Recommendations on immune system boost.
With this crazy virus freely roaming all over our planet, we are all looking for ways to boost our immune system and help us fight the virus if necessary.
There are a few ways that this can be approached. Each way is equally important to our body. They are physical preparation, emotional preparation and spiritual preparation.
Let's start with physical preparation:
Obviously, the better shape our bodies are in, the more likely that they will be able to handle this COVID19 virus or any other medical ailment with the fewest problems. So what do we do to help our bodies? First and foremost please try to eat healthy, nourishing food (not easy with stress hormones activating and triggering so called "stress eating" which for many people means anything but healthy foods...) Protein and healthy fats(nuts, avocado), fruits and vegetables that are low in glycemic index (meaning have low sugar) is the best bet. I know it's not easy but please respect your body and try to do your best with this. I am not saying that you need to deny yourself your cravings all the time but perhaps not giving in to them for majority of the meals would be a great start. I know it is very difficult as our bodies, when they are stressed, will look for "comfort foods" and those are generally bread based or sugar based but just understanding where your cravings are coming from will help you respect and validate your body.
Exercise is also essential to our well being both physically and, in many instances, emotionally. It matters not what you choose to do as long as you do it consistently. Walking 15-30 minutes per day every day is better than walking for an hour but only once a week and yet doing anything is better than doing nothing at all. So find an activity that you enjoy and please do it as often as you can manage. In today's world with all the available apps with walking,cardio,yoga and anything else you want, it has become much easier to find and consistently perform an activity that you love.
Vitamins and other supplements. I think that we unfortunately,very rarely get all the nutrients and vitamins we need from our diets as our diets generally leave a lot to be desired. And especially now when our immune system needs to be at it's best, I think it's warranted to consider some basic immune boosting supplements. So there are some supplements that I consistently recommend. These are Vitamin C, D, A, Zinc, Elderberry. With this particular virus though I think we need to look at research.
There is very good research about Vitamin C ( a lot of great data about how helpful it is even at very high doses and even in IV form if need be). So Vitamin C I am recommending with both hands. Now let's discuss the other vitamins and minerals.
Zinc is very important to all immune system function, most importantly it helps your body to fight off infection by increasing white blood cells, which obviously is essential to proper immune system functioning. So Zinc is also very essential right now.
Vitamin D is called a vitamin but because its fat-soluble and because it's needed in every cell in order for it to function, it acts more like a hormone. We make Vitamin D when our bare skin is exposed to sun. Almost everyone is deficient unless you live in a very sunny place and you are outside a significant amount, preferably half-naked. As that is not the reality for most people, I strongly recommend Vitamin D supplementation.
These are the basic three that I always recommend barring very few exceptions. The other vitamins I recommend on case to case bases for a number of reasons and I cannot make a general statement about them at this time,especially in view of data that is coming out now about COVID and cytokine storm and it's affinity to ACE receptors. The evaluation of the ongoing research about this topic warrants a separate post so stay tuned. This is a very basic overview and obviously there are many nuances and details that I didn't touch upon.
Sleep: we all need sleep, our body processes information and rejuvenates during sleep. Unfortunately, during stressful times restful sleep is more difficult to come by. I recommend creating and sticking to a routine. Go to sleep at the same time every night, preferably before midnight. Hours before midnight are much more important than we think!! A lot of data on that. Try to get a solid 7-8 hours and if you can't then incorporate a short afternoon nap if needed. Restful sleep will do wonders to boost your immunity so don't neglect it please.
Now let'stalk about emotional preparations:
I know that news are scary and many people are running on high adrenaline as they try to manage home responsibilities with working from home for the lucky ones or new found financial stressors for the unlucky ones. Small bursts of stress are actually good for our immune system but when that stress becomes constant and that becomes our way of life, that's when our immune system starts taking a serious hit. In our high stress world autoimmune disease and cancer has become widespread and at this point all specialists agree that high stress feeds all of these disorders. So what can a person do when they are in such dire situation as we are in now and how can we safeguard ourselves from unnecessary stress?
We can be as gentle and as kind as possible towards ourselves. We can respect our bodies and our souls on the journey that we are on, we can take a minute or two everyday to check in with ourselves and to try to find calm among the many stressors that face us. It is wonderful if you can meditate but if you cannot then 5 minutes a day of quiet contemplation and self-validation and respect are equally necessary and important.
Some exercise are very conducive to meditation, such as walking in nature and yoga. I run a very busy household with young children and it's very difficult for me to find time to meditate for long periods of time but when I do yoga and walk in nature, I feel rejuvenated and focused and in touch with who I am as a human being on a very deep level. I hope that each one of you can incorporate some meditation and mindful walking into you routine.
There are many techniques to reduce stress, I touched base on just a few, but there are many more available to us today. Lets not forget the importance of human contact. Even though we are not able to meet our friends and family in person during these trying times, we can and we should communicate with them using the multitude of technological means available to us as often as we can. Surround yourself virtually for now, with people who bring you joy and create positive, kind energy in your world as much as possible.
And lastly I want to touch on the spiritual aspect.
Each one of us has different spiritual needs and wants but we each need and want connection with something bigger than us, call this G-d,nature, universe or whatever speaks to you. Take a moment to reflect on the uniqueness of who you are and yet smallness of each one of us in the grand universal puzzle. Find a way to encourage that connection and remember that to feel that connection, you don't need fancy houses of prayer or expensive yoga retreats, you just need a moment of peace and quiet within yourself to celebrate who you are and thank Powers That Be for all the blessings in your life.
May we all be well, stay strong and learn something positive out of this very uneasy situation. Healing and blessings to all.
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