The best thing to do is always to prevent disease instead of doing the battle of healing. When you can successfully avoid getting ill, most of the battle is won. While a plant-based diet certainly boosts your immune system, not every vegan follows a healthy diet. I know, it sounds like an oxymoron, but there are plenty of vegans who eat a lot of plant-based junk food and who do not get all the vitamins and nutrients.
In any case, vegan or not vegan, it doesn’t matter. Coronavirus is spreading, and measures are being taken to prevent it from spreading. Classes are suspended in my school and teachers are now going to prepare online classes. (I am a teacher in junior high)
I don’t want to add to the fear mongering. I didn’t even want to write about coronavirus, because articles are popping up everywhere. Many are helpful and give sound advice, but there are others that only confuse people more and even cause more fear.
I think the most important thing is that we remain calm and take our precautions. Avoid crowded places. Take your vitamins, take supplements, eat healthy.
What Vitamins are Recommended?
Before I continue, let me just insert a disclaimer here: I am not a doctor or a nutritionist. I do not work in health care. I base my recommendations on research and my own experience. Common sense is also important, since that often seems to be lacking in extreme situations, like our current one.
Vitamin C is very important. It’s found in many fruits and vegetables, such as oranges, lemons, strawberries, kiwis, kale, spinach, Bell peppers, and broccoli. Vitamin C is a strong antioxidant that can increase your body’s natural defenses. It boosts immunity.
If your vitamin C levels are low, you are at risk of having poor health. This is why, when it’s flu and cold season it is necessary to take this essential vitamin. Now with the spread of coronavirus, even more so.
Vitamin D is also significant. Unlike vitamin C, our bodies can produce vitamin D; it is made from cholesterol when our skin is exposed to sunlight. The recommended daily intake, according to Healthline, is 400-800 IU. Unfortunately, a lot of people have a vitamin D deficiency.
What can cause a vitamin D deficiency?
- Staying indoors
- Using too much sunscreen when going out
- Living far from the equator, the farther away, the less sunlight there is
Signs and symptoms of vitamin D deficiency
- Getting sick often
- Fatigue and tiredness
- Depression
- Impaired wound healing
During summer, most people don’t get the cold or flu, because they have plenty of exposure to the sun, so their bodies can make vitamin D. In autumn and winter, though, there is a lot less sunlight, so our bodies cannot produce this much-needed vitamin. That’s why supplements are recommended. Doesn’t everyone always get the cold or flu during the fall and winter months?
Coronavirus is more contagious than the flu, so that is why it is important to take your vitamins. Your body needs them.
Zinc is also a nutrient that your body needs and which is sometimes forgotten during times like these. What are the benefits of zinc?
- It regulates our immune function
- It treats the common cold
- Decreased risk of age-related chronic disease
- It treats diarrhea
- Effects on learning and memory
The first two points should be enough to convince you that zinc is also a good one to take. I am actually taking a vitamin C and zinc supplement right now.
Which Supplements Are Recommended?
I checked the following supplements on Amazon. This first one, Irish Sea Moss Gel, is vegan and completely natural. It includes all the necessary vitamins A, B,C,D,E,K, and calcium, potassium, zinc, iodine, selenium, and silica. I think I am going to order this one too.
Sunergetic Elderberry gummies contain no synthetic preservatives, high fructose corn, or gelatin. It helps support your immune system and includes the much-needed vitamin C and also zinc.
For kids, there is also a vegan supplement, called Up4 Probiotics. It gives digestive and immune support, it is non-GMO, has vitamin C and prebiotic, for ages 3+
Some More Info
If you’d like to know more, here is an interesting article about vitamin D and its importance: “Is Vitamin D the Answer to COVID19 – Food for Thought“
I hope that these supplements can be of some help. As I said before, it is better to prevent disease than struggling to heal from it. Preventing coronavirus is what we must do; stay calm, not panic, take our precautions, and not let such events show the worst, but the best of us.
If you have any comments or questions, please let me know. Thank you for reading!
Disclaimer: I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
Thanks for this informative piece! I totally agree with your points. There is a lot of fear and panic over the world right now and I think one of the most important things to do right now is to boost your immune system!
Supplements are a good start but also maintaining a balanced healthy lifestyle will go along way (healthy eating, exercise etc.). I tend to go for vitamins that have more than one in one packet e.g. I take Vitamin A,C and D via one tablet. That just saves me having to take many different supplements so multivitamins are the “go to”!
There is a drinking some lemon/vinegar in warm water theory going around at the moment. Do you think this would also help?
Hi Tosyn,
I agree, combine vitamins with a healthy lifestyle. I also like to take multitablets, I’m taking a vitamin C and zinc supplement now. Lemon has a lot of vitamin C and vinegar is also very beneficial, so I think that those with warm water would also help.
Vitamins C, D, iron recommend everyone Vitamin C, also known as ascorbic acid, is necessary for the growth, development and repair of all body tissues. It’s involved in many body functions, including formation of collagen, absorption of iron, the immune system, wound healing, and the maintenance of cartilage, bones, and teeth.
Uses. Vitamin D(ergocalciferol-D2, cholecalciferol-D3, alfacalcidol) is a fat-soluble vitamin that helps your body absorb calcium and phosphorus. … Vitamin D is used to treat and prevent bone disorders (such as rickets, osteomalacia). Vitamin D is made by the body when skin is exposed to sunlight.
Iron is one of the most vital minerals. While all human cells contain iron, it is mostly found in red blood cells. The health benefits of managing ironlevels include eliminating fatigue and many of its sources. Iron also plays a vital role in immune system function, treating anemia, boosting hemoglobin, and much more
Thanks
Hello Saido,
Thank you for this valuable information!
thank you for this most needed article of all time. in this pandemic of whole earth these post are much needed. i found these post very useful. the information given here are so elaborate. i did not know that zinc has so many benefits. i will surely try to take supplements on regular basis. as these does not have any side effects i will have it my daily life. i am ordering two of them right away. i request you to post such article very often so that we can be cautious of corona virus and take steps accordingly.
i will also share this article with my social media friends so that they know about this issue immediately and start having supplements.
Hi Sumaiya,
Zinc is very good to prevent infections. Thank you for your comment and thank you very much for sharing my article! 🙂
Hi Christine,
Thank you for writing your article on boosting the immune system with a better diet. I was wondering if you would recommend natural herbs like Ashwagandha to calm the nerves and reduce stress?
You certainly had a lot of good options for supplements listed on your site. Vitamin C, Vitamin D, Zinc.
Incidentally, what are some of the most common mistakes Vegans make with their diets? How do they sometimes fall short?
Thanks,
Michael
Hi Michael,
I think that ashwagandha would also be a nice additional supplement. So many people are stressing and freaking out nowadays and that just makes things worse. Ashwagandha will certainly help reduce stress. In the end, stress affects our immune system too, and so we have to look out for that one as well. Thanks for mentioning it!
I’m not sure what common mistakes vegans make with their diets. As with most diets, sometimes people do not ingest all necessary nutrients or they do not balance their food well. I think, before changing to a new diet, that one should do proper research instead of walking into it blindly. With research one can avoid certain mistakes, that’s just my opinion 🙂
Thanks for this review. I am a pescatarian and my husband is a vegetarian so we get a vitamins and protein in different ways. We both take daily supplements for I know I still take them for son as well that breastfeed. I also take emergencee that is full of vitamin D and C as well as Zinc. I agree we do have to keep our bodies healthy during these times and remain clean. I am just curious are there any good supplements for moms that breastfeed?
Hi Brittany,
Pure Mom breastfeed supplement is natural, organic, and non-GMO. It is vegan, and it has organic milk thistle, organic fennugreek, and also fennel seed. I hope that this helps 🙂
Hi Christine,
Your article came just in time when I checked online for supplements we could purchase to protect us from the virus. I think Vitamin C is a good choice since there are many fruits that are full of vitamin C and it’s not difficult to find in supermarkets.
As for Vitamin D, this is something new for me! I don’t go out and get myself exposed under the sun quite often no matter summer or winter. That’s why I might need to intake more vitamin D to get my immune system working better in this special period of time.
Another interesting thing I found from this article is that there are even vegan supplements in the market! I thought they are all vegan, does that have something to do with the ingredients inside or the way they make the supplements?
Cheers,
Matt
Hi Matt,
Some pills have a coating of gelatin, and there may sometimes be animal-based ingredients in certain supplements. That’s why not all supplements are necessarily vegan.
Thank you for commenting! 🙂
Hey Christine; The vitamins are good for us whether Covid 19 is wasted around us or not. But is has become a normal practice for many of us not to eat the foods that contain these minerals and vitamin until we are sick or we hear about a condition that is attacking many people that scares us.
I never knew that Iris moss is so beneficial. I saw the freshly cut ones in the local market even last week. But I never buy it, because I know when I have much of it my weight increases.
I hope a lot of people will find this post and use the Supplements.
Would you suggest the flue treatments for Covid19?
DorcasW
Hi Dorcas!
It’s very true that most of us begin to take vitamins or eat healthier when we’re ill or when there are times like these, the COVID pandemic, but we should always eat healthy, not only when our health is in danger, but also when we’re healthy.
I would not want to give any advice on how to treat COVID19, because I do not consider myself qualified to do that, but I do urge everyone to do what they can to prevent getting infected: by staying at home, washing their hands, eating healthy, and taking vitamins C, D, and the ones I recommended here.
Before the attack of the covid-19, I had been looking for something that could improve or help us cope with it, and I think it is excellent that you give us the options and that gel that contains multiple vitamins, in addition to the fact that there are also probiotics for children, and so we can all be protected with our immune and digestive systems.
Hi Hector,
It’s definitely important to always make sure we get our necessary vitamins and nutrients, especially now.
Thank you for your comment!
Hello Christine,
I am so glad you have shared your blog about building the immune system as a vegan. I agree the right foods and supplements are a disease fighter and can aid against viruses. I am all about herbs and have been a Pescaterian for four years. I take gummy supplements and will take a closer look at the Elderberry you recommend.
Thanks for providing some great information with a solution.
Best Regards,
Audrey
Hi Audrey,
Keeping our immune systems up nowadays is indeed so important.
Thank you for your comment!
Hello there, I must say you have done a great job in compiling this awesome article…..As coronavirus has been a terror to the lives of many….thanks for giving us this comprehensive article of supplement that would help us fight this pandemic I would try my best to order them…
Regards,
David.
Hi David,
Thank you 🙂
Best to be prepared with a healthy diet and good supplements, right? 😉