Nutrition and COVID-19: Healthy Meal Plan to Boost Your Immunity and Stay Healthy

CHENNAI: Patients who are under isolation after testing positive for COVID-19 are to be offered a
specific diet plan if they want to undertake fasting for the month of Ramzan.

According to the diet plan released by the city corporation on Sunday, patients who choose to fast will
be provided with roti and biscuits at 4 am followed by ‘Kabasura kudineer’, said to boost immunity, at
4:30
am.  They may then have milk and bananas at 7 pm and rice with sambar, rasam, vegetables and an
egg for dinner at 9:30 pm. At 10 pm, they are given milk infused with small amounts of garlic.
The diet plan for other patients include coffee and biscuits at 7 am, Idli with sambar at 8:30 am,
Kabasura kudineer at 10 am. They will be offered boiled chickpea or peanuts and lemon juice at 11
am.  For lunch, rice with sambar, rasam, curd, vegetables and an egg will be given followed by coffee
and biscuits at 4 pm, bananas at 7:30 pm. For dinner, they would be given rice with sambar, rasam and
vegetables and at 10 pm, milk infused with garlic,

the question on everyone’s mind is what to eat to boost up our immune system during this pandemic.
Here, I will be sharing a healthy and an easy to follow meal plan, which has been planned, keeping in mind
all the the immune boosting foods available in the market during the lockdown period. This meal plan is
packed with proteins, healthy fats, vitamins such as A, B, C, D and E, and essential minerals. On the same
side, this meal plan is low in sugars, salts and visible fats so as to provide maximum nutrition and avoid
weight gain in the quarantine period. There are some important things which I would like to share before
coming to the meal plan, which are-
o Maintain hygiene
o Cook the food thoroughly
o Keep the fruits and vegetables in saline water for atleast 3–4 hours
o Eat plenty of fiber
o Stay hydrated. You can make infused water by adding 2 slices of lemon, 2–3 mint leaves, 3 slices of
cucumber and 3 slices of carrot. This will boost your metabolism and make your normal water tastier.
o Try to include atleast 7 superfoods from:-
· Dark green leafy vegetables (kale, spinach)
· Whole grains (oats, whole wheat, brown rice)
· Tomatoes, beets, sweet potato, beans, pumpkin, garlic, ginger
· Almond, cashews, walnuts, pumpkin seeds
· Eggs, green tea and turmeric.
o Include drumsticks in your diet as they are good source of many vital B-complex vitamins and vitamin C
o Eat good amount of proteins
o Avoid alcohol and restrict smoking because smoking can cause respiratory problems and coronavirus is
a respiratory disease
o People above 30 yrs and those with any other medical condition should avoid having smoothies and
shakes, because it increases the sugar intake and may spike the blood glucose levels. They should also try
not to add salt in the soup or vegetable smoothies, so as to maintain their blood pressure levels.
o Children are usually fussy eaters, so you can give them fruits in the form of smoothies and shakes, and
try to add honey instead of sugar. Vegetables can be given in the form of soups.
o You should have your dinner before 8 pm. It improves digestive health.
o Avoid ice creams and refrigerated beverages.
The following sample menu with three small, but balanced, meals and three light snacks throughout the
day will give you an idea of what to eat for a healthy diet. You can mix and match the following as per your
choice.
Early morning (6:00 am — 7:00 am)
1 glass lukewarm lemon water + 1 clove of garlic
4–5 soaked almond and walnuts
After 30 mins — — green tea -1 cup (without sugar or 1 tsp honey)
Breakfast (8:00 am — 9:00 am)
· Besan ragi spinach cheela- 2 (nos) with mint chutney and buttermilk (1 cup) Or
· Vegetable roti/paratha (Carrot (grated), fenugreek leaves, coriander leaves besan and whole wheat) -2
(nos) with buttermilk Or
· Spinach wheat and ragi dosa — 2 (nos) with sambhar (1cup) Or
· Oats porridge (without sugar) with added dates (1), mango slice (1), chia seeds (1tsp), flax seeds (1tsp)-
1 cup Or
· Vegetable omelette (1 egg white+1 whole egg) with 2 slices of whole wheat bread
Mid morning (10:30 am — 11:30 am)
1 orange + 1 amla + 1 fruit (1 small apple,/ ½ cup pomegranate/ 2 slices of muskmelon or watermelon or
papaya/ ½ cup grapes)
Lunch (1:00 pm — 2:00 pm)
Salad (1/2 cucumber + ½ carrot)
Chapatti — 2 or rice — 1.5 cup
Dal — 1 cup
Vegetable (beans/ cauliflower/ broccoli/ nutri veg/ mixed veg) — ¾ cup
Curd — 1cup
Evening tea (4:30 pm — 5:30 pm)
1 cup immunitea (sugar as per medical condition). Add tulsi leaves, clove, cinnamon, fennel seeds,
cardamom and ginger to the tea.
Roasted makhana/ boiled sprouts/ chickpea sundal — ½ cup
Dinner (before 8:00 pm)
1) 1 cup soup (tomato soup/ spinach soup/ beetroot carrot soup/sweet potato carrot tomato soup). Do
add drumsticks to the soup.
· Whole wheat bread sandwich filled with paneer slice, lettuce, cucumber and tomato Or
· Paneer bhurji + 1–2 chapati Or
· Nutri +peas sabzi + 1–2 chapati Or
· Oats idli + sambhar (1 cup)
Post dinner (9:00 pm)
Skim milk — 1 cup (without sugar) with ½ tsp turmeric
So, Indulge mindfully in healthy eating. Exercise regularly or practice yoga and deep breathing for atleast
5 times a week (30 mins/day).
Wait a second!! Please remember that the above given tips and diet plan is not a cure or remedy for
coronavirus, but a way to boost up your immune system so as to fight against the infections.
Stay indoors, stay safe and eat healthy and be responsible towards our country.

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