Strong immune system to ward off coronavirus

ISLAMABAD (APP): A weak immune system makes the body prone to the attack of all sorts of diseases ranging from benign to the deadly ones; therefore, a strong immune system is quintessential to ward off the diseases.

Now, the question is how to boost up the immune system? The health experts recommend a balanced diet, adequate amount of sleep spanning over seven to eight hours and lots of liquids intake preferably water.

As the saying goes, “You are what you eat”, not only this much, eating a healthy or balanced diet successfully wards off bacterial and viral diseases, say doctors. They further say, besides following hygiene and social distancing, balanced diet is a must to emerge victorious in fight off against the deadly Coronavirus which is devouring scores of lives across the globe with every passing moment.

A balanced diet they say comprises vegetables, fruits, proteins, fats and carbohydrates. Vegetables and fruits have vitamins and minerals which provide energy to the body on daily basis to carry on the normal routine. One such fruit is lemon having loads of vitamin c which is helpful in fighting the diseases.

A nutritionist Dr. Nosheen said lemon a vitamin C rich fruit available the year round was essential to fight off the viral and bacterial diseases. “You can have it yourself and give it to your children in the form of lemon water,” she added.

Besides lemon, she recommended Bell pepper (Capsicum), garlic and ginger in the category of fruits and vegetables. Proteins including meat, eggs and milk were also part of balanced diet; she said adding, white meat having Omega-3 and Omega-6 was also recommended as these are essential for brain health, reduce anxiety and depression.

Moreover, these unsaturated fatty acids help in having good sleep and fight off auto immune diseases, she added. Proteins, Nosheen said were essential for muscles build up as well as to strengthen the immune system. Laying emphasis on stress management, she said immune system was also weakened due to stress.

To manage the stress she suggested workouts and physical activity while staying indoors. She floated the idea of deep breathing exercises to de-stress the body. Elaborating, she said, during exercise, hormone endorphin is released that triggers happiness in the body.

About the sleep, another component of immune system, she said sleep duration should range from seven to eight hours daily. “Complete the recommended hours of sleep,” she advised. It is pertinent to mention here that some herbal remedies can also be helpful in fight against the Corona virus.

Hakim Tufail in this regard recommended green tea with an additional component of original (organic) turmeric which is available these days in abundance. A teaspoon of honey added to warm water can also be useful in fight against the corona virus, Hakim Tufail said.

Moreover, a teaspoon of honey added to warm water together with half teaspoon of powdered turmeric and a half lemon was also a good remedy for fighting off the viral disease.