The Covid-19 pandemic has affected and devastated millions of people all over the world over the past two years. Even after religiously wearing masks and more than half of the world’s population getting vaccinated, we still need to live in caution of getting infected with this virus every day. Although Covid-19 is known to be one of the most contagious viruses to exist, it has been discovered in a recent article that maintaining a healthier lifestyle and diet will decrease your chances of getting infected as well as minimize any symptoms if you do happen to get infected. We all know that overall if you are able to maintain healthy habits, your immune system will be stronger and therefore, able to fight off infection more effortlessly, but applying this same idea to Covid-19 may help us escape this pandemic sooner than expected. 

Since data on this theory was lacking, Dr. Jordi Merino and his colleagues conducted an experiment to gather more evidence. 592,571 participants were selected and began by completing a questionnaire assessing their dietary habits before the pandemic. Participants who had healthy eating habits had a 9% lower chance of contracting the virus and a 41% lower chance of developing severe Covid-19. Merino concluded that in addition to wearing masks and getting vaccinated, we should all try to maintain healthy, plant-based diets to fight against Covid.

Healthy non-sugar diet

In addition to the health benefits of having a plant-based diet, it improves your immune system because of the antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals found in plants. These components work to keep your cells healthy and working at their fullest potential to fight off infection. They resolve inflammation in the body by neutralizing toxins, processed foods, bacteria, and viruses. With all the benefits, why wouldn’t you go plant-based?

It may sound pretty simple: if I go plant-based and I won’t get sick, right? Not exactly. It is found that the risk of  Covid-19 is greater in areas of high socioeconomic deprivation. This is because the people who inhabit these areas are unable to maintain the same lifestyle as people who are more fortunate. Plant-based diets and healthier lifestyles are generally more costly, causing them to be less accessible to everyone. This is one of the main reasons that Covid is still a great risk to our society. For more information about a plant-based diet decreasing Covid risks, click here.

In AP Biology we learned how your immune system works to fight against any invading viruses in your body. When you are contracting a virus, the pathogen first needs to pass through your barrier defenses. These are the natural defenses with which you are born. For example, they include mucus, skin, stomach acidity, blood and lymph proteins, etc.. If you are an unhealthy person and these defenses aren’t working properly, you are much more susceptible to disease and then need to rely on your internal defenses.

Primary immune response 1

This diagram shows how the humoral and cell-mediated responses work in the body to fight off disease.  When a pathogen enters the body, your immune system will attack either the pathogen itself when loose in your bloodstream and bone marrow or attack and kill an entire infected cell. Keeping your immune system strong by eating right and frequent exercise will also ensure that these defenses will fight off disease quickly and form antibodies to prevent future reinfection. A healthy person is by no means immune to a virus, but they will experience fewer symptoms as well as recover faster because their immune system works faster. This means that fewer cells will become infected and the virus will have less time to replicate and multiply.

As someone who runs track and cross country, it is very important to me to keep my diet as healthy as possible. Though a plant-based diet doesn’t suit my lifestyle best, I do make healthy food choices as often as I can to properly fuel myself and to ensure I don’t get sick. This seems to be working well for me as I am still yet to get infected with Covid-19 or show any symptoms.