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As the first wave of COVID-19 hit the world, one significant factor that emerged was that those who required ventilators were mainly those who already had co-morbidities. The main conditions in these patients were obesity and diabetes. If you wondered how diabetes had anything to do with respiration, the answer is simple. Diabetic patients are generally in a chronic low-grade inflammatory state. This slows down the natural immune system in the body.
Although we need food to live, one food ingredient often proves detrimental to health. Arguably, it is the tastiest ingredient in the world but it can also be the most dangerous one as it causes both diabetes and obesity. We are talking about sugar which adds sweetness to life, as long as it doesn’t lead to diabetes or obesity. Although other factors also cause the conditions, sugar plays a major role especially in Type 2 diabetes which can been reversed with the help of a good and healthy diet.
When blood sugar, in the form of glucose, is high it creates a vicious cycle of insulin resistance and obesity. This increases the number of inflammatory cytokines in the body and damages blood vessels. So, the immune system has to work hard to repair these areas.
When a virus like SARS-CoV-2 attacks the body, the immune system is already working to reduce inflammation. So dangerous bacteria and viruses including the coronavirus slips through the natural defense of the body
Dr. Heather Moday, an immunologist told CNBC make it that what a person eats is very important for the functioning of the immune system. The doctor also mentioned that sugar was the most detrimental food ingredient for immune health, “especially during Covid.”
Sugar is not only used as itself or in foods that are termed as sweet. Many of us think that we don’t eat sweets, so we will not get diabetes. Sugars are present in natural foods including fruits. These sugars are healthier and can be consumed as 3 to 5 servings per days if one does not have diabetes.
What is more frightening about the use of sugar is how it silently creeps into processed foods such as ketchup, cereals, salad dressings, juice, yogurt and more. It is important to read food labels as well as to add fibre to diets to balance the effects of sugar.
What would life be without sugar, is difficult to envisage, for most of us. However, it is never too late to cut down on sugar, not totally unless your doctor presribes it but enough to maintain good health and to fight Covid with a healthy diet of natural, whole foods and healthy ingredients.
