Keep Your Immune System Healthy and Ready with These Tips
Want to keep yourself and family strong and healthy during these trying times? Here are some tips to boost your immune system most naturally.
The pandemic spread has made us realize how susceptible our bodies are to new strains of viruses and bacteria. While it is essential to build our immunity, it is almost impossible to build resistance against newer strains of pathogens. Prevention of contracting the disease is the best way to protect yourself from the novel form of the virus. Boosting your immune system can sure help equip yourself to fight off the infections but not stop them. Following a healthy lifestyle to build your immune system and not practicing personal hygiene or social distancing will not protect your body from infections. So, remember to take conscious steps to protect yourself from contracting the disease in the first place.
Please be informed that no diet, supplements, or herbs can protect you from the pandemic. Instead of practicing social distancing is what will save you from getting the virus. Boosting your immune system can only help your body be better equipped to fight off diseases. Let’s take a look at the ways you can maintain a healthy immune system.
1. Eat Right – Know what you are eating. This is very important in today’s world of processed and canned food. Trying to include as much natural and fresh food in your diet. Even though the canned or processed food might suggest it has all the nutrients, the preservatives added can make the nutritional content less useful to our body.
Make sure you include a lot of plant-based food like carrots, spinach, broccoli, cauliflower, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, etc., these have a plentiful supply of beta-carotene that plays a vital role in building your immune system.
Citrus fruits are yet another food that can help you ward off infections, flu, and the common cold. Eat a lot of berries, melon, bell peppers, tomatoes, etc.
Probiotics – are not only essential to maintain a healthy gut, but it also helps in proper absorption of nutrients in the body. Adequate intake is what will help build a sound immune system.
Consume healthy fats from salmon, olive oil. These will help fight inflammations and also helps in reducing the risk of heart diseases and diabetes. Omega 3 fatty acids also help in managing hypertension [1].
Including anti-inflammatory foods like ginger, turmeric, garlic, etc. in your daily diet to help your body get rid of toxins.
Include protein food both from animal-based and plant-based foods such as yogurt, milk, eggs, chicken, fish, seeds, nuts, etc.
The fiber content in food is essential to maintain a healthy gut. A good gut microbiome is required for a healthy immune system. Include a lot of green leafy veggies and fermented foods to promote the growth of gut bacteria.
2. Sleep and Immunity – Cytokines are certain types of protein released by the body when we are asleep. These proteins play a vital role in fighting [2]infections and inflammations. So not having proper sleep will lead to a decrease in the production of cytokines, which will make us more susceptible to diseases. An average adult might need about 7 to 8 hours of sleep. Teenagers, school going kids will require at least 9 to 10 hours of sleep. If you have difficulty falling asleep, limit your screen time in front of smartphones, televisions, and computers. Try not to use these devices at least one hour before you plan to go to sleep. Follow a regular time of falling asleep and waking up to improve the quality of sleep.
3. Kill the stress – Stress is another primary reason for reducing our body’s natural defense mechanism. To add to the existing stress levels, the pandemic is also spreading a lot of anxiety and mental health problems. It is essential to take care of your emotional wellbeing and not fall prey to rumors and fake news. Practicing meditation will help calm down your mind. You could also listen to your favorite music, take up a hobby to keep your mind occupied. Exercising also helps in reducing stress levels.
4. Follow a workout routine – Exercise regularly to not only burn those extra calories but also to keep your body healthy and active. A sedentary lifestyle is an invitation to all types of diseases such as obesity, hypertension, heart diseases, etc. The prevalence of these conditions can worsen our immune response and increase the risk of infections. Hence it is essential to keep these lifestyle diseases at bay to improve your immunity. Get regular body checks done to identify such conditions. Medications, following a healthy diet, and keeping your body fit will help manage such chronic conditions.
5. Keep yourself hydrated – Drinking plenty of water or fluids is equally essential as following a balanced diet. Adequate intake of water is required to flush the toxins out of our bodies. Water also helps in carrying oxygen to the cells and hence leads to the proper functioning of our body. Drink about 8 to 10 glasses of water in a day to help your body stay hydrated. Adding lemon to water will also help you get the benefits of vitamin C while also getting the required fluid intake.
6. Say no to alcohol and smoking – Avoid smoking or alcohol intake to help your body be better prepared to fight off diseases. Both these habits can sure have adverse effects on your health. Smoking has a profound impact on your respiratory system as it reduces the efficiency of your lungs. Infections such as COVID – 19 primarily target the respiratory system. Hence people who have a weak respiratory system can be at increased risk of fatality.
7. Reduce the sugar intake – Our body gets the required sugar content from our diet. Sugar intake can increase the risk of obesity and type 2 diabetes. Research also shows flu vaccines are less likely to be effective in people with obesity. Reducing the intake of sugar can also lead to less inflammation. Limit your sugar intake to at least about 5% of your total daily calorie requirement.
8. Trying growing your veggies – lockdown has left you with a lot of time, and you can make the best use of it by creating your kitchen garden. This will mean you get access to fresh vegetables without the presence of harmful pesticides or fertilizers. Eating freshly grown veggies is sure more beneficial to your body than the ones from the shop that comes with a lot of toxic remnants on them. There are plenty of videos and materials you can find online to help you start your vegetable garden.
These tips are not just to fight off the Corona pandemic; rather, it can be useful to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Following a well-balanced diet is at the base of building an efficient immune system, love yourself and your body so that you can keep away from habits that will destroy the wellbeing of both. Staying indoors and social distancing is highly recommended until we find a vaccine to stop the infection from spreading. Use masks and other protective gear to minimize exposure to infections. It is also equally important to stay away from fake news that threatens your peace of mind. Strengthen your body and mind to stay fit and healthy.
