Foods to boost your immunity against the Covid-19 virus
The Covid-19 pandemic is hitting us hard here in Kenya. Our immunity is key in keeping the virus away. To boost our immunity, Ministry of Health advises we continue to consume foods that will make our immunity stronger. Choose 4 to 5 foods in the following groups for your diet plan: grain products, vegetables that give Vitamin A, fruits, legumes and pulses, nuts and seeds, meat, fish and animal protein products, sea food, eggs, milk and milk products.
Grain products include; Maize, rice, sorghum, millet, wheat, oats, pearl millet, ugali, porridge, chapati, mandazi, bread, pasta and breakfast cereal, Irish potato, white sweet potato, cassava, yams, arrowroot, green banana, plantain.
Vegetables include;
Vitamin A rich – Carrots, pumpkin and butternuts; orange-fleshed sweet potato, red sweet bell pepper.
Dark Green Leafy Vegetables – Spinach, kales (sukuma wiki), cow peas leaves (kunde), bean leaves, black African nightshade (managu), amaranthus (Terere), stinging nettle (thabai/oilo), sweet potato leaves (matembele), non- poisonous cassava leaves (kisamvu), spider weed saget/dek/akeyo/ sagaa), pumpkin leaves (Susa), arrowroot leaves (matekyo).
Other Vegetables – Green pepper, onions, cauliflower, cabbages, cucumbers, eggplant, courgettes, French beans, okra, leeks, broccoli, celery.
Immunity boosting foods include;
Vitamin A- rich fruits – Mango, papaya.
Other fruits – Guava, avocado, pineapples, green plums, green grapes, apples, gooseberries (nathi), oranges, lemons, limes, tamarind, loquats, zambarao (jamna), ripe bananas, custard apples, peaches, thorn melon, melons, pomegranates (kungu manga), wild fruits.
Legumes and pulses include; Bambara nuts (njugu mawe/bande), beans, peas cow peas, pigeon peas (mbaazi), soya beans, dolicos beans (njahi), green grams, lentils.
Nuts and seeds include; Pumpkin, amaranth, sunflower, sesame (simsim), groundnuts, macadamia, cashew nut.
Meat, fish and animal protein products include; liver, kidney, heart, other organ meats or blood-based food, Edible insects, goat meat, game meat, pork, beef, mutton, rabbit, donkey, chicken, guinea fowl, turkey, geese, ducks, quail, wild birds, doves.
Fish and sea food; Fresh, frozen or dried fish.
Eggs include: Eggs from chicken, guinea fowl, quail, ducks, ostrich, ants.
Milk and milk products include; Milk from goats, camels, cows and sheep, fermented milk, mursik, amarurano, yoghurt, cheese and other products.