Forced to stay at home, we eat in a balanced way

By Silvia Fissore

At this time, more than ever it is essential to follow a correct diet that can help us strengthen the immune system.

In these weeks of medical emergency and inevitable runs to the supermarket, have we really thought about the well-being of our body?

The first rule when we set our day's menu is to always keep in mind the classic food pyramid which is directly inspired by ours Mediterranean diet: cereals, vegetables, fruits, legumes, fish, dairy products and meat. «The Mediterranean diet - he says Anna Carlin, nutritionist (@thegoodinthefood) - it is considered the anti aging and protective diet par excellence since it provides all the nutrients and antioxidants that our body also needs to support its immune defenses against external agents ».

We asked Anna Carlin to draw up a handbook to help us maintain our other defenses and at the same time to stay in shape despite the period of forced parking at home.

• Avoid or reduce sugars especially present in packaged products subjected to industrial transformations. Forced enclosure can instead be an opportunity to rediscover home made desserts, to be prepared with ingredients such as wholemeal flour or fruit pulp instead of sugar.
• Increase the portions of raw vegetables, a precious ally of our intestine thanks to the presence of fibers, vitamins and mineral salts.
• Drink a lot, especially water, to hydrate yourself. But fresh fruit juices, centrifuges or herbal teas are also good. Instead, it is better to reduce alcoholic drinks and eliminate carbonated and sugar-rich drinks.
• Replace the milk with the fermented ones such as yogurt or kefir.
• For snacks, favor dried or dried fruit, such as walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts (up to 30 grams per day).
• Consume the fish. In addition to the anti-inflammatory properties of the fatty acids present in this food, some specimens such as mackerel, herring, eel are rich in vitamin D, very useful for activating the immune system.
• Vary protein sources as much as possible. So not only meat and eggs, but also legumes.
• Use cold-pressed vegetable oils to cook and season foods. In addition to the extra virgin olive oil, we can also experiment with the flax one, beneficial for the cardiovascular system and the pumpkin seed one, especially useful for prostate disorders.
• We stock up on antioxidants with seasonal fruit.
• Among the spices, we choose turmeric which boasts documented anti-inflammatory properties, but must be consumed together with oil to be absorbed.