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The COVID-19 pandemic is causing global disturbances and creating many questions in every aspect of life. Since it influences health in multiple ways, including sexual and reproductive health, publishing in all of these areas has increased lately. One aspect that requires basing on scientific evidence is breastfeeding. There are some controversies in the literature on the breastfeeding management in confirmed COVID-19 mothers. Breast milk is excellent for the infant's nutritional needs and growth, because it includes all of the nutrients an infant requires. It promotes the immature immune system of the infant and reinforces defense mechanisms against infectious and other agents during the breastfeeding period. While limited clinical research is available, we can build on what we know about breastfeeding and previous similar outbreaks to plan and manage this crisis. The aim of this chapter is to provide pediatricians with further guidance on breastfeeding and associated safety measures during the COVID-19 crisis, particularly in instances where a mother has or may have COVID-19. This will also be a benefit to future epidemics and pandemics., (© 2021. The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.)

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has resulted in worldwide research efforts to recognize people at greatest risk of developing critical illness and dying. Growing numbers of reports have connected obesity to more severe COVID-19 illness and death. Although the exact mechanism by which obesity may lead to severe COVID-19 outcomes has not yet been determined, the mechanisms appear to be multifactorial. These include mechanical changes of the airways and lung parenchyma, systemic and airway inflammation, and general metabolic dysfunction that adversely affect pulmonary function and/or response to treatment. As COVID-19 continues to spread worldwide, clinicians should carefully monitor and manage obese patients for prompt and targeted treatment.

When diabetic patients are ill, their bodies react by releasing hormones to combat the illness. These hormones can be triggered by some states, such as infections. Some illnesses that most likely have an influence on blood glucose levels include common cold or flu, COVID-19, bronchitis, or chest infections. So, it is important for diabetic patients affected by COVID-19 to eat a healthy balanced diet to maintain stable blood glucose levels and enhance their immune functions. The immune response has often been demonstrated to be attenuated by insufficient nutrition in many model systems as well as in human studies. We summarize and propose potential nutritional therapeutic options available for the treatment of this novel coronavirus in diabetic patients.

The elderly population is increasing rapidly worldwide, and we are faced with the significant challenge for maintaining or improving physical activity, independence, and quality of life. Sarcopenia, the age-related decline of skeletal muscle mass, is characterized by loss of muscle quantity and quality resulting to a gradual slowing of movement, a decrease in strength and power, elevated risk of fall-related injury, and often frailty. Supplemental, hormonal, and pharmacological approaches have been attempted to attenuate sarcopenia but these have not achieved outstanding results. In this review, we summarize the current knowledge of nutrition-based therapies for counteracting sarcopenia.

The immune system undergoes some adverse changes throughout aging, many of which have been implicated in the increased morbidity and mortality related to infection in the elderly. In addition to intrinsic alterations in the immune system with aging, the elderly are more likely to have poor nutritional status, which further affects the already impaired immune function. Micronutrient deficiencies are a recognized global public health problem, and poor nutritional status predisposes to certain infections. Immune function may be ameliorated by restoring deficient micronutrients to recommended levels, thereby increasing resistance to infection and supporting faster recovery when infected. This review looks at the effects of micronutrient supplementation on immune function during aging.

Both morbidity and mortality due to cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) elevate with age. The elevated prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors with age and cardiovascular aging contribute to the relationship between aging and CVDs. Dietary restriction (DR) consisting of calorie restriction (CR) and alternate-day fasting (ADF) is an approved nutritional intervention and shows anti-aging impacts. Recent studies demonstrate that DR makes an active defense response in stressful states. At the core of this response are cardiovascular protective signals, which consist of the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), AMP-activated kinase, sirtuins and endothelial nitric oxide synthase. These make a network with positive and negative feedback regulation. Hence, DR is a hopeful intervention for controlling cardiovascular aging and managing individuals with CVDs.