Have you read or heard one of these statements recently?
Boost your immunity with Vitamin C supplements. Eat lots of garlic. Wash fresh produce with detergent when you get home from the supermarket.
Reminiscent of the ever-evolving nature of the COVID-19 pandemic, tales of coronavirus cures and defences have infiltrated social media feeds over the past few months.
To separate fact from fiction, Dietitian Connection, founded by QUT alumnus Dr Maree Ferguson, sets the record straight.
Myth: You should wash your fruit and vegetables in detergent
Soap and dishwashing detergent are not intended for human consumption. It may actually be very dangerous to ingest these products. Rinsing raw fruit or vegetables under cold water is usually enough to ensure it is safe to consume.
Myth: COVID-19 can be transmitted through food packaging
There’s currently no scientific evidence to say that you can contract coronavirus through food or food packaging. To help stop the spread of COVID-19, the most important thing is to practice good hand hygiene and follow government and World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines.
Myth: Eating garlic will protect you from COVID-19
While garlic is a very healthy food and contains a compound called allicin that has antibacterial and anti-cancer properties, there’s currently no evidence that garlic is protective against COVID-19.
Myth: The keto diet is protective against COVID-19
The ketogenic diet (or keto, for short) is essentially a high fat, low carb, moderate protein diet. It’s been touted as a protective mechanism from COVID-19, supposedly boosting your immune system and helping your body to fight infection. There’s currently no scientific evidence to substantiate this idea. In addition, the ketogenic diet is extremely restrictive and lacking in many essential nutrients, which isn’t ideal when trying to support overall good health.
Myth: You should take vitamin and mineral supplements to boost your immune system
The truth is, you don’t actually want to boost your immune system. An overactive immune system can be just as bad, if not worse, than an underactive one. What you want is a strong immune system, and one of the best ways to achieve this is to eat nutritious foods. Vitamin and mineral supplements can be unnecessary and, in some cases, dangerous. You should never commence a supplement regime without speaking to your doctor or dietitian.
Myth: Vitamin C supplements are good for your immunity
Vitamin C is essential for a healthy immune system, but there’s no benefit to consuming it in megadoses. For adults, the recommended daily intake is 45 milligrams – to put that into perspective, just one kiwi fruit contains around 64 milligrams. It’s easier and cheaper to get enough immunity-boosting Vitamin C from a healthy diet that includes two serves of fruit and five serves of veg a day.
Myth: Gargling with lemon, vinegar, or warm salty water will protect you against COVID-19
The story goes like this: gargling one of these will stop COVID-19 reaching your lungs and kill the virus altogether. Unfortunately, this is simply not true.
Maybe: Vitamin D status is predictive of COVID-19 mortality
Vitamin D status has been proposed as a factor that could influence COVID-19 outcomes. This comes after a significant study in 2017 identified Vitamin D supplementation as protective against acute respiratory tract infections. Building on this case, preliminary research has linked low Vitamin D status to COVID-19 mortality. While there’s a lot of research still to be done, some experts are suggesting that taking a Vitamin D supplement may be beneficial for those at risk of deficiency in the current climate, especially given that many people are staying indoors more than normal.
Stay aware of the latest information on the COVID-19 outbreak, available on the WHO website and through your national and local government and public health authorities.
About Dr Maree Ferguson
Maree is the Founder and Managing Director of Dietitian Connection – a community and resource hub for nutrition leaders and dietitians worldwide.
She is an Advanced Accredited Practising Dietitian, Fellow of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (AND), and an internationally renowned Nutrition and Dietetics Expert. Maree has a Bachelor of Applied Science, Graduate Diploma in Nutrition and Dietetics, and a Doctoral degree from QUT.