Life After Corona
By now we are
well into July, and all of us would have spent about four months of Corona
induced lockdown; spending time as advised by the medical and other
authorities.
People in
employment, those who run any sort of business and factories have opened;
people have started going back to pre-lockdown activities as per guidelines. Restrictions
are being reduced and relaxations are being increased, but precautions against
Corona have to be practiced for not just several months, but for may be couple
of years.
There are small
lockdowns happening in different states, like in Mumbai and Uttar Pradesh.
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| Relaxations with Restrictions |
Experts from
every field are unanimous that it is our Immunity
that shall safeguard us from falling prey to Corona. In the Future, our survival
will be based on our Immunity. The healthier we are the more resistance in our
body against any infection.
WHAT
DOES IMMUNITY MEAN ? According to medical experts Immunity is the
capability of our body to resist harmful microorganisms from entering its cells.
Immunity involves both specific and nonspecific components. The nonspecific
components act as barriers or eliminators of a wide range of pathogens
irrespective of their antigenic make-up.
In
simple terms, we have to build up a barrier within ourselves which can resist
the entering of harmful bacteria/virus into our body cells.
“Narayana Health” of Bengaluru has this to say
for building your immunity …
So let us take these factors one by one.
FOOD : For this, eat a balanced diet. To explain, food can be divided into
four categories.
1. Carbo-hydrates which are cereals like
wheat, rice, bajra, maize. Their preparations like chapatti, dosa, idli etc;
also are starchy vegetables like potatoes, arabi, sweet potatoe, jimikand etc. This
category gives energy & vitamin B.
2. Protein items like pulses, milk,
mutton, fish, eggs and milk products. Their preparations like dal, chole or
kadi (from besan). This category gives vitamin D essential for teeth, bones and
overall physical growth.
3. Vitamins and Minerals, fruits and
vegetables, which meet our mineral, salt, vitamin A and C, and iron
requirement.
4. Fatty materials like ghee, oil,
butter, cheese and sugar. This category provides energy. One should make a
habit to use only natural vegetable oils such as Mustard oil, Til oil,
Groundnut oil etc. ‘Refined or double refined’ oils are manufactured using
chemicals, and should be avoided.
Home cooked meals are best. Roughage
should be included in our daily diet in form of Salads, breakfast and snacks.
Avoid packaged/frozen pre cooked food.
They contain preservatives & stabilizers, which are very harmful in the
long run.
Following items get
special mention as they shall help keep your immune system strong.
Citrus fruits - Almost all citrus fruits are high in
vitamin C. The recommended daily amount for most adults is: 75 mg for women and
90 mg for men. Eat
fruits in whole rather than juicing them out, remember roughage and fibre play
a big role in good health and stomach
Red bell peppers – By weight, red
bell peppers contain almost 3 times as much vitamin C as an orange, besides
being a rich source of beta carotene. Besides boosting your immune system,
vitamin C may help you maintain healthy skin. Beta carotene, which your body
converts into vitamin A, helps keep your eyes and skin healed.
Broccoli - Broccoli is supercharged with vitamins
and minerals, vitamins A, C, and E, as well as fiber and many other
antioxidants. It is one of the healthiest vegetables you can put on your plate.
Cook it as little as possible. Research shows that steaming is the best way to
keep more nutrients in the food.
Don't like broccoli? We have a
tasty yet super fast recipe - stir fry your Broccoli in your favourite natural
oil - along with some garlic pods and little bit of salt and pepper - quick
yummy healthy snack is ready!
Garlic
–
It adds a little zing to food and is a must-have for your health. It value is
in fighting infections, slowing down hardening of the arteries, and helping
lower blood pressure. Its immune-boosting properties seem to come from a heavy
concentration of sulfur-containing compounds, such as allicin. Just toss in
few garlic pods in whatever you are cooking! Voila!
Yogurt - contains live and active cultures which
stimulate your immune system to help fight diseases. Also a great source of
vitamin D,it boosts our body’s natural defenses against diseases. Plain yogurt
is best, , but if you have sweet tooth, eat it with, jaggery, fruits,
honey. Avoid processed sugar
Almonds - Vitamin E in almonds is a powerful
antioxidant but is a fat-soluble vitamin, which means it requires the presence
of fat to be absorbed properly. Nuts, such as almonds, are packed with the
vitamin and also have healthy fats.
Coming onto our hot favourites -
KADHA :
Kadhas, are typically home-made
concoctions, prepared in almost all Indian households as an immunity booster
drink. Now a day’s our good old ‘Kadha’ has got an
international name ‘IMMUNITY TEA’ you may say.
It’s simply made with items
already found in Indian kitchens.
A simple kadha can
be a concotion of - Clove, Cinnamon, Turmeric, Cumin, Tulsi, Thyme, Ginger, Lemon, Honey
etc. all boiled together in water for
several minutes before it is strained to drink
Extracts of Ginger , Tulsi, Turmeric are
medically advised and are very effective. Kadha can be taken even if you have
no problems, as it increases body immunity.
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| Kadha made from simple herbs is effective |
Golden
Latte :
Yes! Yet another fashionable nomenclature for our good old ‘HALDI
DOODH’. This is another
homemade immunity booster. Mix half a
tablespoon of turmeric powder in a cup of warm milk (you may sweeten it with
half a teaspoon of Honey). Take this cup of ‘Golden Latte’ at bedtime once in a while. Turmeric is a wonderful antiseptic ingredient; you can also
take it whenever you catch a cold,
cough or are just feeling exhausted. It works miracles.
LIGHT
EXCERCISE : Light exercise
is a must as it keeps the body fit, active and digestion in proper order. It
makes you feel healthier, more energetic and can help you feel better about
yourself. Long workouts are not necessary, unless you are building up abs.
Lot of videos are available online
on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and like, from where you can select your daily
routine exercises. Brisk walking, cycling, strength Yoga are some very commonly
practiced easy exercises which should be definitely made a part of one’s daily
lifestyle. Children can indulge in Skipping, Dancing, kickboxing, cycling also.
STRESS
FREE :
Keeping tension and stress at bay is the major part of good health, happy
mental condition and over all wellbeing.
WHAT
is STRESS ?
• Stress
is the consequence of any situation / action which places special
physical/mental demands on a person
CAUSE
of STRESS
Conditions
that cause stress are called stressors.
They can be ….
Work
related, Social Environmental Psychological
Interpersonal Family Oriented. Individual reasons
National
Institute of Mental Health India says that major sources of stress for working
people are job related.
HOW
to COPE
Light
regular exercise for physical fitness Relaxing
Time
management Networking
Meditation
& Deep Breathing Time
off
Plan
your life with social / family support
DEEP
BREATHING : 70% of the metabolic waste of the body is eliminated through
breathing, only 30% through perspiration, urination & stool. Our body gets
the energy to purify & clear itself of toxins & stress and rejuvenate
through breathing. Deep breathing for few minutes will instantly give you
energy through fresh oxygen to the blood / brain and you shall feel immediately
de-stressed.
Let’s practice a quick mindful deep breathing technique -
Put a, 5
minutes time alarm in your phone, now… count till 5 and along with it take a
deep breath in…count ill 10 and release the breath out from your mouth. Do this
for 5 minutes. (till phone beeps). Feel refreshed.
There are lots
of apps available these days which will help you maintain your Mindfulness and
meditation goals. Example - Calm, Youper, Sound Healing and many more Choose
from the list of the app and stick to the one you can relate to and do regularly.
Start with your
mindfulness sessions and try indulge in meditation slowly. Start meditating
at-least for 10 minutes a day. Increase it to half an hour then to an hour
slowly. Meditation doesn't only effect positively on your emotional well-being
but also opens arenas of many realms and wishful manifestations.
SLEEP
: A good night’s restful sleep is another key
to good health and immunity. The amount of sleep you need by a general
guideline, for adults is, at-least 7 to 8 hours. Below 7 hours of sleep, one
will be feeling tired all day long. 5 hours of sleep is = Sleep Deprivation.
Harvard Medical
School has this advice on sleep requirements ....
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| courtsy - vectorstock.com |
So, all the
above is more than any vaccine one needs for self immunity without any side
effects.
As suggested in the beginning .... our future lies in our immunity.... just
like Intel inside in computers, we have to have solid immunity inside!
Remember, the
tools to fight Corona are in your Body !
Very well written article. Though it's a bit long, but has all the necessary information about different things.
ReplyDeleteNo doubt, Corona is still spreading badly, we all have to protect ourselves. Beside food, our mental state need to be calm.
Keep it up, your blogs always are very interesting and informative.
Thank You for follow my blog regularly. Your comments have been valuable.Yes, this post is slightly long, but it is so because several points needed discussion.
DeleteVery well written article. Though it's a bit long, but has all the necessary information about different things.
ReplyDeleteNo doubt, Corona is still spreading badly, we all have to protect ourselves. Beside food, our mental state need to be calm.
Keep it up, your blogs always are very interesting and informative.
Very emphatic slogan "Tools to fight Corona are in your body". Sharpen the tools by any means described in this blog post "Life After Corona" authored by seasoned Engineer & eight decades young gentleman, a reputed bolgger Shri I. M. LAL. It is stress buster for Corona phobics.
ReplyDeleteThank you Sir, for your valuable comments and high praise. I try to write what comes to my mind. Good that you have liked them.
Delete