Some Tips For Food And Nutrition In Self-Quarantine

Food And Nutrition In Self-Quarantine

As countries take more stringent measures to contain the spread of COVID-19, self-quarantine and temporary business closures can impact everyday feeding practices. Healthy people are asked to stay at home, as are those with symptoms of acute respiratory illnesses. In some countries, restaurants and take-out offerings are restricted, and some fresh produce is less easy to find.

Good nutrition is essential for health, especially when the immune system may have to fight back. Limited access to fresh food can compromise the possibilities of eating in a healthy and varied way. It can also lead to increased consumption of heavily processed foods, which tend to be high in fats, sugars, and salt. However, even with a limited range of ingredients, one can continue to eat healthily.

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Table of Contents

Some Tips And Examples Of Home Exercises

Make A Plan – Take Only What You Need

It is, therefore, essential to consider your own needs, as well as those of others. Assess what you already have at home and plan your rations. You may feel the urge to buy large amounts of food, but remember what is already in your pantry, as well as foods with a shorter shelf life, and eat them. It can help prevent food wastage and allow others to have access to the food they need.

Have A Food Consumption Strategy – Prioritize Fresh Produce

Use fresh ingredients and those with a shorter shelf life first. If fresh produce, mostly lower-fat fruits, vegetables, and dairy products, remains available, prioritize these products over non-perishable items. Likewise, frozen fruits and vegetables can be used for a more extended period and often have a similar nutritional profile to fresh foods. To avoid wasted food, consider freezing leftovers for another meal.

Prepare Homemade Meals

In everyday daily life, many people do not often have time to prepare homemade meals. Now, long periods at home can provide the opportunity to make those recipes you didn’t have time to make. There are a lot of healthy and delicious recipes that can be found online. Take advantage of the wealth of information available for free and experiment with the ingredients you can get. But keep in mind the principles of healthy eating offered in these tips.

Limit Your Salt Intake

Fresh foods can become scarce, which may require greater reliance on canned, frozen, or processed foods as these foods are high in salt. The WHO recommends consuming less than 5g of salt per day.

Limit Your Sugar Intake

According to WHO recommendations, ideally, less than 5% of adults’ total energy intake should come from free sugars (about six teaspoons). If you are craving something sweet, always prioritize fresh fruit. Frozen fruit, canned fruit in their juice rather than syrup, and dried fruit with no added sugar are also good options.