Whether in the hospital or at home, it is very important to follow a strict and healthy diet for the covid patients to recover. Here, we’ve brought the doctors’ suggested COVID patient diet plan at home. Read on to know!
Along with all of that, a COVID patient should never underestimate the potential of adopting the right food habit. Your doctors will recommend you with the same, and you need to follow it strictly. But, if you are not aware of what to eat and what diet to follow, then this article is for you.
In this article, you will get a complete hourly and daily covid patient diet plan that will help you fight this virus with more strength channelized from your body.
Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) – COVID Patient Diet Plan
Before moving onto the food items and dietary components that you need to add for COVID patient diet plan at home, it is important for you to understand the need for a balanced diet and the nutritional requirement aspects while recovering from COVID 19.
A balanced diet for COVID recovery is quite essential for positive patients to help the body heal over time. In this process, one should eat a reasonable amount of carbs, unsaturated fat, protein, and other such nutrients. The nutrition experts have proposed that consumption of red meat is strictly prohibited for COVID-positive patients. Chicken can be eaten but in small quantities. Along with that, the patients are also allowed to add boiled eggs or fish to their balanced diet.
The RDA (Recommended Dietary Allowance) for COVID-positive patients states that the patients need to start their diet with 50% consumption of the required nutrition. On the third day, consider increasing the nutrient consumption to 70% and gradually increase it to 100% by the end of 7 days or a week. There is a specified calorie requirement based upon different types of patient categories, that includes:
- Non-obese patients will need 25-30kcal per kg of their actual body weight.
- Obese or overweight patients will need 25-30kcal per kg of their adjusted body weight.
- Underweight patients will require 25-35kcal per kg of their Adjusted BW.
Apart from calories, there is a protein requirement of 1-1.5gm per kg of the Actual Bodyweight. The fats requirement for faster recovery and a healthy diet during COVID is 25-30% of the total amount of calories. Along with all of it, RDA also states to consume multivitamins, minerals, Vitamin D, Vitamin A, Vitamin E, Vitamin C, and Zinc consisting of food items.
All of these nutrients are destined to develop T-cells and B-cells within the patient’s body to speed up the COVID recovery aspects. B-cells are known as antibodies that are the key formations within the body for fighting and beating the virus.
Diet Chart for the COVID Positive Patients
The COVID-positive patients tend to lose the ability to recognize the taste and smell of food. In some instances, they also find it difficult to swallow the food. Therefore, picking up soft food items is the key to plan out the diet.
You need to eat 6 times in a complete day, within every 2 to 3 hours. Apart from breakfast, lunch, evening snacks, and dinner, you still need to make sure that two more meals are added to your routine. You can prepare your time routine accordingly.
Here is a sample covid patient diet plan that you need to follow throughout the day. You can add different food items to it by consulting your doctors. But, if you want to start right away, then this is the best diet for COVID patients in India, as it has food that Indians love and would happily eat.
1. Breakfast (Between 8 AM to 9 AM)
For breakfast, you should plan on consuming Chila, Upma, Poha, or Idli as the main dish. And, add 2 egg whites with it for nutritional requirements. If you do not like eggs or are a vegetarian, you can replace it with golden milk and add ginger & Haldi (turmeric) powder to it for better recovery potential.
2. Second Meal of the Day (Between 11 AM-12 PM)
Try eating something light such as brown bread and peanut butter, fruits (orange, apple, banana, etc.), boiled eggs, and other such items. Apart from that, you should also drink beverages such as milk, juice, and other calorie drinks.
3. Lunch Time (At 2 PM)
During lunch, you can either eat Chapati made up of multi-grain flour or eat rice in the form of khichadi or veg pulao. You can add green veggies, curd salad of cucumber & carrot, and dal to your covid patient diet plan for lunch.
4. Fourth Meal of the Day ( Between 4 PM-5 PM)
Consume some citrus fruits such as oranges or lemons at this hour. Along with that, you can also consume yogurt and drink low-fat milk for fulfilling the calcium and protein requirements within the body during this meal.
5. Evening Snacking (At 7 PM)
Avoid snacking in the evenings. At this hour, you should take ginger tea and add soup to the diet plan. The soup can either be veg or chicken! You can also add immunity soup to the menu for faster recovery from COVID. Apart from that, the patient can also prefer to eat a salad made up of sprouts in the evening to energize the body.
6. Dinner Time (At 9 PM)
During dinner, it is better to keep multi-grain flour chapati as the only option without opting for rice. Along with that, you must take paneer, soya beans, green veggies, or chicken as the side dish.
Bottom Line
So, these are a few of the nutritional care tips, along with a covid patient diet chart, for you to recover faster from this COVID situation. Please do not lose hope as the whole world is together in this hard time. We will soon leave this pandemic behind and move on. Until then, it is important for people to take care of themselves, and also the people around them.
Here’s the mantra to protect yourself and stay safe from coronavirus:
Wear a Mask, Maintain Social Distance!
Sanitize Your Hands, Eat Immunity Booster Food!
And Stay Safe!
