My Lockdown, My Plate, My Heart.

 Physical distancing and self-isolation strongly impacted citizens lives, affecting in particular eating habits and everyday behavior.

There are two major influences:

1. Staying at home (which includes digital-education, smart working, limitation of outdoors and in-gym physical activity) and, 

2. Stockpiling food, due to the restriction in grocery shopping.

In addition, the interruption of the work routine caused by the quarantine could result in boredom, which in turn is associated with a greater energy intake. In addition to boredom, hearing or reading continuously about the COVID-19 from media can be stressful. Stress leads subjects toward overeating, especially ‘comfort foods’ rich in sugar, defined as “food craving".

 Those foods, mainly rich in simple carbohydrates, can reduce stress as they encourage serotonin production with a positive effect on mood . However, this food craving effect of carbohydrates is proportional to the glycemic index of foods that is associated with the increased risk of developing obesity and cardiovascular diseases, beyond a chronic state of inflammation, that has been demonstrated to increase the risk for more severe complications of Covid19.

This new condition may compromise maintaining a healthy and varied diet, as well as a regular physical activity. For example, limited access to daily grocery shopping may lead to reduce the consumption of fresh foods, especially fruit, vegetables and fish, in favor of highly processed ones, such as convenience foods, junk foods, snacks, and ready-to-eat cereals, which tend to be high in fats, sugars, and salt. Moreover, psychological and emotional responses to the COVID-19 outbreak , may increase the risk of developing dysfunctional eating behaviors. It is well known how the experience of negative emotions can lead to overeating, the so-called “emotional eating”.

In order to contrast and respond to the negative experience of self-isolation, people could be more prone to look for reward and gratification physiologically associated with food consumption, even overriding other signals of satiety and hunger . In addition, boredom feelings, which may arise from staying home for an extended period, are often related to overeating as a means to escape monotony. On the other hand, negative experiences may lead to eating restriction, due to the physiological stress reactions that mimic the internal sensations associated with feeding induced satiety.

Finally, lifestyle may be substantially changed due to the containment measures, with the consequent risk of sedentary behaviours, modification in smoking and sleeping habits. Of interest, different studies reported an association between sleep disturbances and obesity due to increase the secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines by the increased visceral adipose that could contribute to alter the sleep–wake rhythm. In addition, also diet seems to influence the quality of sleep.

In the short term, this feels pretty good, but these comfort foods also tend to be high in carbohydrates (sugar) and fat–a combination the brain is wired to crave during periods of stress. When this feeling doesn’t resolve, it can create a dangerous cycle of cravings following by crashing. 

In addition, sugar slows immune function, and contributes to gut dysbiosis, which can have lasting negative impacts on health.

Dietary fats and cholesterol levels

Cholesterol is a fat crucial to many metabolic functions and is an essential part of all the body’s cell membranes. It is made by the body from the food we eat and is produced in the liver.

Blood lipids (fats) that contain cholesterol include low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and high-density lipoprotein (HDL). LDL (‘bad’) cholesterol can lead to plaque forming in the arteries while HDL (‘good’) cholesterol helps to remove cholesterol from the body and makes it harder for plaque to form in the arteries.

Saturated fats

Saturated fats (also known as ‘bad fats’) tend to increase LDL (‘bad’) cholesterol in the blood. Common sources of saturated fats include – animal products (butter, coconut oil, meat fat including lard and dripping, beef, lamb, chicken skin and palm oil), and processed foods like pastries and biscuits.

Blood pressure and salt (sodium)

A diet high in salt is linked to hypertension (high blood pressure), which can increase your risk of heart disease and stroke. Most of us consume more than ten times the amount of salt we need to meet our sodium requirements (salt contains sodium and chloride).

What to do instead: 

Stick to the foods you know are good for you, because they’ll maintain steady energy to the brain and muscles without the crash, and without affecting your mood negatively.

There can so many healthy alternatives to everything.

So many people out there reduced their weight just by controlling on their diet, their portion size and maintaining their calorie chart.

Reduce your heart disease risk with healthy eating 

Eating a variety of foods is beneficial to our health and can help reduce our risk of disease (including heart disease). Try to eat a wide variety of foods from each of the five food groups, in

the amounts recommended. Not only does this help you maintain a healthy and interesting diet, but it provides essential nutrients to the body.

•Plenty of vegetables, fruit and wholegrains

•A variety of healthy protein sources (especially fish and seafood), legumes (such as beans and lentils), nuts and seeds. Smaller amounts of eggs and lean poultry can also be included in a heart healthy diet. If choosing red meat, make sure it  is lean and limit to 1-3 times a week.

•Unflavored milk, yoghurt and cheese. Those with high blood cholesterol should choose reduced fat varieties.

•Healthy fat choices: nuts, seeds, avocados, olives and their oils for cooking

•Herbs and spices to flavor foods, instead of adding salt. Also, be mindful on how much you are eating and whether you are filling up on unhealthy foods.

 Portion sizes have increased over time and many of us are eating more than we need which can lead to obesity and increase our risk of cardiovascular disease. 

•Ideally, a healthy plate would include servings of  – ¼ protein, ¼ carbohydrates and ½ vegetables.