By Shivam Hingorani, Founder, Ace Blend (Natural Protein & Superfoods Nourisher)
COVID-19 is an infectious disease whose symptoms include fever, tiredness, dry cough, pains, aches, nasal congestion, runny nose, sore throat or diarrhea, with 80% people recovering and around 1 out of 6 people becoming seriously ill due to the disease.1
Advisories like social distancing, washing hands and wearing a mask have been announced to prevent contracting this disease. However, it is extremely important to make sure that you improve your immunity and provide it with resistance by following these simple yet highly effective steps.
Consume gut-friendly protein
70% of the immune system is located within the gut, which is comprised of more than 100 trillion bacteria, both good and bad. 2The food you eat determines the levels of bacteria in the gut, strengthening or weakening your immune system, with gut-friendly probiotic food like sauerkraut and kefir improving intestinal microbial balance and boosting the immune system.3Consumption of probiotics also helps in the absorption of protein, an important component of antibodies, which helps the body fight diseases. 4
Exercise at home
The latest science has suggested that even a single workout can amplify and improve the body’s ability to fight off germs.5In fact, a study published in the PflügersArchiv – European Journal of Physiology has shown that exercise-trained mice who were injected with germs after a strenuous run fought off the infection better than sedentary mice.6Today, although gyms across the world are shutting down to prevent the spread of the virus, you should work out at home, using your body weight for exercises like squats, crunches, and burpees to boost your immunity.
The power of superfoods
One of the best ways to improve the body’s immunity is to eat foods that are rich in vitamins, antioxidants, minerals and healthy fats, as these foods will help strengthen immunity and will enable the body to fight diseases. Superfoods like chlorella, barley grass, amla, and ashwagandha are known to affect the body in positive ways by detoxifying the body, boosting immunity and reducing inflammation, all of which equip the body to fight diseases in a better manner.
Reduced intake of sugar
While it is important to eat right to equip our body with nutrients to fight this disease, it is equally important to know what we should not be eating. When the body consumes refined, added sugars, the immune system is dampened for several hours afterward. So your favorite candies, chocolates, and cookies could actually be lowering your ability to fight the virus.7 Instead, a smarter approach is following the Harvard recommended method of restricting saturated fats and sugars to 10%of the calories you consume.8
Quality sleep
Sleep helps the cells of your immune system fight infection. This is because when you are asleep, the body releases cytokines, molecules that mediate and regulate immunity and inflammation within the body. 9So if you aren’t getting the recommended seven to eight hours of sleep every day, you are not giving your body the chance to fight infectious diseases and are also increasing your risk of contracting diabetes, obesity, and cardiovascular diseases.10
