When I was contemplating my first blog topic a while back, I never envisioned a global pandemic would quickly arise sending lots of people into panic mode, affecting everybody in some way whether infected or not.

So here I am, today, writing about how to stay on top of your nutrition so we can combat the Coronavirus disease. There's no cure for the virus at the moment so this makes our diet even more important and by having a consistent healthy balanced diet, we can give our immune system a helping hand to overcome COVID-19 if the worst happens and infection occurs.

You'll probably think I sound like a broken record, banging on about diet but it's key in enabling people to combat any sort of infection. Malnutrition is a condition that affects millions in the UK, the NHS even label malnutrition as a "common" problem. Malnutrition is just really skinny people though right? That's not true, you can be overweight, obese, or even have a normal BMI range whilst still being malnourished. A diet very high in sugars and fats while low in essential vitamins and minerals can lead into this malnourished state. Unsurprisingly malnutrition and poor immune system function sort of go hand in hand.

So what can we consume to help boost our immune system and what kind of foods should we limit?

LIMIT (If possible): - Refined/simple carbohydrates, these include white bread, pizza dough, white pasta, pastries, white flour, white rice, cakes, and many sugary breakfast cereals. These depress your body's immune response for extended periods of time.
- Fizzy/sweet drinks (including fruit juices, it's better to just eat the fruit!)
- Alcohol & fried foods lessen your body's ability to defend itself as well.

CONSUME (without overdoing it): - Complex carbs. These are found in foods like vegetables, wholegrain bread/rice/pasta, potatoes, quinoa, and legumes like black beans, chickpeas & lentils.
- High quality protein and dairy sources. i.e. Chicken, eggs, oily fish, cottage cheese, oats, greek yoghurt (without added sugar).
- Exercise regularly (not to exhaustion).
- Get 7-9 hours sleep per night.
- Stay hydrated. i.e. Drink water (drink before you get thirsty, if you are drinking water when thirsty, you are already dehydrated!)

On a final note, we can all avoid unnecessary stress during this pandemic. Don't be an idiot. Nobody needs to buy so much toilet paper that you can violently poop for 5 years everyday and never run out of paper. Nobody needs so much food that means somebody else goes without. Stockpiling is not a reaction to the virus, it's a reaction to the fear of what's going to happen if everybody panic buys, therefore creating and feeding the whole panic buying situation we have now *Insert facepalm*.
It may be difficult to always get the right types of nutrition we need for our bodies (especially during this current situation) so don't worry about being perfect with it. However, being conscious of good advice and by actively trying our best to do the right thing, our health will improve together.