One question that is on everyone’s mind amid the coronavirus crisis is: how can I boost my immune system to battle COVID-19?
No one truly knows the answer to this question as the cure to this novel virus hasn’t yet been invented. Scientists suggest that this will still be some time—most likely a year—to come up with a vaccine to fight the coronavirus that has killed more than 15,000 people across the globe.
Online claims are rife that our system can be boosted with just about everything from Vitamin C or Vitamin D to other important nutrients. But it’s difficult to establish if these ideas really work, chiefly because the immune system is something easily measurable. It’s a complicated and subtle system with many different components. Helping one segment might damage another, or increasing a certain segment may have nothing to do with fighting viruses.
So, what to do to fight this killer virus becomes all the more challenging. Worse, if you are older or have a basic health condition such as diabetes and hypertension, you are at a higher risk of contracting COVID-19. You should, therefore, take every precaution to avoid it.
There’s a silver lining, tough. Being young and healthy reduces your risk of complication from the coronavirus. If, by chance, you contract the virus, you are likely to feel mild symptoms and recuperate within a few weeks. However, symptoms sometimes do not indicate that you have contracted the virus. In 40% of the people, there are no symptoms of the virus. Therefore, keeping yourself socially isolated and practicing superb hygiene are important to shun the spread of this virus to vulnerable people.
You can boost your immune system through low-carb diet
There are several health benefits of eating low-card foods, as per verifiable research evidence. In fact, it may be extremely crucial nowadays that you keep a healthy lifestyle and focus on diet rich in fiber. Research indicates that diabetics and people with hypertension are more vulnerable to complications from the coronavirus. It’s scientifically proven that low-carb and ketogenic foods can be instrumental in treating and the disease. Furthermore, research suggests that a keto diet cuts the risk for mice infected with flu. But it’s not to suggest that a keto diet will do the same for flu in humans or for treating the coronavirus. However, what harm will it make if we consume diet that can effectively help lose weight and improve metabolic health, thereby enhancing our immune system?
Given these facts, here are some of our important tips to minimize your risk for contracting the virus or having complications from it.
The fundamentals
- Wash hands and quit smoke
Proper handwashing for 20 seconds and quitting tobacco smoking will greatly help you contract the coronavirus. While doing these things are important in normal situation, in extraordinary circumstances like the coronavirus outbreak becomes all the more important and necessary. Smokers, as per research, are at a higher risk of catching infections and suffering serious complications from those infections.
- Get sufficient sleep
Generally, a sound sleep is key to good health—and to maintaining excellent immune system. For example, research shows that people with sleep problems have less immune response to the flu vaccine that those who sleep adequately. In normal situations, you should take at least 8 hours of sleep, and sleeping more or same becomes all the more important in crisis-like situations such as the coronavirus.
- Do proper workout
An extensive body of research shows that those who exercise regularly have minor chances of getting infections. A 2-hour workout daily will help improve your metabolism and boost your energy level and mood. Similarly, try to focus on home exercise and avoid going to facilities like gym as sharing equipment like weights and treadmills is likely to spread the virus.
- Learn to manage stress
The biggest factor that affects your immune system is stress and anxiety. Learn to destress yourself as much as possible, and stop worrying about petty things like enough toilet paper and groceries as this mat adversely impact your immune system. Although it’s difficult to avoid being stressed, as our lives are full of worries and uncertainties, measures such as yoga, exercise, and going for walks, can be taken to contain the problem. Regardless of whether stress management methods boost your immune system, they have the potential to improve your blood pressure, blood sugar, making your life much more pleasant.
- Drink alcohol in moderation, if at all
In stressful situations, people drink alcohol as a managing system. While yoga, nature walks, and workouts are great coping mechanisms, for some they are inadequate, and alcohol becomes inevitable. Nevertheless, research reveals a relationship between enduring heavy alcohol ingesting and augmented vulnerability to infections. Maybe most relevant for the discussion about the coronavirus, some of the studies revealed an augmented risk among heavy drinkers of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), the lung complication responsible for most of the coronavirus-related deaths.
You should be able to know where to draw the line. According to a majority of experts, a rational daily limit is two drinks for men and one drink for women. It’s important to know that a low-carb lifestyle may cut your tolerance to alcohol, so maybe you should fine-tune your consumption.
Vitamin C
Vitamin C has been used for decades for prevention of the common cold. In addition to other functions, this vitamin can help keep healthy skin that offers a blockade to microbes and other injurious intruders. Furthermore, some studies recommend vitamin C may boost the function of certain white blood cells that battle infection. While it’s uncertain whether taking vitamin C is beneficial for the coronavirus, it’s harmless for most people taking up to 2,000 mg per day. For vulnerable individuals and smokers, vitamin C is definitely good, as it’s water-soluble, meaning your body will expel whatever is not needed for your urine. However, very high doses of vitamin C may cause diarrhea or raise the risk of kidney stones.