We’ve all had our world turned upside down acting to prevent the spread of Covid-19. We must self-isolate during the risk of this highly contagious disease. Equally important, we must maintain health and wellness to promote a strong immune system and good mental health. Act on the tips provided to “Feel Great while you Self-Isolate.”

Lifestyle Medicine recommends that we pay attention to our Forks, Fingers, Feet, Sleep, Stress and Social Connections. These tips work every day not just during social distancing. During this time, maintain a regular schedule although regular activities may be on hold.

First, Forks: What you put on your fork matters! Good nutrition is the foundation to good health and sets the tone for all of the other recommended activities to feel great.

Remember Regular Meals – It is important to maintain a regular eating routine of three meals and scheduled snacks. This will help avoid mindless snacking. For scheduled snacks, choose nutritious foods such as popcorn, fruit & yogurt or nuts.

• • This is especially important for people living with chronic diseases like diabetes or high blood pressure who need to tend to nutrition on a daily basis. 
  • Careful with canned fruits in sugar for people with diabetes or gestational diabetes (look for juice packed or low- or no-sugar).
  • Careful with prepared foods and canned foods due to high salt content for people with heart disease or high blood pressure.

Provide Plants – Use shelf stable ingredients to cook healthy meals. It may be hard to find or keep fresh fruits and vegetables during this time. Canned, frozen and dried fruits and vegetables, dried grains (such as oatmeal or rice), beans and other plant-based foods are great shelf-stable items to have on hand for recipes. 

The American Heart Association (AHA) has lots of healthy recipes such as Vegetarian 3-Bean Chili and Slow Cooker Bar-B-Q Chicken. If your busy working from home and home-schooling children, a slow cooker makes an easy option for healthy meals!

You can find a variety of recipes online and substitute any ingredients you don’t have on hand. Don’t normally cook? The AHA also has tutorials on cooking-skills basic cooking skills.

Maintain MyPlate Balance – Although, you might not have a wide variety of foods on hand during this time, MyPlate can help you keep a balanced diet while minding your personal restrictions or preferences with what you have on hand.

• Protein helps build your body’s immune system, especially for healing and recovery. Eat a variety of protein foods such as seafood, lean meat, poultry, eggs, beans and peas, soy products and unsalted nuts and seeds.