It’s extremely important that we eat to live, not live to eat.
We should begin HERE with out discussion about a healthy plate. It is the foundation for thinking about eating in a healthful way, and building a meal that will feed your body well.
You want to remember to eat as many plants as possible and as many colors as possible–this is how you get the important vitamins and minerals and substances our bodies need. Whole foods are best. You want to get a food that is most like it grew out of the ground, not a food that has been implanted or fortified with all the vitamins and minerals, although these can be fine. The most healthful diet is one with whole, fresh foods.
I have people ask me all the time what supplements to take. I will go into supplements, but as a general rule, I believe that our bodies are built to get the helpful substances from food products. Any substance, garlic, vitamin C, zinc, etc that is good for improving your immune system generally is best absorbed with other substance that are found together inside of a whole food.
Remember that our body weight tends to be very dependent on what, not just how much, we are eating. When it comes to COVID, body weight does tend to be a risk factor, so aiming for a healthy body weight can be an important goal. However, I always caution against making this the only goal. Living a healthful lifestyle is multi-factorial, and this is just one piece of the pie. Healthy eating combines with other factors can make a difference even if you don’t hit that goal weight, so don’t give up!!