Dr Gowri Kulkarni lists simple ways to boost immunity naturally
Adequate Sleep: Pay attention to your internal body clock, also known as the ‘circadian rhythm’; which keeps you active. The circadian rhythm is a 24-hour cycle which your body follows. A portion of your brain known as the hypothalamus controls the circadian rhythm and regulates the periods of sleepiness and wakefulness throughout the day. Adequate sleep is required to stay healthy as well as to boost your immunity.
Avoid stress: Pushing your limit is always nice but not if it drops a mountain of stress on you. It will take away your leisure and rest time which will subject your body to stress. Set your boundaries depending on how much you can take on a daily basis and never ignore leisure time.
Stay hydrated: Drinking water helps to smoothen the process of digestion. It helps to flush the waste from the intestines which relieve constipation. Drinking lots of water can even boost your mood and alter your emotions for the better. It has a significant impact on alleviating depression and helping with sleep disorders.
Avoid smoking: Cigarette smoke is full of carcinogens (cancer-causing substances) and is responsible for over 13 types of cancer. Smoking is majorly responsible for periodontitis— a gum infection that weakens/ destroys the bone structure that supports the teeth that can make it fall out and contributes to digestive disorders such as heartburns, gas-related problems, increased acidity, intestinal cramping, diarrhea, etc.
Consume a balanced diet: Inorganic food can slow down our metabolic rate considerably as the chemicals and toxins in organic food pose a great threat to our thyroid. On the other hand, organic fruits, vegetables, and grains keep the fat burning process running at full speed as it does not affect thyroid in a negative way. Eating a healthy and heavy breakfast alerts your metabolism to wake up and start working. You can turn to oats, yogurt, eggs, figs, granola, etc for a good breakfast.
Sunlight exposure: Almost every cell and tissue in your body has a Vitamin D receptor and without enough of it, dietary calcium cannot be absorbed. Deficiency of Vitamin D can lead to loss of muscle mass and strength, lower immunity levels, higher blood pressure and risk of cancer. Vitamin D has two forms: the animal form is vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) and the plant form is vitamin D2 (ergocalciferol). The daily intake varies from age to age but however, it is recommended to maintain your Vitamin D level between 100-150 nmol/l.
Develop the habit of walking: Walking is the simplest exercise one can do to stay fit. It makes your heart stronger and healthy by providing more oxygen and nutrients to our organs. Walking releases an influx of antibodies like neutrophils— a form of white blood cells that help kill invading organisms and natural killer cells — another type of white blood cells that help the body destroy both tumours and viruses.
Avoid sugar: Cutting down sugar will help you to stay away from obesity and other diseases that are triggered by excess weight gain. Insulin is the main fat storage hormone in the body. Frozen yogurt, tomato sauce, fruit juice, white rice etc are rich in sugar and starch and heavily stimulate the secretion of insulin in your body.
Intake natural immunity boosters: Including cinnamon, oregano and lemons in your diet could help in keeping your immune system prim and proper. Eating yogurt is great for your gut, they are filled with probiotics and can help you to stay away from digestive ailments.
laugh: laughter acts on the endothelium, which is the inner lining of the blood vessels causing them to relax and expand. It, in turn, increases the blood flow that is beneficial to the heart and the brain. laughter releases endorphins which are the body’s natural feel-good chemicals and laughter releases endorphins in excess.
The writer is Head of Medical Operations, DocsApp.