Awareness on Importance of Immune Boosting Diet among Dental Students- A Survey

Introduction: An immune system is essential for survival. The immune system must be looking for any signs of invasion mostly caused by microorganisms. It plays a vital role in protecting the body against diseases, fighting against foreign bodies and does a remarkable job in defending against microorganisms. A Natural immune booster is an additional immunising agent which helps to increase and sustain the immune response of the body. The aim of this study is to show the awareness level on importance of immune boosting diet among dental students

Materials and methods: A questionnaire was prepared consisting of a total 14 questions and was uploaded through an online survey link. The responses were collected and analysed which were later interpreted as pie charts. A total of 100 undergraduate dental students have taken the survey with consent. The data was analysed by IBM SPSS software where descriptive statistics and chi square test was done, where the results are plotted as graphs.

Results: A total of 100 participants have taken the survey in which 50% were males and 50% were females. A question was asked whether food directly affects our health in which 96% have answered yes. In another question pertaining to how many meals you eat per day. 48% have answered three times and 48% have answered two times. 98% believe that skipping meals affects our immunity/health. 94% believe that Indian spices can boost our immunity. 92% believe green tea is a great antioxidant. 57% have answered that taking natural food along with supplements can boost immunity instead of just taking either one. 48% answered that fat has more calories followed by carbohydrates. 88% believe that Consumption of carbohydrates can lead to increase in triglycerides. 97% believe that consumption of citrus fruits can increase immunity

Conclusion: According to the study, students are aware about the nutrition which is required for maintaining and improving their immunity. As a budding doctor, the students should be aware about the nutrition which is required for maintaining immunity especially during this COVID 19 pandemic.