Having a strong and sturdy immune system is the first step towards overall body health. Any kind of toxic substance can weaken our immunity, giving us an array of side effects to deal with. To avoid these effects, it’s vital for every individual to strive for a long-term dose of immunity. This means proper diet, routine workout and regular water consumption should be your daily lifestyle habits. In a nitty-gritty sense, boosting your immune system is simply having the right diet, coupled with an active lifestyle and some supplements to complement it.
So let’s see what are the best sources of boosting immunity:
Since diet plays an imperative role in boosting our immunity, it’s important that you take the right diets and supplements.
1. CITRUS FRUITS:
Vitamin C boosts the formation of white blood cells, which are important in the battle against illness. Vitamin C is abundant in almost all citrus fruits. With so many options, incorporating a squeeze of this vitamin into any meal is simple. Vitamin C is required daily because your body does not create or store it.
Some citrus fruits include:-
grapefruit
oranges
clementines
tangerines
lemons
limes
2. GINGER AND GARLIC:
After feeling sick, many people resort to ginger as well. Ginger can help with sore throat and inflammatory disorders by reducing inflammation. Ginger can also help with nausea. Ginger may also help to relieve chronic pain and also has cholesterol-lowering properties. Garlic not only gives your food a little zing but is also beneficial to your health. Garlic’s immune-boosting properties seem to come from a heavy concentration of sulphur-containing compounds, such as allicin. It softens the hardening of the arteries and helps lower blood pressure.
3. TURMERIC:
It is a common component in Indian curries. This bright and bitter spice has been used to treat osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis as an anti-inflammatory. High amounts of curcumin which gives turmeric its unique colour help reduce exercise-induced muscle damage. It also has a unique potential to improve immunity.
4. ALMONDS:
Vitamin E is often overshadowed by vitamin C when it comes to preventing and treating colds. This potent antioxidant on the other hand is essential for a healthy immune system. It’s a fat-soluble vitamin which means that it needs fat to be adequately absorbed. Almonds, for example, are high in vitamin E and contain healthful fats. Adults only require about 15 milligrams of vitamin E each day. A half-cup portion of almonds (about 46 whole, shelled almonds) offers approximately 100 per cent of the required daily intake.
5. JAGGERY:
Jaggery is an excellent source for boosting immunity. It contains significant amounts of antioxidants and minerals. This aids in the prevention of free radical damage as well as resistance to certain diseases, and it is also considered one of the best sources of iron. This suggests that eating jaggery increases your resistance to infection. Combining jaggery with ghee and eating it after a meal is the best method to consume it. This increases immunity and aids in the regulation of hormonal imbalances. A tiffin concept is a simple snack of ghee, flatbread, and jaggery.
In addition to these, there are some drinks which can be prepared at home and are super beneficial in boosting immunity. Some of these are:
1. KADHA:
Homemade Kadha is the ayurvedic concoction that may be an excellent formulation to enhance fitness and immunity. The wealthy drink is prepared by boiling cinnamon, cloves, basil, carom seeds, black pepper and turmeric in water. To give it a sweetening taste, you can also drizzle some drops of honey. This savoury drink is beneficial to combat cough and cold and facilitates combat respiration disorder.
2. HONEY LEMONADE
Easy homemade drink proves fruitful in holding a leap throat and cough at bay. This natural drink is prepared by boiling 3 to 4 cups of water with grated ginger, a one-inch cinnamon stick, three chopped garlic cloves, one teaspoon of mint juice, and lemon juice. This allows holding the respiration tract hydrated and fights off more mucus.
3. MASALA TEA:
Immunity booster Masala tea incorporates the goodness of healthful substances, including grated ginger, cloves, cardamoms, peppercorns and tulsi. It’s one of the best anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial aids.
Boosting our immune system is a huge and holistic problem. Having the right diet is an imperative step, but we still need to take supplements to augment it to keep our bodies protected from external hazards. These specific foods and drinks will boost immunity, but building up immunity depends on our lifestyle and all the healthy habits we follow in daily life. All the aspects like regular exercise, a healthy diet and proper sleep will lead to a better immune system.
References:-
Kaminogawa, Shuichi, and Masanobu Nanno. "Modulation of immune functions by foods." Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine 1.3 (2004): 241-250
Cooper, Edwin L., and Melissa J. Ma. "Understanding nutrition and immunity in disease management." Journal of traditional and complementary medicine 7.4 (2017): 386-391.
Ibrahim, K. S., and E. M. El-Sayed. "Potential role of nutrients on immunity." International Food Research Journal 23.2 (2016).
Lee, Ga Young, and Sung Nim Han. "The role of vitamin E in immunity." Nutrients 10.11 (2018): 1614
Raqib, Rubhana, and Alejandro Cravioto. "Nutrition, immunology, and genetics: future perspectives." Nutrition reviews 67. suppl_2 (2009): S227-S236
Ahkam, A. H., Hermanto, F. E., Alamsyah, A., Aliyyah, I. H., & Fatchiyah, F. (2020). Virtual prediction of antiviral potential of ginger (Zingiber officinale) bioactive compounds against spike and MPro of SARS-CoV2 protein. Journal of Biological Researches, 25(2), 52– 57.