The most burning question in the world right now is – how to stop the virus that is caging millions of people around the world in quarantine?

It is difficult to answer with one word since there is no one-time magical solution to it.

But here is what we can try – follow the natural eating habits and methods that humans have been following for ages to boost their immunity.

Specialists are also saying that boosting your immune system is the “easy and effective” way to prevent coronavirus. However, there is no guaranteed food or method to prevent COVID-19.

But this much is guaranteed that including these eating habits and methods into your lifestyle will boost your immunity and make you a lot healthier and energized.

 

Garlic – Immunity Boosting Superstar

The cloves of garlic contain such magnificent power of healing that three thousand years ago the great Greek physician Hippocrates (known as the father of medicine) prescribed his patients one clove of garlic per day to stay in good health.

It is not necessary to eat the entire garlic at one go. Just one little clove would be enough.

As each clove of garlic contains –

5mg calcium
12mg potassium
More than 100 kinds of sulphuric ingredients which are ideal to fight against bacteria and infections
During World War 2, the injured soldiers affected with gangrene were also treated with garlic.

Garlic is very effective in treating flu and cold symptoms. Research has shown that regular intake of garlic can reduce chances of catching flu by 63% and the ones who are already affected by 70%.

Garlic performs better than most medicines prescribe for flu because antibiotic medicines destroy the harmful as well as the good bacteria in your body. As a result, the good bacteria that you need to stay healthy go missing.

You may have already noticed digestive problems, gas problems or loose motions, diarrhea etc among people who take antibiotics.

Whereas, garlic targets the harmful bacteria only and keep the good bacteria alive. No wonder this garlic is called to be the Immunity Boosting Superstar.

But to gain the full benefits of garlic you have to eat them raw because cooking or drying will reduce its sulfur enzyme contents which mainly contains the “antibiotic” characteristics.

The main problem with garlic however is its pungent smell. It may not be possible to get rid of the smell entirely but there are some tips that you can follow to reduce it to minimum –

Eat the fresh fat cloves, not the damp ones
Peel of the skin entirely. If there is any green sprout left over, peel that off as well
Wash the clove in the water well
Brush your teeth after every intake

 

Black Seed & COVID-19 Affected Nigeria’s Governor

Recently Nigeria’s governor, Deyi Macindi, went to isolation after being tested positive for coronavirus. When he was tested again after a few weeks, his report came negative. According to Seyi Macindi, his main three medicines against coronavirus were – carrots, vitamin C and black seed oil with honey. While beign affected, his only focus was to boost his immunity and that worked. His recovery story from coronavirus caused quite a stir all over Nigeria. The news was reported on Guardian on 9th April,2020.

 

Black Seed might Prevent COVID-19

A research published in ChemRxiv about how black seed might successfully prevent COVID-19 has drawn a lot of attention.

The paper titles as, “Identification of Compounds from Nigella Sativa as New Potential Inhibitors of 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19): Molecular Docking Study”, was written by Salim and Missoum who used molecular docking method to find contents in the back seeds which are thought to be effective at preventing COVID-19.

Humans had discovered the benefits of black seeds about 2000years ago. From headache to toothache to high blood pressure, excessive bleeding and lung infections – black seeds cure it all! Hence the black seed goes by the name Habbatul Barakah or the blessed seed.

Yoghurt – Source of Good Bacteria

Your gut health plays a crucial role in maintaining immunity in your body. 70% cells of the immune system are located in the gut where they produce antibody and cells that can detect and kill harmful bacteria.

Since a lot of germs pass through your food, an outer layer lines your stomach whose sole function is to stop these germs from penetrating your stomach.

The stomach also contains good bacteria inside which helps maintain the immune system. These bacteria are called prebiotic.

Hence if you intake food that already contains prebiotic, that would come as a great advantage to your gut health and your overall immune system. Yogurt, cheese and olives contain this prebiotic.

 

Papaya – Claim Your 157%!

Papaya contains plenty of vitamin C!

Compared to the amount of vitamin C required by an adult - papaya alone contains 157% of it. Papaya is also rich in potassium, vitamin B, folate etc which boosts the immune system.

 

Broccoli – Nature’s Perfect Food!

Broccoli is a wonderful source of vitamin C.

Often we think that vitamin C is mostly contained in the citrus fruits. But the content of vitamin C in Broccoli is a lot higher than any citrus fruit you can think of.

Such as, 100gm of broccoli contains 89mg of vitamin C!

Broccoli is also rich in vitamin A, E and various kinds of antioxidant and fibers which made it the “perfect food”.

But broccoli’s nutrients will stay effective as long as you cook it lightly. Best would be to eat it raw. If that is not possible then try to eat it steam boiled.

 

Spinach is Best When Lightly Cooked

Spinach is also very rich in vitamin C. It also contains calcium, magnesium, potassium, vitamin A, folate and various kinds of antioxidants and beta carotene which gives a great boost to your immune system.

The best thing about spinach is that it is very cheap and available in our country throughout the year.

But spinach also works its best when lightly cooked. Instead of eating raw, it is better to cook it lightly, or else all of its vitamins and others contents will diffuse out.

 

Citrus fruits

We already know that citrus fruits contain vitamin C. But do we know that it is vitamin C that boosts the immune system?

Research has found that sufficient amount of Vitamin C can fast cure flu symptoms and infection in lungs.

Hence a team of medical scientists from Zhongnan Hospital in Wuhan had treated patients with excessive lungs infection with vitamin C.

But we have to note that our Vitamin C cannot be stored for long periods in our body. Hence we have to intake sufficient amount of Vitamin C regularly every day.

 

Ginger Balances the Immune System

Although recommended for treatment of various kinds of diseases, ginger is best for curing sore throat, flu, joint pain etc. Ginger also helps to get rid of nausea.

When your immunity starts to lower down, ginger boosts it. And when your immunity is too high, ginger lowers it.

That is, ginger maintains the perfect balance of your immune system.

Also it has been found in research that bacteria which become drug resistant, i.e. when taking medicines can no affect it, gingers are effective at killing those bacteria as well!

 

Capsicum – Twice the Vitamin C of Citrus Fruits!

Compared to the prices of other cheaper veggies, most middle class families in our country do not prefer capsicums. But do you know that the amount of vitamin C in capsicum is a lot higher than the expensive orange, grape etc citrus fruits we buy?

Capsicum contains minimum twice as Vitamin C!

Next time, before crossing out capsicum from your grocery list, decide for yourself which is the cheaper source of vitamin C for your family.

 

Apple – The Food for Good Bacteria

Vitamin A, B, C, E – apples have it all!

Apples also contain pectin, a kind of fiber that acts as prebotic. Prebiotic is the food for good bacteria in the body which directly contribute to boosting your immune system.

 

Green Tea Helps Combat Germs

Both green tea and black tea contains plenty of antioxidants known as flavonoids. EGCG, the main flavonoid compound in green tea boosts the immune system. Black tea also has this property but it loses it when it goes through processing.

Green tea also contains amino acid L-theanin which helps the T-cells in blood produce compounds required to fight against germs.

 

Fast Food – Your Body’s Worst Enemy

Did you notice that all the food that we mentioned above to boost immunity does not contain a single fast food or processed food?

As Dr. Zafor Masud, the Head of Oncology Department of Bangladesh Medical College, said,

“Recently we are observing that young people in Bangladesh are having more cases of cancer than the older ones.

The cancers that were previously observed among 56/60 year olds are now found among 30year old adults.

One of the main reasons for this is the food habit of today’s youngsters as they are increasingly being drawn to fast foods.

Fast food such as burgers, hot dogs etc uses stored or overcooked meat which contains high amount of nitrate. This later on converts into nitrous urea which causes colon and rectal cancer.

Let alone helping your body, fast foods only contributes in causing you fatal complex diseases.

So if you are worried about catching COVID-19, then stay as far away from any kinds of fast foods as you can.

 

Sugar Blocks The Immune System

Experiment in laboratory has demonstrated that sugar blocks the function of white blood cells which play a fundamental role in boosting your immune system.

Further research has also revealed how high blood sugar causes increase of infections and other complexities in the body.

But crossing out sugars from your table is not the only solution. Processed carbohydrates such as white rice, white flours etc that we consume everyday contains sugar as well.

 

Good Sleep

Sleep plays an important role in maintaining the immune system. Research has shown that lack of proper sleep limits the manufacture of a protein cytokines which is required to combat and cure infection in the body.

A research was once conducted among 153 volunteers who were injected with a type of influenza virus known as the rhinovirus.

It was observed that those who had slept for 7 hours were affected 3 times more that the ones who slept for 8 hours.

So how long should you sleep?

The general answer is - adults should sleep from 7 to 8 hours, teenagers from 9 to 10 hours and younger people for 10 hours.

For those who do regular meditation, 6 hours is sufficient.

 

TV, YouTube, Facebook

The greatest enemy to sleep in this era is social media and internet.

When we glue ourselves to the screen till late night, we can neither find the time to sleep nor can we find good quality of sleep.

Especially for the fact that we are all at home now and TV channels, YouTube and Facebook are updating about coronavirus all the time, most of us cannot take our eyes off the news till late at night.

This disturbance in your sleep health is actually making you more vulnerable to attack by coronavirus. And if you by any chance get attacked at this time, then it will be at a point where your immunity is already low due to lack of sleep.

 

Go to Bed at Same Time Everyday

Sleep specialists say that the way to ensure good sleep is to go to bed at same time everyday. And it is best if you do so by 11.30 pm.

Also, try to sleep from 12.30 to 2.30 because your body’s biorhythm wants you sleep during these hours.

Avoid mobile, laptop, computer etc type of blue screen in evening hours. Because when you are exposed to them at those hours, they hamper your sleep quality.

Instead try to occupy yourself with anything but technology in the evening. May be read a book or do manual works etc.

 

Stay Physically Active

Those who exercise regurlay and do physical labour has much less chance of suffering from infection. This is what research says.

Those who used to take walk in park or exercise outdoor might be wondering what to do now.

For you and everyone else, the best exercise in circumstance is Quantum Yoga. Quantum Yoga is an easier and simpler version of Yoga that can bring you just as much benefit.

The poses or asnas that are most suitable for this time are – Cow Face pose, Fish pose, Plow pose, Wind-Relieving pose and Rabit pose.

Details about these yoga poses are available in the Quantum Method website and in the Quantum Yoga book by Madam Nahar Al Bokhari. You can also download Quantum Yoga app on your smartphone and start right away.

Another way to stay physically active is to do your household works by yourself.

Now that giving leave to housemaids has increased workload for women, men should asist their mother, sister and wife in all the household works. Helping around the house will enhance your family bond and also give you the opportunity to stay active.

 

Stress and Immunity

According to scientists, chronic stress or anxiety lowers the immunity in your body as they release cortisol hormone which damages the T-cells.

T-cells are the cells which send alert signal to the brain when attacked by any virus or bacteria.

Cortisol also reduces the release of IgA. IgA are antibodies lining the stomach and lungs that initiates the first attack against virus and bacteria.

 

Fear & Tension Weakens Immunity

WHO had once conducted a research on how fear, panic, tension affects the immune system. They conducted it on 49 first year medical students.

One month before the exam (when there was no tension or panic about exams) the students’ blood samples was collected. It was seen that they had healthy and effective number of T-cells at the time.

But when these students’ blood samples were collected during the final year exam, it was seen that the number of T-cells had reduced and so did their effectiveness.

From this the scientists concluded that when we suffer from tension, worries panic etc, our immune system become less effective.

 

Meditation is the Solution

Where is the solution then?

Actually, all your tension, worries, fear, panic are created by your mind. You will notice that the same incident can make a person panic while having no effect on another person.

It depends on how well you can control your mind, how peaceful and stable you can make it.

For this you need meditation. Daily two sessions of half an hour meditation will make you calm and stable.

Also, the restlessness you might be feeling out of staying home all the time can be cured by meditation as well.

Every morning join in the My Family meditation along with your family members

And in the evening join in Prayer Meditation.

Also you can choose meditation as per your requirement from Quantum Method website.

 

Others

Washing hands frequently is the best solution. In fact, this is the only given solution to COVID-19 to date.

The coronavirus spreads when you touch any surface containing the virus; and of course we continuously move around our hands here and there. So if you regularly wash your hands for 20 seconds then all the viruses will clear off.

Also take care that no part of of you skin dries out because germs get easily attracted towards dry skin. You can use coconut oil for that.

And drink plenty of water.

Along with your body, it is also important to keep your throat wet.

Here is a technique you can follow – in morning and evening, while brushing your teeth, gurgle with warm water a few times. Research has shown that this greatly reduces chances of catching infections.