Wow, what a crazy week this has been, with all the conflicting information and uncertainty around rules and regulations, running around getting ready for lock down and realising that my boys will probably have to stay with their dad for the duration.
It seems that we are completely over run with information about Covit 19, so I’m not going to go there except to say that it has been shown that people with a healthy immune system recover quicker and often have milder symptoms, similar to with a common cold.
Therefore it makes sense to me that we should be focusing on building up our immune systems during this time of isolation
Our lifestyle plays a major role on the health of our immune system. Here are some habits to consider
Increase / Include Eliminate / Moderate
Pure water intake Smoking
Fresh air Drug use
Balanced diet Caffeine
Meditation Sugar
Relaxation Processed foods
Good quality rest Stressful situations
Moderate exercise Excessive exercises
I know that in the current circumstances some of this may seem unrealistic, how on earth do you keep a balanced diet during lock down? Or Stay away from stressful situations - Everything about this is stressful! Right?
Yes it is stressful so we need to find ways to lessen the stress for ourselves, and remember we can’t change what is going on in the outside world, only how we respond to it.
Ok so lets break It down a bit and look at small steps we can take now to help boost our immune system.
Diet is the first thing that comes to my mind and my instinct would be to increase the amount of plant based foods I’m eating.
Some foods which are great immune boosters are:
Citrus, Bell peppers, Broccoli, Garlic, Ginger, Spinach, Almonds, Turmeric, Green tea, Papaya, Kiwi & Sunflower seeds
Under the current circumstances diet may not seem as straight forward as it otherwise would be, no more just popping out to get fresh ingredients. It just means more planning and forethought into meals before going shopping as well as spending time batch preparing food after.
Try freezing papaya and kiwi for use in smoothies. Broccoli and spinach can be blanched and then frozen for future use. Spinach can also be frozen from raw.
Laughter is a really fun way to boost the immune system.
It has been shown through Dr Lee Burk”s research that Laughter increases your immune cells and infection-fighting antibodies, improving your resistance to disease and viral infection - so make time for fun and Laughter every day and have your go to for when things get tough (phone someone who makes you Laugh, watch a Funny Movie, share a Joke)
Relaxation time is essential for an immune system to function at its best. Activities that relax us leave us feeling calm & in control. This helps to counter act the fight or flight response and therefore decreases blood pressure, heart rate, muscle tension and rate of breathing
Meditation is a great immune boosting activity and has so many other benefits.
Sunshine is already known to boost vitamin D production and recent studies now show that sunlight also energizes the T-cells, T-cells are part of the immune system which move to the site of infection to start the healing response, allowing them to move faster and be more effective.
Listen to relaxing or uplifting music as keeping your spirits up and a positive attitude during this time is very important. You can even dance to the music and get your exercise in while you’re at it.
It has been shown that something even more deadly than the corona virus is fear, because fear can totally take over and it completely depletes the body’s immune system and ability to stay healthy.
There seems to be so much fear based information out there at the moment, so my advice to you would be limit the amount of it you expose yourself to. Yes I do believe we need to be informed and know what’s going on so that we can make sensible decisions.
We can choose where we put our focus at this time, either on all the fear and negativity or we can choose to see the positive, the chance for learning and growth that this situation is giving us.
So for me the positive in all this is the time to be alone and continue my own journey of discovery and healing, time to focus on my business, to do some much needed deep cleaning and maintenance to my home, time to create, learn and grow.
For our plant this too seems to be a time of healing and growth.
What is the positive in this for you?