Coronavirus second wave: 5 simplest ways to boost your immunity
1. Coronavirus second wave: 5 simplest ways to boost your immunity
The
second wave of coronavirus has wreaked havoc in our lives, once again.
The number of cases are increasing tremendously with each passing day,
which makes taking care of our immunity of utmost importance. Staying at
home, not stepping out until urgent and keeping our immunity up and
tight is our best bet to save ourselves from the deadly coronavirus.
Though the vaccination drive is going on in full swing, it will take time for everyone to be vaccinated. Even people who have been vaccinated need to follow COVID safety precautions to stay safe. Read here: Can you get COVID-19 infection even after getting the COVID jab
Here are five simple things you can do to keep your immunity strong:
Get enough sleep
If
you are not sleeping enough, it can take a toll on your immunity. When
you sleep at night, the body turns on some pretty serious activation
that helps kill the pathogens. Sleep is when our body repairs the cells,
especially the brain cells.
Say NO to the screen at least 2 hours before you sleep and avoid having any caffeinated drinks to get uninterrupted sleep.
3. Dedicate 10 minutes of the day to practice mindfulness
While
some amount of stress is good for the body, too much stress can create
troubles for the body. Practising mindfulness reduces the number and
activity of some of our important immune cells, like T-cells and natural
killer cells. (Just a little confused, it reduces or increases the
number of cells)
A high level of cortisol (stress hormone) weakens the gut barrier, which is where most of our immune system lives.
Do any stress lowering activity for 10 minutes every day, if you cannot meditate.
4. Add antioxidants to your diet
One
of the easiest things you can do to boost your immunity is to fill your
plate with colourful foods. Colourful foods are rich in antioxidants
like vitamin C, D, E and A along with zinc and selenium. Antioxidants
neutralise free radical damage in our body and cool down inflammation
along with repairing the damaged cells and DNA.
The more bright and diverse your diet is, the better it is.
5. Move move move
Exercising
regularly plays an important role in keeping your immunity strong.
Exercising puts our body under short term stress called eustress, which
makes us stronger and more resilient in the long term. Even in the short
term, exercise can make your immune cells better at killing pathogens.
Aerobic activities like running or swimming, high-intensity exercise and weight lifting have benefits for the immune system.
6. Add fibre to your diet
The headquarters of our immune system is in our gut and our gut bacteria loves fibre. When we eat fibre, it encourages more diversity in our gut flora, which has been linked to a stronger and more balanced immune system. When we don't get enough fibre, our body's ability to fend off infections decreases.
The headquarters of our immune system is in our gut and our gut bacteria loves fibre. When we eat fibre, it encourages more diversity in our gut flora, which has been linked to a stronger and more balanced immune system. When we don't get enough fibre, our body's ability to fend off infections decreases.