Coronavirus experts have revealed four important foods everyone should eat in their diet to help protect against the virus.
Researchers at the ZOE Covid Symptom app, developed by Kings College London, found that people who ate the plant-rich 'gut friendly' foods were around 10% less likely to develop Covid-19.
Those who ate well were also 40% less likely to become severely ill if they developed the virus than those with the lowest quality diet.
The study discovered foods such as whole grains - like porridge and wholemeal bread - were some of the best to protect against Covid-19.
Fish - herring, sardines and salmon - were also identified by experts, as were legumes, tinned or fresh fruit and tinned or fresh vegetables.
The relationship between diet quality and coronavirus risk was still important even taking age, BMI, ethnicity, smoking, physical activity and underlying health conditions into consideration, the study found.
King’s College London led the research based on 600,000 people who use the ZOE Covid Symptom Study app.
The researchers had people taking part fill out a survey on the foods they ate at the start of the pandemic in 2020.
Some 32,000 caught Covid-19 out of the total app users, with analysts running a comb through their diets to draw any comparisons.
Professor Tim Spector, lead scientist at ZOE COVID Study and professor of genetic epidemiology at King’s College London, said: "You don’t have to go vegan, but getting more diverse plants on your plate is a great way to boost the health of your gut microbiome, improve your immunity and overall health, and potentially reduce your risk from COVID-19.”
Dr Sarah Berry, study co-lead and Reader in nutritional sciences at King’s College London, said: "For the first time we’ve been able to show that a healthier diet can cut the chances of catching COVID-19, especially for people living in more deprived areas.
"Access to healthier food is important to everyone in society, but our findings tell us that helping those living in poorer areas to eat more healthily could have the biggest public health benefits."
