Vegetables and fruits: low-calorie and highly nutritious carbohydrates
Much has already been said about quarantined fruit and vegetables, but it is worth insisting on some important aspects.
In these days of quarantine in which we spend so many hours at home, our physical activity is greatly reduced. Consequently, our caloric expenditure (total amount of energy that our body uses) is also reduced.
In this situation, reduce the intake of foods with a large amount of carbohydrates , such as cereals and tubers , it can be a good strategy to reduce the amount of calories consumed.
On the other hand, fruits and vegetables are great allies. Prioritizing their consumption is important to ensure a good amount of vitamins, minerals and fiber , with a much lower energy intake.
Vitamins and minerals do not cure or make us immune to coronavirus, but they do help your body to be better prepared to deal with this or any virus. Think that there is no worse time to need to go to the hospital. In this post, you have a list of the best websites and apps to order fruit and vegetables at home in quarantine.
The consumption of fiber is essential to ensure a good functioning of our digestive system, which now, by not moving so much, can be altered. In addition, the fiber will improve our level of satiety helping us not to fall into emotional hunger due to nerves, anxiety, sadness, worry or boredom. If you are interested in knowing more about fiber, take a look at our post Fiber and sports performance
Is coronavirus spread through food?
Although viruses (including the coronavirus) do not grow in food, they are capable of using them as a vehicle for contagion between people. This transmission occurs in the same way that an article of clothing, a kitchen utensil or our own hands could do.
Eating raw fruit with skin is very common and very healthy because it provides us with more fiber and nutrients. At this time more than ever it is important to wash them well or peel them to eliminate any virus, bacteria or toxic substance that may have remained on the skin.
Fruits and vegetables can also be cooked in many ways: When boiling, many vitamins pass into the water, which is not interesting if we are going to discard this water. The best methods of cooking fruits and vegetables are grilled, baked or steamed , since they allow us to cook food well without losing its nutritional properties.
How to eliminate the virus from food?
According to experts from ANSES (French National Agency for Food Safety), the coronavirus is sensitive to cooking temperatures. A heat treatment at 63º for 4 minutes would significantly reduce the possibility of transmission through food.
The soap is also an effective method of eliminating the coronavirus. These viruses have membranes made up of lipids, packed with proteins that help infect cells. On the contrary, soap is composed of two parts: a head that adheres to water (hydrophilic), and a tail that runs away from it (hydrophobic). When we wash our hands with soap and water, these hydrophobic tails bind to the virus membrane, leveraging, breaking the membrane, and destroying the virus. Finally, the soap surrounds the particles and when we rinse our hands, they are washed away by the water.
Therefore, washing our hands well and ensuring that all kitchen utensils are well cleaned will also greatly reduce the risk of transmitting the virus. Also try to dry your hands with kitchen paper and not use rags.
Regarding food disinfection, there is not enough evidence that washing fruits or vegetables with vinegar, lemon or similar products will eliminate the virus. Yes, you can use food bleach in the case of fruits or vegetables that you are going to consume raw and with their skin on, making sure that the packaging indicates that the bleach is suitable for disinfecting drinking water or food. To do this, immerse the fruit or vegetable for 5 minutes in a container with drinking water (4.5 ml of bleach for every 3 liters of water). Then rinse them with plenty of tap water.
For more information on what foods to wash and how, we leave you this complete Comidista’s post
Recommendations in the kitchen
- Wash your hands well with soap and water.
- Clean fruits and vegetables with water. You can scrub them with specific kitchen brushes.
- Wash all kitchen utensils to avoid cross contamination. Better to do it with dishwasher or very hot water.
- Whenever you have to dry something, use disposable kitchen paper. Using kitchen towels can increase the risk of infection.
- Avoid raw foods as much as possible.
- Eliminate spoiled foods, such as cracked fruits or eggs with a broken shell
- Don’t share dishes and avoid picking up commonly used ingredients such as salt or spices.
If you are looking to improve your diet and sports performance, do not hesitate to contact us.