This archive report was first published on 16 May 2020.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), a healthy diet helps protect against malnutrition in all its forms, as well as noncommunicable diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and cancer.
While there is no specific drug or vaccine for the Covid-19 infection, a nutritious and healthy diet rich in protective foods can boost one's immunity and capacity to fight the infection.
Carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins, minerals, fibre, and water are the main groups of nutrients that make up a balanced diet.
Kenya's National Guidelines for Healthy Diets and Physical Activity (2017) recommend eating a variety of foods from different groups every day, including whole or unprocessed starchy foods, green leafy vegetables, red and yellow vegetables, fruits, beans, peas, lentils, cowpeas, pigeon peas, soya, nuts, and edible seeds.
Drinking fresh milk, fermented milk, or yoghurt every day, using oil or fat in moderation, and limiting the amount of solid fat are also recommended.
Only 2.5 million Kenyans (6 per cent) consume the recommended amounts of fruits and vegetables, according to Kenya's Ministry of Health.
Increasing our consumption of protective foods, drinking clean water regularly, and staying well-hydrated can help boost our immunity and capacity to fight infectious agents, including Covid-19.
Adopting protective diets can significantly contribute to lower incidence, morbidity, and mortality of Covid-19 and similar infectious diseases.
Drinking ample amounts of water and fluids (at least eight glasses a day for adults) also helps our immune system.
Examples of protective foods, constituents, and health benefits are shown in the table below.
