Diseases will come and go but we need to keep ourselves prepared to fight them. We can only protect ourselves from these diseases by keeping our immunity strong. It is becoming extremely important to take care of ourselves, especially our immunity levels. Immunity, as we all know, is an ability to resist a specific infectious disease. So, a strong immunity plays a crucial role in protecting us. Here are a few home remedies that will help build immunity to keep ourselves strong.
First, let us understand what to eat to build our Immunity or improve immunity naturally? Have simple and easily digestible food throughout the day and ensure that you use green vegetables like spinach and fenugreek leaves in your diet. Spinach is rich in nitrates that produce nitric oxide and has an anti-inflammatory property. This prevents a virus from spreading in the body. Pomegranate juice, beetroot juice, and pineapple juice are also rich in nitrates and help in preventing the spread of the virus in the body.
In between meals, one can have a tablespoon of honey with ginger to soothe the throat as ginger and honey both are antiviral and anti-inflammatory. Herbal tea made up of Tulsi leaves, mint leaves, lemongrass, ginger, etc., should be used to have herbal tea in the morning as well as in the evening. This also builds your immunity. End your day with a warm cup of milk and turmeric. This helps induce sound sleep, and as we all know, good sleep is a must to release proper hormones and to boost immunity.
Here are some top Ingredients for boosting immunity.
First- Turmeric is by far the best studied of all spices. And there are thousands of scientific publications on turmeric against lung, brain, autoimmune diseases, cancers, toxins, and even recovery from surgery. One must incorporate turmeric in their diet. You can eat fresh turmeric, which looks like a fluorescent orange ginger root, or dried in a bright yellow powder. Just a quarter teaspoon daily of powdered turmeric in hot water will add a great immune boost to your health. Now, turmeric is rapidly cleared by your liver, but by adding just a pinch of black pepper, you can significantly get much higher levels in your blood. Some special ingredients present in turmeric such as the turmerones, which have more anti-inflammatory properties than curcumin alone.
Second- Ginger is a spice commonly used for thousands of years by ancient cultures for healing. Your largest immune organ is your gut, and ginger is your gut’s best friend. Phytonutrients such as gingerol give ginger its unique properties shown to help digestion by relaxing your gut and reducing nausea and pain. It works great for motion sickness. Ginger can be added to food in raw salads or can be enjoyed to eat with apple slices, or just sipped with hot water. Just sprinkling an eighth of a teaspoon of ginger powder has tremendous anti-inflammatory benefits.
Third- Peppermint is the most antioxidant-packed common herb. Enjoy it dried or fresh, in soups or salad. And whether you have bad breath from bad germs or congestion or inflammation causing muscle pain, peppermint can help. That minty smell in cough drops and that minty smell in muscle creams is from menthol, which is isolated from mint.
Fourth- Spices add a lot of flavor to leafy greens, which are necessary for your cardiovascular and immune health. By packing your diet with leafy greens, you can make your blood more hostile to cancer cells, reduce inflammation, improve your blood pressure, improve your mental focus, and your physical stamina. There really isn’t a better pill.
Fifth- By far the healthiest drink is green tea. The special immune-boosting phytonutrients in green tea can protect your DNA and has been shown to be effective topically against skin cancer. Orally, you may reduce the risk of a variety of chronic metabolic diseases, seasonal allergies, and pneumonias. A horrible and debilitating skin condition is warts. It actually can cause diseases in different parts of the body.Green tea has specific antiviral properties against genital warts. If you cold brew it, you’ll get more antioxidant content from that cup of tea.
Sixth- Another powerful green leaf is spinach as compared to lettuce. When tested against lettuces, radicchio, and endive, spinach was number one in its anti-tumor effect. It’s softer and milder in flavor and hides quite well when you mix it with other popular leaves and salads. But be sure to wash spinach well, because it’s a low-growing leaf and easily traps in dirt and germs at the stem.
Seventh- Nutritional yeast is another portable ingredient proven to reduce respiratory infection in runners as well as seasonal allergy symptoms. And that’s called nutritional yeast. A spoonful of nutritional yeast daily adds a cheesy flavor without the inflammation of dairy and can improve your mood and overall sense of well-being. There are certain people who shouldn’t eat nutritional yeast, and they are those with Crohn’s disease and hidradenitis suppurativa.
Apart from the immune boosting ingredients , there is another very crucial habit that helps us in boosting our Immunity naturally, that is Pranayama(Yoga) . Remember to breathe correctly as it is a must to ensure that your respiratory system is functioning well. One particular pranayama(yoga) which helps increase nitric oxide in our body is also known as a tranquilizing pranayama. Along with this, pranayama like Anulom Vilom (that is, equal breathing) and diaphragmatic breathing (that is, Bhramari pranayama) are also extremely beneficial.
Another very important activity to keep our immunity healthy and balance is calm mind. We panic sometimes because of social media and news that keep sharing details about the diseases. Remember, a stress-free mind plays a very important role in boosting your immunity.
Understand that these times are tough. However, we need to keep ourselves calm. Since we all cannot step out of the house and are away from near and dear ones, we tend to become stressed. Think positive as you attract only what you think. Positive thoughts attract positive situations.
Finally, rest as much as you can to conserve your energy. It is suggested that drinking warm water is good for a bad throat. And finally, use this time to rest and recover. Read good books, talk to your friends and family, indulge in hobbies which you never had time for. Pray to keep yourself positive, support your body and build your immunity and mental strength. Stay healthy, stay fit, and be happy. Keeping Your Defenses High. By now you know some of the healthiest foods to support your immune system.
Let us see some more tips to stay healthy and protect your body long-term against viruses and harmful infections.
Sleep–
If you don’t sleep for at least 7-9 hours per day then you’re much more likely to catch a cold or suffer from a disease. When you sleep, your brain releases melatonin, the most protective antioxidant in the body for repairing and restoring the trillions of cells. Not getting enough sleep raises your blood pressure and puts stress on the nervous system which in return weakens the immune system.
Fasting–
If you’re eating frequently throughout the day as small snacks, then you are not allowing your body to get enough of a chance to digest. Long-term this weakens your immune system and makes you more vulnerable. Intermittent fasting is a simple diet technique where you eat the same amount of calories in the day, just closer together. For example, you could eat all of your daily meals in a 5-hour window and allow your body the remaining 21 hours to fast. This has an enormous impact on your immune system because it reduces inflammation, oxidative damage, and stimulates the repair of DNA and white blood cells. Fasting also triggers autophagy, a process where your body cleans out viruses and old dead proteins and recycles them into new healthy tissues for a stronger overall body.
Stress–
Mental stress and anxiety cause your adrenal glands to release cortisol which is very destructive to the body in large amounts. Long-term stress weakens your immune system and viruses tend to come out of remission, such as the cold sore virus for example. You must find ways to keep stress extremely low if you want to keep your immunity high. Gentle exercise such as weight lifting, long walks in nature, and physical work are all great ways to help relax the body and release stress and tension.
In short, the immune system is your first and last line of defense against pathogens, so it’s important to keep this strong if you want to live a long and healthy life. Nutrients and natural compounds found in whole foods provide the materials that your immune system needs to fight off harmful invaders. Getting adequate amounts of sleep and keeping your stress levels low also contributes to the resistance of viruses, bacteria, fungi, mold, and parasites, as well as preventing autoimmune conditions and the growth of cancer. These tips help to boost the immunity naturally.
