. Eat a variety of food, including fruits and vegetables

• Every day, eat a mix of whole grains like wheat, maize, and rice, legumes like lentils and beans, plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables, with some foods from animal sources (e.g. meat, fish, eggs, and milk).

• Choose whole-grain foods like unprocessed maize, millet, oats, wheat, and brown rice when you can; they are rich in valuable fiber and can help you feel full for longer.

• For snacks, choose raw vegetables, fresh fruit, and unsalted nuts.

2. Cut back on salt

• Limit salt intake to 5 grams (equivalent to a teaspoon) a day.

• When cooking and preparing foods, use salt sparingly and reduce the use of salty sauces and condiments (like soy sauce, stock, or fish sauce).

• If using canned or dried food, choose varieties of vegetables, nuts, and fruit, without added salt and sugars.

• Remove the salt shaker from the table and experiment with fresh or dried herbs and spices for added flavor instead.

• Check the labels on food and choose products with lower sodium content.

3. Eat moderate amounts of fats and oils

• Replace butter, ghee, and lard with healthier fats like olive, soy, sunflower, or corn oil when cooking.

• Choose white meats like poultry and fish which are generally lower in fats than red meat; trim the meat of visible fat and limit the consumption of processed meats.

• Select low-fat or reduced-fat versions of milk and dairy products.

• Avoid processed, baked, and fried foods that contain industrially produced trans-fat.

• Try steaming or boiling instead of frying food when cooking.

4. Limit sugar intake

• Limit intake of sweets and sugary drinks such as fizzy drinks, fruit juices, and juice drinks, liquid and powder concentrates, flavored water, energy, and sports drinks, ready-to-drink tea and coffee, and flavored milk drinks.

• Choose fresh fruits instead of sweet snacks such as cookies, cakes, and chocolate. When other dessert options are chosen, ensure that they are low in sugar and consume small portions.

• Avoid giving sugary foods to children. Salt and sugars should not be added to complementary foods given to children under 2 years of age and should be limited beyond that age.

5. Stay hydrated: Drink enough water

Good hydration is crucial for optimal health. Whenever available and safe for consumption, tap water is the healthiest and cheapest drink. Drinking water instead of sugar-sweetened beverages is a simple way to limit your intake of sugar and excess calories.

6. Avoid hazardous and harmful alcohol use

Alcohol is not a part of a healthy diet. Drinking alcohol does not protect against COVID-19 and can be dangerous. Frequent or excessive alcohol consumption increases your immediate risk of injury, as well as causing longer-term effects like liver damage, cancer, heart disease, and mental illness. There is no safe level of alcohol consumption.

7. Breastfeed babies and young children

Breastmilk is the ideal food for infants. It is safe, clean, and contains antibodies that help protect against many common childhood illnesses. Babies should be breastfed exclusively during the first 6 months of life, as breast milk provides all the nutrients and fluids they need.

• From 6 months of age, breast milk should be complemented with a variety of adequate, safe, and nutrient-dense foods. Breastfeeding should continue under babies at 2 years of age or beyond.

Women with COVID-19 can breastfeed if they wish to do so and should take infection prevention and control measures.

Is There A Vaccine For Covid-19?

Yes. There are three COVID-19 vaccines for which certain national regulatory authorities have authorized the use. None have yet received WHO EUL/PQ authorization but we expect an assessment on the Pfizer vaccine by the end of December and for some other candidates soon thereafter.

Large studies of 5 vaccine candidates' efficacy and safety results, including these three (and for Moderna and AstraZeneca), have been publicly reported through press releases but only one (AstraZeneca) has published results in the peer-reviewed literature. , We expect more such reports in the near future. It is likely that additional candidates will be submitted to regulatory authorities for approval. There are many potential COVID-19 vaccine candidates currently in development.

Once vaccines are demonstrated to be safe and efficacious, they must be approved by national regulators, manufactured to exacting standards, and distributed. WHO is working with partners around the world to help coordinate key steps in this process, including facilitating equitable access to safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines for the billions of people who will need them. More information about COVID-19 vaccine development is available here.

Are Antibiotics Effective In Treating Or Preventing Covid-19?

Antibiotics do not work against viruses; they only work on bacterial infections. COVID-19 is caused by a virus, so antibiotics do not work. Antibiotics should not be used as a means of prevention or treatment of COVID-19.

In hospitals, physicians will sometimes use antibiotics to prevent or treat secondary bacterial infections which can be a complication of COVID-19 in severely ill patients. They should only be used as directed by a physician to treat a bacterial infection.

CONCLUSION

This review summarizes recent scientific literature and existing recommendations from national and international nutrition agencies on an optimal diet, vitamin and mineral supplementation, and good hygiene practices for food preparation during the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings can be used to help dietitians and healthcare professionals better address dietary recommendations during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Guidance related to the safe handling of food, from production to consumption, is critical to reducing the risk of viral dissemination. The general recommendation is to consume a diet based predominantly on fresh foods such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, low-fat dairy sources, and healthy fats (olive oil and fish oil) and to limit intakes of sugary drinks and processed foods high in calories and salt. Dietary supplements (ie, vitamins C and D, zinc, and selenium) should be administered to individuals with, or at risk of, respiratory viral infections or in whom deficiency is detected. Breast milk is the safest and healthiest food for infants, and breastfeeding should be encouraged, even in women diagnosed with COVID-19.

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[living-with-abhi]

Social media is playing a major role in Covid-19, but is it enough?

Read More - https://www.livingwithabhi.com/post/pondering-over-the-role-of-social-media-during-the-covid-19-pandemic

The 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) or extreme severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), as it is now known, is rapidly spreading in India and to the rest of the world from its origin in Wuhan City, China. This deadly and life-threatening virus infected 2,549,632 people and resulted in 175,825 deaths around the world. In India, there are currently 17,610 positive corona infected cases (till 24 April 2020) as reported by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare Department of India.

During sudden outbreaks, the public needs access to timely and reliable information about the disease symptoms and their prevention. Nowadays, social media are often seen as fast and effective platforms for searching, sharing, and distributing health information among the general population.

Also, social media serves to provide an important informal source of data to identify health information that has not been reported to medical officers or health departments and to uncover or share perspectives on any life-threatening health-related issues.

But this channel of disseminating knowledge sometimes mixed with scare tactics, discrimination, misleading reports, and conspiracy theories related to the origin of the virus, its spread, and mass buying of face masks, all closely connected to the modern 21st century “info media” social media networks.

Despite the importance of rapid access to information in these critical situations, poor comprehension or inaccurate or false information in the format of rumors or unreliable news can lead to misunderstanding in the community, which makes the situation worse.

Dr. Tedros Adhanom, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), calls this the battle against “trolls and conspiracy theories.” Misinformation creates confusion, and spreads fear, hampering the outbreak response. “Misinformation on the coronavirus might be the most contagious thing about it.”

These circumstances can lead to an increase in the people's unnecessary expectations requiring diagnostic, medication, or referral services as for instance taken as a shortage and black marketing of face masks and hand sanitizer in India. As for low- and middle-income countries with limited health services, this can make the situation worse because these nations don't have enough workforce and financial resources to cope up with this epidemic.

Yet India is managing with its own level at its best, but it seems like the virus's potential path is uncertain.

Hence, this review provides a bird's eye view of the impact of social media on the general population during this CoV epidemic.

Government and health professionals must embrace and make plans for the use of social media, work together, establish limits and build guidelines for its usage, and above all, make them work for the general population.

What is the Role of Social Media during the COVID-19 Crisis?

Today, social media such as Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, have become primary sources of information.

They are also vehicles for fake news and disinformation. During a crisis like the COVID-19 pandemic, how should social media be mastered and employed in a responsible way? HEC Paris Associate Professor of Marketing, Kristine de Valck, has been studying the role of social networks in the marketplace since 1999. She explains.

The #coronavirus health crisis highlights the particular strengths of social media and how it brings people across the globe together, to make sense of what is truly happening.

HOW DO COMPANIES AND INDIVIDUALS USE SOCIAL MEDIA DURING SUCH A CRISIS?

Broadly, there is two opposing logic. Companies can use social media for commercial purposes or for communal purposes. In other words, companies use social media to brand, sell, market their business (which is close to traditional marketing efforts using mass media) versus using social media to connect with and co-create with customers and – more importantly – to provide a platform to customers to bond together. You can see this as the distinction between using social media to talk to your customers versus using social media to talk with your customers and have them talk to each other through your brand.

For individuals, the same axe translates into using social media to self-present – that can turn into the very narcissistic self-exposure that we sometimes see on social media versus using social media to connect with friends, family, and like-minded others for socialization and emotional support.

WHAT PARTICULAR STRENGTHS OF SOCIAL MEDIA ARE HIGHLIGHTED DURING SUCH DIFFICULT TIMES?

For me, this crisis highlights the particular strengths of social media in how they can be used for the second type of purpose; that is community and emotional support.

Just like we have seen with other crises, such as the earthquake and following tsunami that caused the nuclear disaster in Japan in 2011, the terrorist attacks in Paris and elsewhere in Europe over the past years, we see today that people all over the world reach out to each other – close by and far away – through social media to make sense of what is happening.

I am thinking of the many funny videos about how people creatively deal with the lockdown, of the neighborhood Facebook groups that organize entertainment and practical support to help neighbors who need assistance with grocery shopping or childcare, and the quick rise of apps and functionalities that allow for live chat and video sessions with multiple people.

This is social media at its core and at its best.

PEOPLE TURN TO SOCIAL MEDIA NOT ONLY FOR SUPPORT AND ENTERTAINMENT BUT ALSO USE IT AS A SOURCE OF INFORMATION… AND FAKE NEWS.

This is where we need to warn of the dark side of social media and its role in spreading fake news. Platforms have been slow in acknowledging their responsibility in helping platform users distinguish fake news from facts, but they are taking steps in the right direction. Instagram, for example, announced to only include COVID-19 related posts and stories in their recommendation section that are published by official health organizations. In general, my advice is to crosscheck information that you get through social media with at least two other information sources such as government websites and high-quality news outlets. In addition, we also all have a role to play by not further spreading rumors through our social media accounts.

HOW SHOULD MARKETERS ADOPT THEIR SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGIES IN THIS EXTRAORDINARY TIME?

It is a tricky question. Typically, marketers should relate their social media contributions to the real-time context. Indeed, at the start of the crisis, I kept receiving long-before planned brand posts that did not refer at all to the situation, and thus, seemed misplaced. At the same time, trying to leverage a sanitary crisis for branding purposes in your social media posts can quickly be perceived as distasteful.

The best examples I have seen come from companies that offer free resources to their customers to face the crisis. For example, many academic publishers have made online content available for free to support teachers and students worldwide with distance learning. Closer to home, the teachers have started a YouTube channel where they post videos on how we can keep fit while confined at home.

I am thinking of the many funny videos about how people creatively deal with the lockdown, of the neighborhood Facebook groups that organize entertainment and practical support to help neighbors who need assistance with grocery shopping or childcare, and the quick rise of apps and functionalities that allow for live chat and video sessions with multiple people.

This is social media at its core and at its best.

Coronavirus: How Panic Spreads Through Social Media

With its capacity to bring people closer than ever before, social media has also set new and special challenges, including phenomena of Cyber-bullying, exploiting public opinion, and other forms of crime. The pandemic of CoV is affecting global health and now become a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) as declared by the WHO. In the International Health Regulations (IHR) 2005, the term Public Health Emergency of International Concern is defined as “an extraordinary event which is described, as given in these regulations:

To constitute a public health risk to other States through the international spread of disease; and

To potentially require a coordinated international response.” This definition implies a situation that: is serious, unusual, or unexpected; carries implications for public health beyond the affected State's national border and may require immediate international action.

While the Internet is seen as an effective source for obtaining health information, it can be used as a means of disseminating misinformation. As standard research methods include methodology and peer review, this analysis also includes a framework for inspections which balances to minimize the risk of inaccurate or inappropriate content dissemination; social media platforms will often encourage open membership, and in large part unrestricted exchange of ideas under 'protecting and allowing free' principles expression – sadly because of short legal consequences, there is little or no accountability for what is said or communicated.

In addition to resolving the urgent need to step up public health interventions for tackling the epidemic, the pandemic of social media hysteria must be combated. This spreading of panic and misinformation about CoV is termed as “Misinfodemics.”

Sharing and spreading timely and transparent information, especially when the news is unfavorable and predicting uncertainty is clearly an integral part of managing large-scale epidemics and other emergencies.

All such interactions should be routine between government agencies and the public to develop trust that becomes critical during epidemics. In today's world, reaching the general population – especially in times of public health crisis – takes more than common mass media as some of the channels which are behind paywalls.

Subsequent public contact from China and other parts of the world and exchange of knowledge strengthened the response to the outbreak. Similarly, Singapore's approach to public risk communication, including Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's speech on February 8, 2020, was lauded by experts in health care as they developed a model for reducing panic and rumors among their people.

The last outbreak of Ebola in Western Africa is yet another clear example of the ability of social networks to influence the actions of people. This news of the epidemic created a fearful environment globally with rumors and misinformation, which rapidly spreads through social networks.

Several studies had investigated the role that social networks have played in spreading misinformation about Ebola. A study published in the British medical journal analyzed tweets about the Ebola outbreak from African countries. The researchers revealed that most of the messages contained false information, and 'fake' tweets were more retweeted than those comprising “truthful” facts.

Odlum and Yoon also state that various senses of public anxiety, anger, and health information seeking global Ebola-related goals were identified during the Ebola epidemic through Twitter's 2014 to 2016 content review.

Furthermore, social networks helped spread conspiracy theories, gibberish accusations, and some even gave them information about fake treatments; likewise, the SMS and WhatsApp messages also spread false news stories.

Conclusion

Instead of self-glorifying social media brand posts, brands will be forced to embrace the communal logic of social media during the COVID-19 crisis. More than ever, social media posts should be user-centric and not producer-centric. Brands that will be able to deliver messages and engage in conversations that are considered valuable because they provide helpful information, relevant advice or that simply make you laugh will come out of the crisis stronger.

Stay safe and keep sharing!

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