This review speculates the importance of nutrition as a mitigation strategy to support immune function amid the COVID-19 pandemic, identifying food groups and key nutrients of importance that may affect the outcomes of respiratory infections. There are several significant risk factors for severe COVID-19 infection. These include the presence of poor nutritional status and pre-existing noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) such as diabetes mellitus, chronic lung diseases, cardiovascular diseases (CVD), obesity, and various other diseases that render the patient immunocompromised. These diseases are characterized by systemic inflammation, which may be a common feature of these NCDs, affecting patient outcomes against COVID-19. In this review, inflammation associated with pre-existing comorbidities was highlighted as a significant risk factor for COVID-19 patients. As a result, some of the anti-inflammatory therapies currently under investigation were discussed. Likewise, the potential role of a person’s nutritional status and nutrients and foods that may exert anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory effects are explored. Nutrients such as vitamin C, vitamin D, and zinc may hold some promise for the treatment of COVID-19.
