Coronavirus: Adopt healthy lifestyles to stay healthy – Nutritionist

Dr Evelyn Addison-Akotoye, Lecturer, Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management, University of Cape Coast, on Friday advised the public to adopt healthy lifestyles to stay healthy under the (COVID-19) partial lockdowns.

“As staying home has become necessary in the fight against COVID-19, our thoughts should be directed to good nutrition and physical activities to warrant good immune health system”.

“Though the coronavirus pandemic has brought in its wake fear and panic, there is still a lot more this pandemic is offering in terms of quality of life,” Dr Addison-Akotoye said in an interview with the Ghana News Agency in Accra.

She explained that a healthy diet provides appropriate amounts of essential nutrients in addition to calories and fibre and that one should not consume more of a nutrient at the expense of the others.

“In these trying times, we need to prioritise ingredients when preparing meals. Our best bets should be on ingredients that give the immune system a good boost”.

Dr Addison-Akotoye said a quick way of reminding oneself of a good mix of nutrients is by making reference to the “rainbow” colours; ‘this simply means including a variety of fruits, vegetables and whole grains in your diets, which guarantee the intake of key vitamins and nutrients”.

These comprise the red colours such as tomatoes, carrots, and watermelon; green and purple - kontomire, okro, pear, and eggplant; brown and tan - ginger, wheat, and brown rice; yellow and white-butter- margarine, mushrooms, onions, garlic, and cauliflower.



She advised the public to go low on salt, sugar and fat intake not only for the adults but the children as well.

She said people should also pay attention to serving sizes adding; “We need to eat in moderation that is not too little and not too much. With the current situation, it is very easy to fall for the temptation of overeating. We need to control these cravings and guide our children to control theirs as well”.

Dr Addison-Akotoye said in addition; “Use smaller bowls and plates to control food portion sizes. When using bigger plates and bowls, there is always a tendency to fill them up. Serve a small portion of rice and chicken stew in the middle of a big plate, and your mind will quickly prompt you to add more to fill the plate.”

“On the other hand, if you serve that same portion on a smaller plate, psychologically you will think it will be satisfying, and indeed, in most cases you will be satisfied”.

Dr Addison-Akotoye stressed the need to create a menu to guide choices. This should be rotational so that food options could be repeated over and over again.

“You can create a food bank with input from the beneficiaries and draw ideas from the bank on a weekly basis.”



She called for the adoption of cheaper but healthy food options with a particular focus on foods that yield more and complement most carbohydrates; for instance, groundnut and palm fruit soups go well with banku, boiled rice, boiled yam, and eba among others.

Introduce different types of porridges namely Hausa koko, corn dough porridge with soya bean powder, Tom Brown, and rice porridge to your breakfast menu and press the brakes on the expensive beverages.

Dr Addison-Akotoye cautioned that if the energy consumption from foods is not at par with the energy expenditures, it could lead to steady weight gain.

“With the current lockdown, it is advisable to adopt a physical exercise or activity to help maintain a healthy weight,” she said.

“Avoid spending most of your time on your couch watching television or in your study working. Get up and give the body a push. Just stay active”.

“Eat right, stay active, and rest well during this quarantine period. For those with special food needs or on diet just accept that your quarantine diet will not be as predictable and perfect now and make the necessary adjustments.”

“Take the necessary steps possible to ensure that when this pandemic blows over you will be healthy enough to resume your regular routine”.