Plant-Based Diets and Supplements in Mitigating COVID-19: Part 1. The Research Report

Introduction:In the context of the Asian region, it's crucial to note that Indonesia, a country with the second-highest COVID-19 death toll and the highest mortality rate, serves as the backdrop for this study.The focus is on the elderly population, which has shown a tendency for prolonged recovery, increased severity, hospitalization, and mortality upon contracting COVID-19 infection.Objective: This study stands out with its unique approach, evaluating the effectiveness of plant-based diets (PBDs) and supplement interventions in mitigating the recovery, severity, hospitalization, and mortality of high-risk COVID-19 elderly patients.This novel method could potentially provide significant insights into the prevention and management of COVID-19 and aid in better preparation for future pandemics. Methods:A rigorous prospective interventional study was conducted at an institutional level from April 2020 to June 2023.The study involved 3,470 elderly COVID-19 patients, with half of them being existing patients with multiple comorbidities who followed a PBD (PBD group) and the other half being new patients with fewer comorbidities (non-PBD group) who were provided with a PBD and supplementation.The quality, quantity, and processing of the provided PBDs were strictly controlled, and supplementation was incorporated to enhance the anti-viral, antiinflammatory, antioxidant, antithrombotic, and immunomodulatory properties of the PBD against the SARS-CoV-2 virus.Results: Patients with PBD demonstrated faster recovery times (12±1.4 vs. 21±7 days) and experienced lower severity (2% vs. 10-20%), hospitalization rates (0 vs. 5-10%), and mortality rates (0 vs. 15-17%) when compared to the general COVID-19 Indonesian population (GCIP).Additionally, individuals in the non-PBD group were found to be twice as likely to have experienced moderate disease (with a 95% confidence limit of 1.42-3.12)and 2.4 times more likely to have experienced severe disease (with a 95% confidence limit of 1.2-5.0),with statistically significant p-values of less than 0.0005 and 0.016, respectively, when compared to those in the PBD group. Conclusion:PBD and supplement interventions have been found to be effective in reducing COVID-19 recovery time, severity, hospitalization, and mortality among elderly patients with multiple comorbidities.The intervention's impact is particularly notable in patients who have adopted PBD before contracting COVID-19.As a result, effectively managing metabolic-chronic inflammation in elderly patients is crucial in mitigating the severity and mortality associated with COVID-19 during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.