Nutritional Intervention for the treatment of Covid-19

1. INTRODUCTION
Nutrition is the key element of health and care. It plays an important role in the maintenance of health and treatment of severe clinical diseases [1]. More importantly, it enhances the host immune response to fight against the viral infections e.g. COVID-19 [2]. Proper nutrition and hydration are the key factors for a strong immune system. People who consume good and well-balanced diet have less chance of getting infected by any pathogen. Mostly immunocompromised, elder and comorbid people are found to have COVID-19 [3]. While the disease is less likely to occur in children and young because of a strong immune system. So, we should eat a variety of fresh and healthy food to get the required amount of vitamins, proteins, dietary fibre and iron [4].

2. NUTRITION SUPPLEMENTS
2.1. VITAMIN A
Vitamin A is an important nutritional component of the human body which is also known as an anti-infective vitamin. It is responsible for the strong immune responses against many viral infections e.g. HIV and Measles virus [2]. Vitamin A enhances the immune response due to which it could be a promising nutritional supplement for the treatment of COVID-19.
2.2. VITAMIN B
Vitamin B is water-soluble vitamin that acts as a coenzyme to perform specific functions. It has been used against many viral infections e.g. MERS [5]. Deficiency of Vitamin B is mainly observed in elders due to which they have a weak immune system. Infected patients of COVID-19 should be given the Vitamin B supplements for a better immune response against the virus.
2.3. VITAMIN C
Vitamin C works as an anti-oxidant in our body and also known as the ascorbic acid. It helps the immune system to fight against the viral infection and respiratory tract infections e.g. SARS [6]. COVID-19 is also a lower respiratory tract infection, so Vitamin C could be an option for its treatment.
2.4. VITAMIN D
Vitamin D is another important nutrient, which acts as a hormone in our body. It is naturally synthesized in the body with the exposure of direct sunlight. It has been effective against many viral infections e.g. bovine coronavirus [7]. It has been recommended for the treatment of COVID-19 by the physicians whether in the form of food or supplements [2].

3. DIET RECOMMENDATION
World health organization issued some general diet recommendations for public [4].

•  Eat fresh fruits and vegetables to boost the immune system.
•  Eat a large amount of animal food e.g. fish, meat, egg, etc. to balance the protein level in body.
•  Do not eat overcooked food.
•  Eat legumes, nuts, oaks and grains.
•  Avoid food that are high in fat and salt.
•  Eat balanced amount of fats (unsaturated) and oils.
•  Avoid industrially produced fats e.g. pizza, fried food, cookies, etc.
•  Drink a lot of water and fresh fruit juices.
•  Avoid junk food.
•  Limit the intake of carbonated drinks or sodas.

4. REFERENCES
[1] A. Laviano, A. Koverech, and M. Zanetti, “Nutrition support in the time of SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19),” Nutrition, vol. 74, p. 110834, 2020.

[2] L. Zhang and Y. Liu, “Potential interventions for novel coronavirus in China: A systematic review,” J. Med. Virol., vol. 92, no. 5, pp. 479–490, 2020.

[3] F. Zhou et al., “Clinical course and risk factors for mortality of adult inpatients with COVID-19 in Wuhan, China: a retrospective cohort study,” Lancet, 2020.

[4] World Health Organization, “Nutrition advice for adults during the COVID-19 outbreak,” 2020. http://www.emro.who.int/nutrition/nutrition-infocus/nutrition-advice-for-adults-during-the-covid-19-outbreak.

[5] S. D. Keil, R. Bowen, and S. Marschner, “Inactivation of M iddle E ast respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS‐C o V) in plasma products using a riboflavin‐based and ultraviolet light‐based photochemical treatment,” Transfusion, vol. 56, no. 12, pp. 2948–2952, 2016.

[6] H. Hemilä, “Vitamin C and SARS coronavirus,” J. Antimicrob. Chemother., vol. 52, no. 6, pp. 1049–1050, 2003.

[7] B. J. Nonnecke, J. L. McGill, J. F. Ridpath, R. E. Sacco, J. D. Lippolis, and T. A. Reinhardt “Acute phase response elicited by experimental bovine diarrhea virus (BVDV) infection is associated with decreased vitamin D and E status of vitamin-replete preruminant calves,” J. Dairy Sci., vol. 97, no. 9, pp. 5566–5579, 2014.