We’ve heard it all: avoid crowds, stay at home as much as possible, use hand sanitizer, spray your groceries and other packages, wear a face covering, and wash your hands with soap for at least 20 seconds.

The Power of Quality Food

But how much have you heard about the power of nutrition during these challenging times? Food is what becomes your essence, your cells, your organs and tissues – and your immune system. The quality of the food you eat right now may be one of the most important factors in your quest to resist the virus and remain healthy as you re-enter a wider circle of humans.

It’s puzzling to me why we don’t hear more about this in the media. We hear about the rush to find toilet paper, paper towels, outdoor grills, etc., but little about food except how to have it delivered. What if you took it deeper and really looked at the power of food?

A single apple contains 1100 phytonutrients. Each mingles with its neighbors to create a powerful ally in your quest to remain healthy. An apple a day keeps the doctor away has never been truer. Make it organic for its greatest benefit so your body without the need to process pesticides.

Summer fruits like blueberries nourish the brain. How much better off we are when our brain functions at its best? It helps us make decisions that are best for us when wading through the many confusing theories about Covid.

Wild salmon provides protein for all the repair work your body needs to do every day. It plays a role in keeping your heart healthy and your muscles toned. A healthy heart and strong muscles provide needed energy and vitality.

Summer vegetables, especially from your own garden or a local farm, provide you with an abundance of vitamins and much needed minerals. Use the rainbow of colors to be sure you’re getting all the needed nutrients.

Whole grains can be light and nutritious in summer when you choose quinoa or a barley salad.

Nuts and seeds, having just the right amount of good fats and protein, keep your appetite in check and mix nicely with fresh summer salads. It completes the nutrition circle.

Nutrition Is Preventative

All of these foods serve to energize you and protect your health. Quality nutrition prevents you from many diseases that are described as age-related, when in reality they are lifestyle related.

There has never been a better time to look at what you eat every day and ask yourself, “Is this food building my energy, immune strength, and resistance to disease, or am I eating food that inhibits my energy, immune strength, and resistance to disease?”

As you return to a wider society, you want to be prepared in the best possible way to resist infection. Quality food is front and center in protecting you for the long term.

Choose Your Nutrition Formula

Now you may be saying, “This is a stressful time and I just need my snacks and fast-food takeout.” I get it. You don’t have to be perfect. In my book, Food Becomes You, I recommend a 90/10 approach to eating.

Aim for 90% of your food to be high quality, nutritious food, and relax on the other 10%. Sadly, many people have their equation backwards and eat poorly 90% of the time and get a mere 10% of quality food. This will not support resistance to disease.

Think about the food examples I noted earlier and expand on them. Fruits, wild fish, vegetables, grains, and nuts are the basis of a healthy, disease-resistant way of life.

Social Life Needs Support

By our very nature we are social beings. If you are longing to reconnect with a wider world, through local community or lands far and wide, prepare yourself in the best possible way. Make use of all the widely publicized precautions, but remember always the power of your food. It is unlimited in its potential, and so are you.

What will you do to prepare yourself for the world beyond your doorstep? Have you put special thought in to your meal plan? Please join the conversation and share your ideas.