An on-line survey by the ICMR’s National Institute of Nutrition has reported excessive consumption of vitamin C-rich fruits in addition to vitamin C and zinc dietary supplements by grownup Indians to increase immunity throughout the second wave of COVID-19 upon their publicity to (mis)info on social media.
Traditional Indian spices reminiscent of ginger and garlic have been utilized by 62.9 per cent and 50.9 per cent of the respectively.
Most of the full 572 have been reported to have associated on social media for gathering COVID-19 related suggestions for boosting immunity, However, these with a historical past of coronavirus an infection reported to rely extra on medical doctors and well being professionals for info, the examine discovered.
The soon-to-be-published examine — “Impact of COVID-19 Infodemic on the food and nutrition-related perception, practices and reliability on the source of information among Indian internet users” — highlights the necessity for media and well being literacy to advocate using well being info cautiously, mentioned Dr. Hemalatha R, Director of National Institute of Nutrition.
“The uncontrolled spread of (mis)information, news and propaganda related to COVID-19 created an ‘infodemic’ leading to panic and unscientific practices among the people. With the largest number of internet users in the world, India has witnessed a steep rise in the number of people seeking information on social media related to COVID-19, which reached a staggering 22.3 million by March, 2020,” mentioned Dr SubbaRao M Gavaravarapu , senior scientist and the lead investigator of the examine.
“This study aimed to evaluate the trend of COVID-19 associated food and nutrition news search by Indian internet users between January 27, 2020 to June 30, 2021 (time period between the first detected COVID-19 case and the end of the second wave) in India) and its impact on their perceptions and practices,” SubbaRao mentioned.
The affiliation between the change in relative search quantity (RSV) on Google Trends of 34 popularly searched key phrases categorised by the researchers underneath 5 totally different classes — ‘Immunity’, ‘Eating habits’, ‘Food security’, ‘Food scares and considerations’ and ‘Covid scare’ — confirmed a steep rise in seek for immunity boosters, vitamin complement manufacturers, “ayush kadha” (ayurvedic decoction) throughout the first wave in April- August 2020.
With a quick interval of decline within the search development, it once more elevated correspondingly with the rising variety of constructive instances throughout the second wave in India,
The idea of ‘immunity-boosting meals’ as a preventive technique to battle COVID-19 an infection gained a whole lot of traction throughout the pandemic.
“Out of the generally searched immunity boosting brokers, most (71.9 per cent) reported to have elevated their consumption of vitamin C-rich meals (citrus fruits, guava amla, and so on.) as immunity boosters throughout the examine interval. A big proportion of additionally reported consumption of nutraceticals dietary supplements reminiscent of C dietary supplements (68.2 per cent), zinc dietary supplements (61.4 per cent) to spice up immunity.
“Traditional Indian spices like ginger and garlic have been utilized by 62.9 per cent and 50.9 per cent respectively. Although ‘kadha/kashayam’ (decoction of medicinal herbs) and ‘chawanprash’ (an ayurvedic well being combination made of varied herbs and spices) have been fairly hyped, fewer individuals reported to have consumed them (28.8 per cent and 57.5 per cent respectively), “SubbaRao acknowledged.
Dependence on homeopathy medicines for reinforcing immunity in opposition to COVID-19 was discovered to be the least at 28.1 per cent.
The examine was carried out by way of a closed-ended questionnaire which was administered on-line to acquire cross-sectional info from lively web customers in India relating to their perceptions, practices and the reliability of the generally propagated meals associated info with respect to COVID-19.
The participation of messaging potential was solicited by way of participation issued by way of media releases, social media posts on the institute’s web site and immediate apps.
The survey type was made obtainable on the official web site and the hyperlinks have been shared on social media pages of ICMR-NIN between June 1 and July 31 final yr.
Participants have been requested to find out the adjustments incurred of their meals security practices, consuming patterns throughout the COVID-19 interval and about their information, notion and perceived reliability on totally different sources of data: newspaper, tv, social media, frontline well being employeeswell being organisations, web search or peer group.
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With inputs from TheIndianEXPRESS
