‘Time flies’.. that’s the saying, but in this situation of lockdown, time can go slow, days seem much longer and patience a difficult virtue. Though we are all at home, understand that this is a time you will probably never get again in your life. Time to reflect, to try things you never had time for, to take care of yourself and your family members. What you make of this time is upon you, you could pass the days sleeping, lazing around, watching TV and eating junk or you could work towards investing time, energy and effort into building a healthier lifestyle: an investment for a lifetime!
Health and allied health professionals including me are posting regularly on ways to improve immunity, but remember that immunity is a result of a healthy lifestyle. Irregular sleep, erratic eating habits, lack of exercise, sedentary lifestyle, smoking, drinking all come in the way of building strong immunity. So just having shots of amla, turmeric or eating salads with bell peppers and broccoli won’t do any magic in isolation.
5 Simple things you can do till 31st March to improve your physical, mental and emotional health:
- Set a regular bed and wake up time: Being at home for many increases screen time, which has its own set of disadvantages. Invest in good quality sleep. Body undergoes cleansing aka detoxification in sleep. Your brain shrinks and detoxifies in sleep, this leads to emotional well-being. Your body heals and repairs itself in sleep, this is anti-aging in nature. Your muscles recover, this leads to strength, toning and fat burning. So switch off your gadgets 30 mins before your bedtime and sleep. Try and wake up at a routine time too, preferably closer to sun rise. Good sleep also assists in hormonal balancing. Its essential therefore for those suffering from Diabetes, Hypothyroidism, PCOS. Impaired sleep induces cravings and leads to enhanced appetite which will aggravate weight gain
- Engage in some form of exercise. Exercise is an essential key to immunity building. Exercise increases lungs capacity of intake of oxygen and aids in circulation of oxygen and nutrients to each cell of our body. Nourished, well oxygenated cells are better able to combat agents of infection.
At home you could do sequence of Suryanamaskar, free hand exercises like skipping, squats, lunges, or mat exercises. For those who are regular with their workouts and currently not able to access gym or sessions, take your workout to a challenging level using resistance bands, ankle weights and kettle bells.
3. Hydrate: Water water water …nearly 75-80% of our body is water. Many of my clients of shared that being at home makes their water intake go low. Its important to understand that even as little as 1% drop in you body’s water levels can cause a number of health problems including compromised immunity. At home, I fill 1 L water bottle and aim at refilling it at least 3 times before the day ends.
I have done a complete post of goodness of haldi and how to use it for improving immunity. Incase you are using haldi with water, make sure you add a source of fat ( as explained in my article,read here ) either ghee or coconut oil or sip on it with some source of good fats like nuts, seeds, peanuts, coconut and jaggery laddoos, to derive full benefits of assimilation of the therapeutic properties of haldi.
4. Eat in moderation: Being at home, we are not as active as we otherwise are all through the day. This leads to compromised digestion. Overeating, will only make you sluggish, gassy, bloated and weaken you gut. Remember 80% of your immunity lies in your gut. Moderation is the key. Eat small and frequent meals. Donot skip meals, because you will then end up eating larger portions later. Also eating mindfully is the key. Chew your food well. Eating fast increases the burden of breaking down food on the digestive system, weakening it in the process. Remember, digestion begins in the mouth!
5. Avoid too much raw food: Raw food is good for us, but this is the time to strengthen our immune response and not weaken it with making it work extra hard on digesting raw. Eat fresh food, try not to heat and reheat food as it diminishes its nutrient profile. Deliberate and increased use of fiber will come in the way of absorption of key micro nutrients like zinc, iron , magnesium, all of which are essential co factors for many biochemical reaction in the body. Keep meals simple and use probiotics like home set curd, home made pickles, kanji in your meals. These keep the strength of your gut microbiome intact and assists your immune response.
In holistic approach to health, each component of a healthy lifestyle quality sleep, exercise, balanced diet and activity fits beautifully to complete the picture. Quick fixes and fad diets lead to long term damaging effects to our body.
Write to me , or feel free to ask your questions in the comment box below.
Stay Safe, Stay Healthy.
Confused by the misinformation about potential health problems with traditional Indian foods ? Get in touch with Madhavi K Sharma , a strong advocate of the holistic, wellness benefits of fresh, local, and traditional Indian foods.
If you wish to get notified about our new posts on Diet, Healthy Food, Lifestyle, Stress Management, Therapeutic Diets for clinical Conditions, like and follow us at Informed Health on Facebook and Bhealthinformed on Instagram. Subscribe here to our youtube channel
Keep yourself happy by keeping yourself healthy. Let us design a nutrition, exercise and lifestyle transformation program that elevates your overall sense of well-being. Contact us now for an in-depth consultation.
