Cola and Bifi sausage as dietary advice for Covid-19 isn’t so crazy after all
The whole country condemned the dietary advice from the Dietetics department at Maastricht UMC. They recommend Fristi, Bifi sausages and vanilla custard to people with Covid-19. Huh, why not healthy quark and wholegrain sandwiches? Dietitian Maartje Brandt explains: ‘If a glass of milk tastes like dishwater, then enjoy some Fristi.’
It seems very strange that experts specialising in healthy and balanced nutrition would recommend such unhealthy foods. The Maastricht UMC leaflet lists M&M’s and Snickers among the snacks, while Fristi and Chocomel are recommended as drinks. And don’t forget your dessert after dinner, the nutrition experts also advise. So what’s the story?
Bifi sausage
‘This isn’t dietary advice for the rest of your life, but for a temporary situation, when someone is ill,’ explains dietitian Maartje Brandt. She is affiliated with the Antoni van Leeuwenhoek Hospital, where people with cancer are treated. Maartje also advises her patients to get a hamburger or eat a Bifi sausage if that’s what works for them. ‘The main goal is to get enough protein. When you’re ill and lying in bed, your muscle mass quickly declines. Every day in bed costs you half a percent of your muscle mass, just think about that. If you eat enough protein, you can maintain that muscle mass and your fitness.’
Petrol in the yoghurt
Corona patients in hospital don’t have the energy to do anything; they lie in bed and that’s about it. What’s more, Covid-19 can affect your sense of taste and smell: a bowl of yoghurt tastes like petrol and a cup of coffee smells of nothing. ‘That makes it difficult to keep eating properly,’ Maartje knows.
‘Of course, as dietitians, we initially recommend healthy foods with lots of protein, such as chicken, fish, cheese, nuts, beans and dairy products. But sometimes it simply doesn’t work. If someone doesn’t feel like a bean burger but does fancy a hamburger, that’s fine. If a glass of milk tastes like dishwater, but Fristi tastes good, then that’s a good alternative. What matters to me is that the protein gets inside.’
Life-saving
That leaflet from the dietitians in Maastricht was probably taken out of context, says Maartje. ‘They might have been better off indicating that unprocessed foods are preferred, and that these snacks are an alternative.’ Maartje stresses that there are no healthy and unhealthy foods, but that it’s about the overall dietary pattern. ‘When people are healthy again, the Eatwell Guide naturally applies. But for seriously ill people, protein-rich food can be life-saving. And what form those proteins come in doesn’t matter to me at all.’
