M.Sc in Applied Nutrition, B.Ed (Food and Nutrition)
Coronavirus was declared as a global pandemic in the year 2020. During this trying time, the most searched word on internet is ‘Immunity’. Let us delve into the topic to find what immunity is and how to boost immunity quickly to stay healthy.
Immunity refers to the body’s ability to prevent the invasion of pathogens and to fight against it. Pathogens are foreign disease-causing substances, such as bacteria and viruses that may invade into the body. Antigens are attached to the surface of pathogens and stimulate an immune response in the host body activating specific antibodies so that body’s defence mechanism can fight against it. There are three types of Immune system in our body.
-Innate immunity,
-Passive immunity,
-Acquired (adaptive) immunity.
Certain pre-existing illnesses like diabetes, hypertension and respiratory issues are at a higher risk of developing Covid 19 complications as they have compromised immune system. Also, it aggravates with age as the general immunity reduces as our age advances. Our immunity system works as a result of balance and harmony with other system of the body to keep it healthy. So, in order to boost immunity and lead a healthy life free from diseases, lifestyle and diet modifications required. Let’s see these steps to boost immunity quickly-
- Eating Nutritious food - The nutrients that we get from food particularly protein, vitamins and mineral, polyphenols from spices plays a pivotal role in keeping our immune system function properly. Our daily diet should provide us with variety of foods that contains essential nutrients to boost our immunity. Simple spices from our kitchen like turmeric , cinnamon, cloves, black pepper contains essential polyphenolic compounds that helps to boost immunity. Other immunity boosting foods are Citrus fruits that contains good amount of Vitamin C, essential amino acids from milk, meat, It has been seen in a study that multivitamin and multimineral like zinc, folate, iron, selenium, copper and vitamins like A, D,C, E, B6, and B12 are all important to boost immunity level.
- Controlling Stress- it has been seen in studies that long-term stress leads to chronically elevate levels of the steroid hormone cortisol which essentially blocks the immune system of the body. So, keeping stress level in check is crucial in order to boost immunity.
- Sound sleep- It has been seen that our body heals and regenerates while we sleep. While we sleep our body produces and distributes key immune cells and chemicals like cytokines, T cells and interleukin 1, thus boosting our immune system.
- Exercising regularly- Regular exercise lowers our risk of developing chronic diseases as well as viral and bacterial infections. Exercise helps to increase the release of endorphin,a hormone that helps to boost mood and energy keeping stress level in check. Yoga and aerobic exercises are directly linked to keep our body healthy and sound.
- Avoiding smoking and alcohol intake also helps to boost immune system of our body.
Essential nutrient from diet at times are not sufficient to meet requirement of an individual, thus leading into compromised immune system and poor health. Therefore, in order to fill the void Multimineral supplement is an obvious choice in daily diet. Daily Multivitamin with Herbs by BestSource Nutrition is scientifically designed and contains 20 significant herbs with perfect blend that provide essential vitamins and minerals to boost immunity of an individual.