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The deficiency or excess of serum zinc in pregnancy may threaten the health of the mother and the fetus. The purpose of this study is to determine the pattern of serum zinc in pregnant women covered by Urmia urban health centers and its association with some nutritional and clinical determinants in the third trimester, from July to December 2018.

In this analytic cross-sectional study, of six selected health centers in Urmia, 400 pregnant women subjects who were in their third trimester were recruited in a simple random manner. The nutritional, demographic, clinical data as well as fasting blood samples were taken from each of the subjects. The data were analyzed using chi-square, independent t-test and logistic regression tests.

The study revealed that about 3 per cent of pregnant women had zinc deficiency, 70.2 per cent were normal and 26.8 per cent had high serum zinc levels. In 388 pregnant women (72.4 per cent with normal serum zinc and 27.6 per cent with high serum zinc), binary logistic regression model showed that high concentration of serum zinc was directly associated with dietary intake zinc (OR: 2.252; 95 per cent CI: 1.85-2.74), supplement zinc (OR: 7.823; 95 per cent CI: 3.676-16.649) and total intake magnesium (OR: 1.005; 95 per cent CI: 1.000-1.01) and inversely associated with frequent reproductive cycling (OR: 0.739; 95 per cent CI: 0.569-0.959).

Pregnant women in Urmia probably have high concentrations of serum zinc, and it is likely related to consumption of the zinc supplementation. Supplementation programs need to be scaled up for pregnant women that take inadequate dietary zinc.

Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) is becoming a crucial health problem worldwide. Continued and high-speed mutations of this virus result in the appearance of new manifestations, making the control of this disease difficult. It has been shown that well-nourished patients have strong immune systems who mostly have short-term hospitalization compared to others. The purpose of this study is to review the major nutrients involved in the immune system reinforcement and to explain nutritional aspects during the recovery of COVID-19.

In this review paper, the mechanistic role of nutrients in boosting the immune system and the nutritional aspects during the recovery of COVID-19 patients were discussed. Papers indexed in scientific databases were searched using antioxidants, COVID-19, inflammation, immune system, macronutrient, micronutrient and probiotic as keywords from 2000 to 2022.

Because of the adverse effects of drugs like thrombosis, pulmonary embolism and hypercholesterolemia, a balanced diet with enough concentrations of energy and macronutrients could increase the patient's durability. The inflammatory cytokines in a vicious cycle delay patients’ rehabilitation. The main mechanistic roles of micronutrients are attributed to the downregulation of virus replication and are involved in energy homeostasis. Dysbiosis is defined as another disturbance among COVID-19 patients, and supplementation with beneficial strains of probiotics helps to exert anti-inflammatory effects in this regard. Being on a well-planned diet with anti-inflammatory properties could reverse cytokine storms as the major feature of COVID-19. Future studies are needed to determine the safe and effective dose of dietary factors to control the COVID-19 patients.

Being on a well-planned diet with anti-inflammatory properties could reverse cytokine storms as the major feature of COVID-19. Future studies are needed to determine the safe and effective dose of dietary factors to control the COVID-19 patients.