TING THE CORONAVIRUS THROUGH DIET AND LIFESTYLE CHANGES
illness and severity of symptoms.
Crush or slice it before you eat it. Before cooking with crushed garlic, let it stand for ten minutes and use more than one clove per meal.
PRACTICALLY SPEAKING
If you are looking to strengthen your immu- nity, the best way is through a combined approach – by eating healthily as well as adopting these science-backed lifestyle changes.
TRY PROBIOTICS
Probiotics can help improve the availability of nutrients from food and produce com- pounds that strengthen immunity. Taking probiotic supplements is linked to a reduced likelihood of getting colds, and making them shorter in duration and less severe.
Probiotics can be found in: • natural yogurts • artesan cheeses • miso, kimchi and sauerkraut
ENJOY SOME SUNSHINE
Sunshine is good for immunity and bad for viruses.
One reason that flu is a winter problem is because the virus is transmitted best at cool- er temperatures and low humidity.
Research also suggests that it makes dis- ease fighting cells in the skin move faster and work more efficiently. Sunlight also helps our bodies to make Vitamin D (as dis- cussed earlier).
GET SOME FRESH AIR
As well as getting microbes from our diets, the air we breathe carries bacteria, which together with organisms from soil and plants, are deposited in our mouths and airways as we breath and swallow. These are known to be beneficial to our immune sytems.
In an urban environment that is low on microbial diversity, city-dwellers should therefore try to go for a walk in gardens or the park, eat home-grown or organic food or head to a local farmers’ market for organic produce.
LOWER STRESS LEVELS
Living under constant stress, even low-grade, causes the body to produce too much corti-
MAY 2020
It almost immediately tips our immune sys- tem into imbalance and people who don’t get quality sleep or enough sleep are more likely
sol, the stress hormone. Over time, elevated cortisol lowers your resistance to fighting off infection and contributes to poor sleep and higher blood pressure.
Exposure to nature can lower stress levels and improve immune-cell function. Nature is particularly good for strengthening our main virus-fighting cells and cancer-surveillance system. Aromatic substances called phyton- cides from trees and plants bring amazing health benefits.
If you can’t get outdoors to decrease stress and assist with immune balance, you could put woody essential oils in an oil diffuser.
Meanwhile, essential oils eucalyptus and tea tree oil have antiviral properties that may protect you against infection from viruses. Use in an oil diffuser to inhale them. Studies also show that lavender essential oil has a calming effect, so it can help ease anxiety and improve sleep. Add a few drops to a warm bath or use the oil in a diffuser.
STAY ACTIVE
Exercise improves the immune and metabolic systems, incresing your resilience to fight off infection.
Regular exercise increases your body’s production of antibodies and immune cells, causing them to circulate more rapidly. Plus it helps expel toxins from your body, which can energise your cells and metabolism. So it’s vital to take some form of exercise, at least ten minutes a day, ideally 30 minutes, doing a mixture of cardio and strength training.
SLEEP ON IT
Lack of sleep adversely affects your immune system.
Also factor into your daily routine time to get some fresh air and sun (if out), as well as make time to exercise: a brisk walk round your local area will do - anything’s better than nothing. It will make you feel better, reduce your stress levels and better equip you to fight off the threat of the coronavirus.
95 2 to get sick after being exposed to a virus.
A single night of poor sleep leads to a decrease of up to 70 per cent of our natural killer cells’ activity – our first-line of defence against viruses. Research has shown that people who sleep for six hours a night or less are four times more likely to catch a cold than those who sleep more than seven hours.
MEDITATION
Even five minutes a day of guided meditation, or simply sitting quietly and focusing on your breathing, can positively impact your wellbeing. Meditation lowers your heart rate and blood pressure and reduces stress. Plus, it’s calming so unsurprisingly it also helps you sleep.
LOWER ALCOHOL INTAKE
Alcohol damages your immune system, making you more vulnerable to infections and increasing your risk of potentially fatal illnesses such as pneumonia. If you are drinking more than the recommended limit of 14 units per week then try to cut back.
QUIT SMOKING
Smoking harms the immune system and can make the body less successful at fighting disease. It increases the risk for several immune and autoimmune disorders. Most smokers now use e-cigarettes or vapes and these are medically proven to be far less harmful. If you haven’t made the changeover yet then do it now.
CONCLUSION
It’s all well and good, talking about eating all this healthy food and making lifestyle changes, but what about the reality of the situation. Taxi drivers have to eat when they can, often during unsociable hours and are stuck in a car a lot of the time. The key is using the information detailed here and sensible forward planning. Think about what alternative healthy food to buy moving forward. Prepare it in advance and bring it with you whilst working. Incorporate as much of the good stuff as you can both at home and whilst working.
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