From: A qualitative study of Covid-19 effects on nutrition associated problems in recovered patients
Main Themes | Sub-themes | Some Quotations | |
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latent stage of the disease | “As we thought it is a cold, and in cold our nose gets stuffed, and the sense of smelling decreases a bit, we were not that much concerned about it. Though during the disease, I had no sense of taste or smelling, and it was so bad! I mean I couldn’t tell what I was eating at all! After a month, little by little, I could have my sense of smell and taste back” (Female, 26 years old) “2–3 days before referring to the doctor and confirming my infection with coronavirus, my sense of smelling was decreased. I could only feel very strong smells. I was also nauseated which got worsened after my infliction, too. Maybe for example a week before getting corona virus, my appetite had decreased a bit” (Female, 22 years old) “A couple of days before, my appetite had decreased. I had some digestion problem, too” (Male, 30 years old) “Before my coronavirus period, I only had pain in my hands and feet” (Male, 40 years old) | ||
Main Stage of the disease | Trouble in tolerating foods and nutrition | Fatty foods, Solid foods with hard tissue | “I had less tendency to eat some foods like fast foods, any sauces or fried foods. I actually could not stand fast foods or those foods that had sauces or mozzarella cheese” (Female, 49 years old) “Based on my physical conditions, I couldn’t eat fatty or heavy foods. I Couldn’t eat fried foods and oily foods, either! If I ate, I felt so full and heavy and had pain in my stomach!” (Female, 53 years) “I felt nauseated when I ate rice. I felt sick. Even when I ate less than one serving of rice, still I vomited and had severe nausea and stomachache! “Up to two weeks I could only eat soups. It was hard for me to tolerate solid foods” (Female, 22 years old).” “I could not eat bread, as it was harder. It was solid. I couldn’t eat Abgousht (a heavy meat and beans pottage), either as it was so heavy and fatty!” (Male, 50 years old) |
Preservative-containing foods | “I could not use any allergy or cough stimulant foods like flavors!” (Female, 47 years old) “I could not eat any food that had tomato paste on it!” (Female, 22 years old) | ||
Dairies and watery foods | “For breakfast, if I ate cheese and walnut, my coughing would get worse” (Female, 28 years old) “Having cold water, Doogh (Yoghurt drink) and yoghurt generally gave me a chill. For this, I used to avoid them” (Female, 44 years old) “Watery foods were harder to eat, I think I had difficulty digesting them” (Female, 22 years old) | ||
Highly consumed foods in the main stage of the disease | Beverages | “I felt like drinking more liquids. My liquid consumption was higher especially water and natural fruit juices like apple juice and carrot juice” (Female, 49 years old) “I used to drink a lot of hot beverages like tea and herbal drinks. I drank a lot of black tea with ginger and brewed herbs” (Female, 44 years old) | |
Mixed dishes | “Watery foods were good. From the second week, I got out of bed and made myself rich mixed soups like those that can be eaten through Gavage (Food given to the patient through the nasogastric tube)” (Female, 40 years old) | ||
variety of Fruits | “Though my appetite was very low, I had developed a strong craving for fruits like nectarine, apple and black plum” (Female, 49 years old) “I loved eating sweet lemon” (Female, 53 years old) | ||
Patients’ approaches and solutions to improve diets in the main stage of the disease | Consumption of variety of beverages and herbal teas | “We used to drink fruit juices, orange juice, carrot juice and apples. I used to brew herbal drinks with chamomile and thyme” (Female, 34 years old) “We mostly used to drink brewed thyme, cinnamon and ginger. We drank a lot of liquids like carrot juice, orange juice and herbal drinks” (Male, 29 years old) “More herbal drinks, more honey. I used to drink brewed thyme, Damask rose and cinnamon. Before Corona, I used to drink them maybe once a month. Though during COVID, I used to drink it twice a day. These were my remedies when I caught cold” (Male, 72 years old) “In general, warm and watery foods, and brewed thyme, apple mint, ginger and cinnamon are so good. And fruit juices, especially carrot juice with apple juice” (Female, 39 years old) | |
Eating soft texture foods | “Soup or Aash or starch porridge every day or every other day! In general, I mostly used liquids and soft foods” (Male, 50 years old) “I mostly used small but rich meals. I tried to include protein and vegetables in my diet” (Female, 45 years old) | ||
Increased fruit and vegetables consumption | “We definitely tried to eat citrus family fruits as they have vitamins and made me feel better, and my throat was not sore for a while after eating them. In fact, we mostly ate lemon, grapefruit, and some oranges” (Female, 44 years old) “I tried to add lemon juice or green grape juice to the foods to make them more appealing with the sour taste as we mostly had soups or pottages. I tried to put various vegetables in the soups to at least use their vitamins” (Female, 44 years old) | ||
Consuming foods that are conventionally believed to be beneficial | “I made myself eat anything as if I had to! I even tried to make my diet better and richer by, for instance, eating quail and quail egg, more walnuts, more herbal drinks, more honey, etc. I used to drink brewed thyme, damask rose and cinnamon” (Female, 44 years old) “My relatives brought us foods like quail, cooked veggies, carrot juice and the herbal teas that they thought they are beneficial for me” (Female, 47 years old) “Relatives made me quail extract that I used to eat, and lamb leg stew, organic fruit juices like carrot, orange and sweet lemon, …” (Female, 45 years old) “Almost every day, I made myself eat a mix of ground apples, saffron, damask rose extract and honey as my daily fruit unit. I ate lamb leg stew on the first three days of my infection with the disease” (Female, 28 years old) “Fruit juice, apple juice, carrot juice, quail and quail egg! There were even changes in the way we used them. For instance, four to five times a week, we had Fesenjoon (a Persian stew made with lots of walnuts, pomegranate juice, and meat or chicken). It turned to be my major meal because of the walnuts. I used to eat dates and walnuts with herbal drinks, too. I asked people to get some black seeds for me. I ground them and ate them with honey. I could find the Royal Gel, the food of the queen bee, with the help of an acquaintance who lives near Sarab (Name of a city in Ardabil province.)” (Male, 72 years old) | ||
The supplements used | “Taking vitamin pills, we tried to improve our appetite and bring back our appetite or the sense of our willingness to eat!” (Female, 18 years old) “Multivitamins, too. I used to take them every day during the disease. Before that I used to take them every other day” (Male, 72 years old) “Vitamin C, the effervescent tablet is awesome for Corona patients. My doctor had prescribed me Zinc tablets and Vitamin D, too” (Male, 38 years old) | ||
Nutritional issues in recovery stage | “I mostly like foods like rice, egg, solid foods. I generally feel bad eating watery foods except Aash. Even the idea that I had eaten them makes me feel sick” (Female, 44 years old) “The first food after recovery was fast food because we were forbidden to eat spicy and fast foods during the disease. As soon as the period was over, I wanted to go get a lot of pizza, fried chicken, and the like” (Female, 26 years old) “I felt like eating Abgousht as it was both warm and rich and was one of my favorites, too. Sometimes I liked to fry potatoes, though as I was worried it causes coughing, I made them in Microwave oven with a little bit of oil” (Female 44 years old) |