10 Ways To Boost Your Immune System During Lockdown

10 Ways To Boost Your Immune System During Lockdown. Not going anywhere isn’t the time to eat anything and consume too much alcohol. With the recent coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak,you should be concerned about staying healthy and maintaining a healthy immune system. The following tips can benefit your body and boost your defenses against viruses, bacteria, and other pathogens.

1. Take Vitamin C

For decades, Vitamin C has been used to help prevent the common cold. Among other functions, this vitamin can help maintain healthy skin that provides a barrier to germs and other harmful invaders. While it’s unclear whether taking a Vitamin C supplement is beneficial for COVID-19, for most people there’s no harm in taking up to 2,000 mg per day.

2. Take Vitamin D

As both a hormone and a vitamin, Vitamin D plays a number of important roles in health. If your Vitamin D levels are low, you may have a better chance of staying well if you supplement. It’s probably wise to take a Vitamin D supplement right now, especially if you’re at increased risk for COVID-19. Your body can make Vitamin D on its own when your skin is exposed to sunlight, so try to get some sun whenever you can.

3. Garlic

Garlic, a popular and pungent herb with a characteristic aroma, is widely believed to have antibacterial and antiviral effects, including helping to fight the common cold. People who take garlic have fewer colds and recovered more quickly from colds.

4. Exercise

The importance of working our can never be exhausted. People who exercise tend to suffer fewer infections than those who do not. Since people are not allowed to go out, gym, walking and running are out. But you can try yoga, swimming and home based exercises. Gardening is also a good way to get some outdoor activity.

5. Keep Your Hands Clean

Frequent handwashing is a simple and effective way to prevent the spread of respiratory infections like colds, flu, coronavirus and other infectious conditions. Some germs are easily transmissible from person to person when we come into contact with one another. It’s easy to transfer germs from your hands to your nose, eyes and mouth if you touch them.

6. Eat Right

Processed foods including candy, soda, fast food, and snack foods contain empty calories that do not provide your body with vitamins, nutrients or fiber. They often also contain chemicals and preservatives that are not good for your body. Eat more fruit, vegetables, lean meat, healthy fats, and whole grains to give your body and immune system everything they need to function at their best. Optimize your dietary habits to support your health.

7. Drink In Moderation

In times of stress, some people turn to alcohol as a coping mechanism. While meditation, nature walks, and mindfulness exercises are likely healthier ways of coping, for some they aren’t enough. The trick is knowing where to draw the line because chronic heavy alcohol consumption can cause an increased susceptibility to infections.

8. Don’t Smoke

Smokers have an increased risk of catching infections and suffering severe complications from those infections. Any substance that depresses your immune system is not something that you want to use. We shouldn’t need more reasons not to smoke, but a time like this highlights the importance even more.

9. Manage Your Stress

While acute stressors may temporarily enhance immune functions, chronic stressors likely diminish immune function. Worrying about finances, stressing about having enough toilet paper, and focusing on the uncertainties of the future can raise cortisol levels, which may negatively impact our immune function.

10. Get Adequate Sleep

Sleep is important for health in general, and as a bonus it may also benefit our immune function. Many studies have shown that those with insomnia had, on average, less immune response to the influenza vaccine, and those with worse sleep had altered expression of genes related to immune function.