Food nutrients as inherent sources of immunomodulation during COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) - a novel coronavirus has rapid spread, and caused community infection around the globe. During the absence of a vaccine, people focused more on an immunity-boosting diet and needed clear knowledge about immunity-boosting foods. However, after the vaccination drive, the importance of food as a natural source of immunomodulation cannot be neglected. So, the purpose of this review was to describe the role of vital nutrient in boosting immune system of body apart from other factors like adequate sleep, exercise, and low stress levels. Macrophages, neutrophils, natural killer cells, dendritic cells, B-cells, and T-cells are the important components having important role in maintaining immunity of the human body. The first four-act as the initial mediator of innate host defense, and the latter two produced antibodies for pathogen destruction. The review investigated vital nutrients like vitamin-C, A, E and D, iron, zinc, folic acid, probiotics, and prebiotics affecting these immune components in some extent. Fruits, vegetables, spices, herbs, seeds, nuts, cereals, millets, and superfoods like chlorella and spirulina are good sources of these nutrients. However, fortified foods, functional foods, encapsulated foods with bioactive compounds and plant-based foods have shown immense potential in boosting immunity against viral infection like COVID-19. Some clinical trials and retrospective cohort study have shown reduction in the severity of COVID-19 patients with relation to plant-based diet, vitamin D and C doses, probiotic, and zinc salts application.

Incorporation of Mycelium (Pleurotus eryngii) in Pea Protein Based Low Moisture Meat Analogue: Effect on Its Physicochemical, Rehydration and Structural Properties

“…The filamentous mycelium protein can impart a meat-like chewable characteristic, and is also considered as beneficial to health [ 1 ]. Further, mycelium of Pleurotus eryngii species also has nutraceutical properties that can be utilized to form functional food helpful to fight against COVID-19 [ 12 , 14 ]. Meat analogue derived from mycelium has a meaty flavor due to the presence of high sulfur-containing amino acids and glutamic acid, implying a characteristic umami flavor [ 15 ].…”

Awareness of the relationship between chemopreventive behaviours and occurrence of cancer in patients with selected types of cancer.

“…Substancje o udowodnionym działaniu chemoprewencyjnym oraz immunostymulującym to m.in. : związki fitochemiczne (polifenole, karotenoidy), składniki mineralne (wapń, selen, cynk, żelazo, miedź), błonnik pokarmowy, witaminy (A, D, E, C, B 6 , B 12 , B 9 ) wielonienasycone kwasy tłuszczowe z rodziny omega-3 oraz probiotyki i prebiotyki [5][6][7][8][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27].…”

“…Nasiona roślin strączkowych są dobrym źródłem błonnika, żelaza, wapnia, witamin z grupy B, a także wielonienasyconych kwasów tłuszczowych omega-3 i fitoestrogenów. Substancje te wykazują działanie nie tylko chemoprewencyjne, ale także wzmacniające układ immunologiczny, co podczas pandemii COVID-19 jest niezwykle istotne [8,19,20]. Nasiona roślin strączkowych nie są popularnymi produktami zarówno wśród respondentów badań własnych, jak i badań przeprowadzonych przez Zakład Żywienia Człowieka Śląskiego Uniwersytetu Medycznego w Katowicach.…”

Pandemic Preparedness: Maintaining Adequate Immune Fitness by Attaining a Normal, Healthy Body Weight

“…A resilient immune fitness (i.e., an adequate immune system) refers to the capacity to adapt to external health challenges by establishing an appropriate immune response to prevent or resolve diseases. Poor immune fitness is caused partly by genetic predisposition and personal characteristics such as age, sex, and underlying conditions, but it is also significantly impacted by lifestyle factors such as daily diet, (lack of) physical exercise, chronic stress, and poor sleep [ 3 , 4 , 5 ]. Recently, Kiani et al [ 6 ] evaluated the impact of reduced perceived immune fitness on the presence and severity of 2019 coronavirus (COVID-19) complaints.…”