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Coronavirus disease has now become more contagious and it spreads even quicker than a rumor. This virus started in China (Wuhan) back in December 2019 and it has spread to majorly all countries/regions according to WHO. Since then, WHO has declared this disease to be a global pandemic. All these cases of infection show that Coronavirus disease is a threat to human health as there are no known vaccines or drugs to treat it.

Coronavirus disease affects the upper respiratory tract (nose and throat). The upper respiratory tract is more infectious because pathogens can easily get in and out and easily replicate. Also, since the upper respiratory tract is cooler than the lower respiratory tract, the virus can replicate easily. The common signs and symptoms seen are cold, cough, fatigue. In cases where the virus manages to enter the lower respiratory tract (lungs), the infection becomes severe. The symptoms are pneumonia, difficulty in breathing, fever, respiratory tract infection and respiratory failure in critical cases.

The goal of this post is to help you stay healthy by boosting your immune system. Boosting your immune system will help recovery and limit infection rate.

sleep

Sleep deprivation affects our immune system in several ways so if you are not sleeping, you are not repairing your body. This results in a weakened immune system making you prone to infection.

What happened here is that, when we are sleep deprived, our body’s response to T-helper cells becomes low. T-helper cells are natural killers that help to kill an infection immediately by recruiting other parts of the immune system to kill the pathogen. So having low T-helper cells makes us susceptible to infections.

I know these are trying times with a lot of things going, everything is becoming difficult and stressful but we all need to stay positive. If you can add an extra hour to your sleep, it will help boost your immune system and help you stay healthy.

personal hygiene

We all know this, we have heard and read this several times but it is still worth mentioning. Personal hygiene is important to help boost our immune system. Make sure all your surroundings are neat, wash your hands thoroughly with due diligence. Also, make sure you cover your mouth when sneezing or coughing.

supplements

There have been lots of suggestions saying that supplements work to prevent coronavirus but that is not true. There are no clinical trials that proved that supplements prevent coronavirus disease. What is known about supplements is that they can help boost your immune system. For example:

vitamin D

Vitamin D effect against acute respiratory tract was studied and reports from the British Medical Journal showed that vitamin D protected users from the respiratory tract infection. This study was carried out back in 2016 with the title ” Vitamin D supplementation to prevent acute respiratory tract infection“.

The meta-analysis from approximately 11,000 participants in 25 randomised trial indicates that taking a daily or weekly dose of vitamin D helps reduce the risk of the respiratory tract infection. In addition to that, people that were deficient of vitamin D prior to the study highly benefited from it. Even people without any sort of deficiency also benefitted from vitamin D supplement.

Major sources of vitamin D are sunlight, food such as salmon, mackerel, bluefish, butter, milk and supplements

vitamin C

As you know, I am a big advocate of vitamin C especially when it comes to its beneficial effect for the skin. The very first thing to know about vitamin C is that it is a powerful antioxidant. This means that it donates electrons when you have free radicals within the body. Free radicals mostly happen when there is an unpaired electron which causes damage within the body. Basically we are supposed to have two electrons, the intake of vitamin C will then donate electrons to stabilize the unpaired electron. By doing this vitamin C is protecting us against pollutants and toxins we encounter every day.

As for immunity, Vitamin C supports the white blood cells to kill microbes such as bacteria or viruses. So one big benefit of vitamin C is its ability to fight infections. Therefore, when you are deficient of vitamin C, you are most likely prone to infections. The white blood cells need vitamin C to function.

Sources of vitamin C include green and red peppers, strawberries, broccoli, citrus fruits, melons, tomatoes, spinach, mustard greens.

Hydrate

Drinking at least 8 to 10 glasses a day help to remove toxins through urine. So make sure you are well hydrated. You can also check your hydration level through your urine. Dark yellow coloured urine indicates you still need more water to stay hydrated. Aside from water, you may also get water through your diet by eating cucumber, lettuce.

Avoid alcohol intake

Alcohol has proven to impair the immune system in several ways. It disrupts the ability of the immune system to fight against infection. It alters the gut microbes in the gastrointestinal tract which affects the maturation and function of the immune system. In addition to that, it affects the white blood cells by damaging and facilitating the entry of microbes into circulation.

workout

It is very important to self isolate right now but that should not stop you from taking a few minutes to walk. Even if it is mild, you could walk around the compound and back. It does help boost your immune system. If you cannot take a walk, you can dance to your favourite artist or practice Yoga. Anything you enjoy doing within your vicinity to get you moving.

Social distancing

Coronavirus disease stays incubated inside a host for up to 2 weeks before symptom manifestation. This means that we truly don’t know who is infected and who is not. That is why so many places are shutting down to prevent more people from getting infected. Social distancing does work but that does not mean social disconnection, you should have your phones and connect with loved ones to feel close during his time.

conclusion

This period has truly been a difficult time for everyone and I hope we are all safe out there. I hope we are all practising the safety procedures from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Also boosting our immune system is another safety measure we can take to help protect us from common respiratory infections. I am already taking Vitamin D supplements and practising safety measures.

Please note: Before taking any supplements, consult your healthcare provider. This post is mainly for educational purposes.

Photo by bruce mars on Unsplash

research sources

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