Fig. 1.

Micronutrient regulation of individual response in SARS-CoV-2 infection. An optimal state of health can be achieved when the necessary quality and quantity of micronutrients such as Vit A, B, and D, as well as Se, Zn, and Cu, are provided through the diet. This brings benefits that are reflected in an adequate nutritional state that will provide the necessary elements that allow the immune system to respond to an infection. Serious health problems such as obesity, metabolic syndrome, diabetes, and immunosuppression are a result of the imbalance in the intake of foods with high caloric content and low amount of micronutrients. Currently, with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, it has become clear that the most vulnerable individuals to develop the infection are those in whom the balance of the physiological-nutritional status and immune system is lost. This imbalance allows the SARS-CoV-2 virus to develop and causes the different clinical forms of the disease (asymptomatic, mild, moderate, and severe). Vit A deficiency leads to the first defense barrier lacking important components of innate immunity, which enhances the virus response. Vit B and Se play a role in the immune and antioxidant response against oxidative stress during infection. Vit B, D, Se, Zn, and Cu participate in a very important way, promoting the inhibition of the synthesis of pro-inflammatory cytokines that trigger the cytokine storm and therefore modulate the adaptive immune response by suppressing the Th1 response and promoting the production of cytokines by Th2 cells. Zn, for its part, is involved in the transduction of signals in the cell and, therefore, in the patterns of cellular and viral gene expression, thus avoiding viral mutagenesis