How to ‘Boost’ Your Immune System in COVID-19 Pandemic
How to ‘Boost’ Your Immune System in COVID-19 Pandemic
Today, the whole world is tangled in a state of emergency. At the time of writing, 28 million people have been reportedly infected with novel coronavirus, and more than 0.9 million humans have lost their lives fighting the lethal virus.
Though many advances have been made in quest of a remedy for the disease, no groundbreaking achievement has been made. Although some countries have succeeded to contain the spread of the virus, the majority of the world is still unable to do so. In such a situation, the question that should arise in a sane person’s mind is:
What can we do?
Apart from following the official guidelines, the most we can do is to take care of our health and immune system. Recently, the phrase ‘boosting the immune system’ has acquired widespread use. Speaking medically, the phrase has no practical meaning. There is no healthful way of ‘boosting the immune system, instead, the over-working of the immune system is considered an anomaly. The more apt phrase for describing it can be ‘maintaining the immune system’. The point to note is that maintaining the immune system involves more ‘don’ts’ than ‘dos’.
Diet
The most important factor that directly affects your immune response is your diet. Your diet directly provides the essentials needed for your immune system to work. Stating that you should take a healthy diet would be enough to describe what it means. But let’s take a ‘medical’ look at it.
The minerals and substances that are recognized as essential to the immune system are:
- Protein
- Zinc and Curcumin.
- Omega-3 fatty acids
- Vitamin D
- Antioxidant-rich foods
- Prebiotics and probiotics
Several food sources contain these essentials, but to have a balanced diet, you will need to choose a specific plan that suits you. Luckily, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has launched a website named ‘MyPlate’ that helps you put together the most nutritious and balanced food for you and your family. This can help your immune system to prepare for the pandemic.
What to Avoid?
A lot of foods and drinks that we consume are injurious to our health and immune system or can be if used in large amounts. Let’s have a look at it.
- Fast Food
In the days of lockdown, authorities have reported high consumption of fast foods. Ordering pizzas and burgers for dinner have become a widespread routine. Though the craving for fast food is undeniable, its excessive use f can be far too destructive for the immune system.
- Beverages
Whether they are alcoholic or non-alcoholic, researchers have always found beverages deleterious to health. Excessive use of alcohol can lead to liver malfunctioning, which in turn causes drastic effects on the immune system. Large usage of high-sugar soft drinks can lead to a decrease in the ability of white blood cells, which results in a weekend immune system.
- Dieting
Although controlled dieting helps to improve the immune system, studies show that extreme dieting can leave a strain on the immune system. If you’re on a dieting plan, we would advise you to delay it till the pandemic ends. Also, there are many other ways to manage your weight.
- Smoking
If you’re a smoker, we will advise you to quit smoking during the pandemic. Not only smokers are a greater risk of death by COVID-19, but also they have greater transmission rates. This enables us to say that a smoker is putting his surrounding people in danger with himself.
Physical Activity
Moderate physical activity can help you face the effects of the pandemic in many ways. Exercise, in general, enhances the working ability of white blood cells, helps to clear the lungs and airways, and releases stress. COVID-19 has formed a high-stress environment around us. Taking a morning walk or spending some time in the gym can provide you with an opportunity to release mental and body stress and boost the immune system.
What to Avoid?
As we have asserted, physical activity helps better your health and, resultingly, helps your immune system. But harsh amounts of physical activity can harm your immune system by decreasing your energy level.
Also, it is not advisable to start a workout plan in between the pandemic.
Sleep
During sleep, the human body produces cytokines, a kind of protective protein. These proteins are a major part of your immune system. They help you against infections and inflammations. Sleep deprivation causes a decrease in the production of cytokines. This results in a poor immune system.
Also, excessive sleep can curb you from getting enough sunshine and can deteriorate your cardiac rhythm, which results in a poor immune system.
Socialization
Physical distancing is one of the biggest misfortunes the pandemic has inflicted upon us. Not only it is difficult for human being but is unnatural. But the need of the moment requires the sacrifice. It does not mean that we also have to isolate ourselves from the community. Researches have known for a long time that isolation has humongous and disastrous effects on your physical and mental health.
It is, therefore, highly advisable to keep in touch with your family and friends through virtual means.
Avoid Scams
In 1918 with the advent of the Spanish Flu, quacks and scammers found a fertile ground to sell everything on the name of the perfect treatment. Many companies sold a large variety of products which on later research were proven to be useless or harmful.
Today, we’re facing the same condition. Many medically uncertified medicines and cures are sold and people are buying them out of fear. You should remember that fear will not help in any way.
We advise you to use medically certified products or to consult some reputable medical platforms before using the product.
The Takeaway
We all know this is a tough time. We are in a grind we don’t like a bit. But we ought to have a positive mindset. We have to believe that if the current situation is going to end, that will be due to your endeavors. Until a vaccine is found, you have to take care of yourself and your immune system.
