Healthy living and eating habits have an indispensable relationship. This crucial link has made healthy living a possibility by regulating our eating habits as key priorities in our lives. And this trend has taken an upward peak with immunity building and conscious meal planning being the key topics of concern during the ongoing pandemic.
Let us look at some of these Immunity booster foods that build up your immune system and support the defence mechanisms of our body against illness and diseases.
Immunity Booster Foods:
Vitamins and Minerals:
Immunity booster foods that are rich in vitamin B, vitamin C, vitamin D and minerals like iron & zinc, help to improve our health by garnering a stronger response from our body’s defence mechanism to cope with any foreign body that could harm us. While these vitamins and minerals are available in supplement form, they cannot substitute the consumption of healthy foods that are a rich source of these vitamins and minerals.
Tulsi for Healthy Lungs:
Amidst the pandemic, our lungs have been a prime focus that needs care and fortification. Healthy lungs actively fight off any viral infection and help supplement the role of medications. Daily consumption of Tulsi leaves helps in improving the functioning of the lungs by clearing the airways and easing the respiratory system. Apart from Tulsi, broccoli and apricot have also proven to improve your pulmonary health system.
Kitchen Spices:
Some of the immunity-boosting foods can be found right in our kitchen. Generous use of spices such as garlic, ginger, turmeric, pepper, cinnamon and cardamon in food preparations and otherwise have been long known to build up and boosts the body’s immune system.
Stay Hydrated:
Drinking the required amounts of water daily ensures a proper hydration system and helps thin out irritants and mucus and lubricates the lungs.
Also Read: Water or Sports Drinks: What’s Better for Dehydration?
Warm Start to the Day:
Starting your mornings with a bit of ginger, tulsi and some green tea leaves in a cup of hot water is one of the best ways to start the day.
Soothing Drink for Good Sleep:
Sipping on a glass of warm water with one teaspoon turmeric powder, a pinch of pepper, and half a teaspoon of cinnamon powder before going to bed aids in boosting your immunity.
A healthy lifestyle also needs discipline and some clear boundaries that will keep unhealthy foods outside of the plate and kitchen platform. It is both what you eat and what you don’t.
Foods to Avoid:
Some of these would be processed sugar and processed and fried foods. Alcohol consumption has also been known to affect one’s health, along with consumption of cold and stale foods.
Let us look at a few lifestyle habits that increase our immunity and help us stay healthy.
Stay Fit:
Regular exercise is a simple way to revitalise our defence system. Any form of exercise that provides movements to the body and breaks a bit of sweat is considered good. Exercises don’t have to be hard-core, just a simple walk, a steady-paced jog or plain old cycling will suffice to bring the necessary benefits to build a better and healthy lifestyle.
Also Read: Sirsasana: Know The Health Benefits of Headstand Yoga Pose
Sleep Matters:
A night of good and sufficient sleep plays a vital role in maintaining our immune system and provides it with the required amount of restoration for a rejuvenated morning the next day. It’s a known fact that our immunity is lowered by as much as 70% when one experiences disturbed sleep for just 5 consecutive nights.
Listen to Your Gut:
Our gut happens to secrete as much as 75% of the hormone serotonin (also known as the happy hormone). Our gut is responsible for frequent constipation, acidity and bloating, which are directly related to the stress level.
Sanitize Hands and Phones:
Given that we are surrounded by our gadgets in the work from home culture, one has to give extra caution to maintaining hygiene and sanitizing our phones as frequently as we sanitize our hands.
Also Read: Workplace Preparedness for Novel Coronavirus (Covid-19)
Stress-free Thinking:
A healthy lifestyle is to stay positive & be happy in the middle of all the negative thoughts. Negative thoughts lower immunity by raising the cortisol level that causes stress in the body. Maintaining a healthy stress level is crucial to living a healthy lifestyle.
Not only eating healthy but also thinking healthy goes a long way in living healthy with an improved and strengthened immune system, as we care for ourselves and our loved ones amidst the pandemic!
