Food is directly linked to your health. Eating healthy foods can improve your health and unhealthy foods can impact your health negatively. Foods that contain a rich amount of nutrients are known as healthy foods. Some foods such as bone broth
contain a good amount of nutrients. Consuming these foods can improve your overall health.
Foods can give you a good amount of energy, improve your mental health, and boost your physical performance.
In this article, we will discuss some foods that are rich in energy and good for overall health.
Beets:
Beets contain many health benefits. It can increase stamina by boosting energy. Due to its amazing benefits, beets are getting popularity.
According to various studies, beetroot contains a good amount of antioxidants. It also contains carbs, fiver, and sugar. The antioxidant compound in beetroot can improve blood flow and production. All these components in beets can boost the energy levels in the body.
Popcorn:
Popcorns are an excellent source of low-calorie foods. They are used as snacks and contain a good amount of fiber and carbs. It can keep you full and boost your energy levels. Some people also use some other ingredients while cooking pop corns to increase the nutritional value and taste.
Seeds:
Seeds are a great food source that can be cooked and used as snacks. They contain healthy omega-3 fatty acids and improve digestion. Seeds are a great source to boost energy levels and increase stamina.
Edamame:
Vegetable-type soybeans are known as edamame. Their nutritional value, taste, and color is different from regular soybeans. Edamame is rich in carbs, protein, and fiber. They contain different nutrients that are good for health including folic acid and manganese. Edamame is also a rich source of various vitamins and minerals.
Fresh Vegetables:
Eating fresh vegetables regularly is a great way to keep yourself fit, healthy, and energetic. If you are not a fan of vegetables, go for vegetable broth It contains great nutritional value and good for health.
Conclusion:
A balanced diet is important if you want to live a long and happy life. Unbalanced diet or unhealthy foods can impact your health negatively.
How much vitamin C should I take?
Fit and well people with normal lungs and healthy immune system would require only a small dose of vitamin C (100mg) to prevent the infection. This could be taken as supplement as well as having fruits and vegetables rich in vitamin C.
For those patients with mild disease who want to prevent a progression to a more severe disease, I would recommend the ‘Scurvy Treatment Protocol’ which is 1-2 grams per day for 3 days taken orally, followed by 500mg for the next 7 days. By then they should feel much better, but they might want to continue taking at least 100mg daily until full recovery.
The best oral form of vitamin C is ascorbic acid, very well absorbed through the gut with great bioavailability. But I advise my patients to continue consuming rich sources of vitamin C in food, as mentioned above.
Secondly, vitamin D supports and modulates the immune system function. Studies show that people with low levels of the vitamin have susceptibility to infections and to autoimmune conditions, such as rheumatoid arthritis and lupus.
Like vitamin C, vitamin D activates both limbs of the adaptive immune system (namely, T and B cells) to work at full capacity as one disciplined army. It stimulates the T cells to increase their numbers to develop weaponry such as cytokines to destroy cells taken up by the virus, and prompts B cells to divide rapidly to produce the antibodies necessary to tag and to prevent future attacks from this invader.
The problem is that vitamin D is deficient in people living at 42 degrees latitude north or higher, including the UK. We are simply not able to synthesise enough vitamin D via the skin during the winter months (November to February.)
Apart from the vitamin D in the UV rays of the sun, its sources include oily fish, salmon, tuna, herring, mackerel, sardines, egg yolks, beef liver, cheese and mushrooms, especially shiitake.
Cod Liver Oil is also a great source, in addition containing vitamin A & E and Omega 3. You may want to revisit your childhood, when your mother insisted on you taking your daily teaspoon!
Vitamin D is fat soluble, which means that you do not have to worry about taking it every day. A regular weekly dose is fine. And it is impossible to overdose on it through sunlight and food – nature will adjust!
How long do I need in the sun?
If you are exposing your face, arms and lower legs, a sun exposure of 9 minutes suffices if you are Caucasian but you probably need 2.5 times longer if you have a darker skin, like African, Afro-Caribbean or South Asian.
On the pharmacological side, the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology has suggested 2 dosages for different age groups. The recommended doses range from 1000IU to 4000IU, and from 2000IU to 10,000IU per day.
These are just journal guidelines. Your doses should be determined according to your blood level, your lifestyle and risk level. Please contact your GP to get your dose calculated before starting your supplement.
Thirdly, it is important to move. Elderly people and those with underlying health conditions are deemed to be high risk for progressing to a severer form of Covid-19 lung disease, the problem being their inadequate respiratory system and their inability to process oxygen properly.
This puts a strong responsibility on us all to move adequately.
You should aim to achieve cardio-pulmonary fitness, which is your ability to extract oxygen from the environment and to pump oxygenated blood around your body to meet your organs’ needs.
To achieve this, you need to engage in steady, continuous exercise for a reasonable duration of time (30 to 60 minutes.) This improves the absorption of oxygen across the lung membranes into the blood stream to be distributed to the rest of the body. As a bonus side effect, you also get your respiratory mucous membrane and the ciliary action actively working to get rid of invading viruses.
In addition, this exercise would make your heart and circulation more efficient. As you know, the heart output equals the stroke volume multiplied by the number of beats per minute. Your heart does not need to beat fast if it contracts strongly enough to circulate more blood with each beat. That is why elite athletes have very low resting heart rate.
A good circulation helps to mobilise the immune system cells from all around the body to resolve the lung infection. Increasing reports suggest blood clotting in the lung circulation is the culprit in severe lung disease. Giving a small dose of blood thinning agent heparin (5,000 units, twice daily) has helped many patients to recover, and now this become a routine treatment.
How do I exercise during lockdown?
Gardening, DIY and tidying and cleaning the house are all excellent exercises. You can also upgrade to running on the spot, squats, push-ups, pull-ups and lunges. (Nelson Mandela performed 45 minutes of running on the spot, as well as other exercises, each day of his incarceration in a 2.1metre2 cell – so it is possible!) You can choose a range of exercises that suits you best by going to, “You Are Your Own Gym”.com, which also lays out videos on how to do them.
Fourthly, hydration is a key tool to get through the hard times. Taking frequent warm fluids will not only hydrate you but will also wash any microbes that reach your throat, down to be killed by your stomach acid.
We are all aware of the importance of avoiding dehydrating fluids such as alcohol, tea and coffee, and taking warm drinks such lemon, lime and hibiscus, which are also rich in vitamin C.
Recent reports suggest that a few cups of citrus tea a day prevent the attachment of the virus to the mucus membranes. Propolis, in the form of an inhaler or spray, was found to do the same as an effective treatment of COVID-19 cough.
Liquorice was found to inhibit viral replication during the 2003 SARS pandemic, and a recent report found that glycyrrhizin, the active ingredient in liquorice, increases intracellular zinc, a very potent anti-viral agent. EGCG in green tea seems to have the same property.
Lastly, breathing exercises are absolutely essential, because they keep the muscles supporting the lungs strong, as well as oxygenating the body, helping you to fight the virus.
The Wimhof method is a great breathing exercise, working as follows:
a) Relax by sitting or lying down
b) Take 30 breaths – breath in through the diaphragm, through the chest to the top and then release but not all the way out, and then breath again, repeating 30 times
c) On the 30th breath, release but not all the way out and hold for 60 seconds
d) After 60 seconds, inhale and hold for 15 seconds
e) That was round 1. Repeat for round 2 and at part c) hold for 90 seconds
f) Repeat for round 3 and again hold for 90 seconds
g) Allow your breath to return to normal and move slowly, starting with fingers and feet.
Tips to Strengthen Your Immune System
There is a lot of information online, but here are the basic tips on how you can strengthen your immune system to help your body fight off COVID-19.
Sleep
If you are sleepy, put down whatever it is that you are doing and go take a nap. Your health is the most important thing during this time. A sleep-deprived immune system has lower chances of fighting off the virus.
You need to get at least six to eight hours of sleep every night. Make sure to sleep in a dark room, and set regular sleep-wakeup hours.
Avoid Stress
Make sure to avoid stressful situations. Lower your stress levels amid this pandemic. Stress affects your immune system. So, make sure to find ways to lower your stress levels by exercising or meditating. Avoid reading things online that would trigger stress and anxiety. Perform activities that will help relax your mind and body.
Balanced Diet
People are more susceptible to viruses and bacteria when they are nutritionally deficient. It is important to eat nutritional foods to help boost your immune system. Include leafy vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, beans, and grains into your diet. Avoid
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