Covid-19 Quarantine: Impact of Lifestyle Behaviors Changes on Endothelial Function and Possible Protective Effect of Beetroot Juice

Abstract

The current recommendation for reducing person-to-person Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) transmission is social distancing, including remote work and school, and home confinement. However, confinement may cause negative feelings, such as frustration, anger, boredom, and stress, in quarantined people. Furthermore, unhealthy diet and physical inactivity behaviors are commonly linked to home confinement, leading to weight gain, metabolic disorders, smoking, and exacerbated alcohol consumption. As a result, these unhealthy behaviors are typically linked to vascular endothelium damage (endothelial dysfunction), which is a first step for the development of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Given that CVD is the main cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, attenuating the progression of endothelial dysfunction is very important for the control of CVD. Consuming vegetable rich in nitrate, such as beetroots, may be an effective way to prevent endothelial dysfunction. Several emerging studies have recommended beetroot juice in order to improve endothelial function in hypertensive, hypercholesterolemic individuals, as well as in those with CVD risk factors. Therefore, nitrate-rich vegetable consumption, such as beetroot, should be encouraged to be included in the diet during confinement from COVID-19 outbreaks in order to alleviate the potential negative effect of home confinement on cardiovascular health.

Investigating the Potential for Ultraviolet Light to Modulate Morbidity and Mortality From COVID-19: A Narrative Review and Update

“…In addition, many of the studies detailed above were performed in male experimental animals, and as the cardioprotective effects of estrogen (and other endogenous mediators) may occur through nitric oxide-specific pathways ( 316 , 317 ), it will be important in the future to consider how translatable the preclinical findings (from mainly male animals) are for both men and women. Other means of increasing bioavailability of nitric oxide for treatment of people with COVID-19 are being considered, including the application of nitric oxide donors (e.g., SNAP, RRx-001), novel technologies such as nanoparticles that release nitric oxide ( 285 , 318 ), and via the diet (e.g., promoting beetroot intake) ( 319 ).…”

Desenvolvimento de cartilha sobre os benefícios da alimentação para reduzir a ansiedade em tempos de COVID-19: Relato de experiência

“…Uma vez que o distanciamento e isolamento social, o medo de contrair o vírus, a mortalidade provocada por ele, as incertezas sobre a doença e vacina, a interrupção da rotina diária, a exposição constante às notícias e a perda econômica são fatores intimamente relacionados ao surgimento da ansiedade (Akdeniz et al, 2020;Cornine, 2020;Lakhan et al, 2020;Volino-Souza et al, 2020;Shigemura et al, 2020, Wang et al, 2020Zhou et al, 2020), observou-se a importância de oferecer à comunidade acesso a orientações nutricionais benéficas para esta alteração emocional nesse cenário pandêmico. Reforçando a relevância da cartilha, estudos observaram que a pandemia da COVID-19 causou problemas mentais na população de diversos países (Ingram et al, 2020;Ozamiz-Etxebarria et al, 2020;Shigemura et al, 2020;Wang et al, 2020).…”

“…No entanto, o cenário se modificou completamente. Para reduzir a propagação e transmissão do vírus, o distanciamento social, o confinamento em casa e outras medidas, foram recomendados pelas autoridades de saúde e do governo (Lakhan et al, 2020;Parlapani et al, 2020), porém, apesar de protetivas, tais medidas afetaram negativamente a vida social e o estado emocional das pessoas, propiciando um aumento expressivo da ansiedade (Akdeniz et al, 2020;Cornine, 2020;Shigemura et al, 2020;Volino-Souza et al, 2020;Wang et al, 2020;Zhou et al, 2020).…”

Phytochemical Antioxidants: Past, Present and Future

“…The vegetable diets and beverages such as the beet juice have been reported to prevent hypertension probably because of increase in NO bioavailability due to nitrite-dependent NO production [2,86]. It is likely that vegetable-based foods and beverages could prevent or mitigate COVID-19 through their phytochemical antioxidant activities along with their provision of nitrate/nitrite supplementation [84,87].…”