Boosting Your Covid-19 Immunity & Minimising the Risk of Infection?

The COVID-19 outbreak has exerted a heavy toll worldwide, especially on the frontline workers like the doctors and other healthcare professionals. With the rising number of fatalities and positive cases found around the world, the World Health Organisation declared it a pandemic in March 2020.While the countries are grappling with the imminent risk posed by the Coronavirus to humanity, there are certain basic measures you, as an individual, can take to fight the pandemic. As health experts worldwide have corroborated the importance of maintaining standard hygiene practices like washing hands and keeping a safe distance from others in the public space, there are other methods to keep yourself and your family safe from the deadly virus. And one of the most effective ways is to boost your immune system.The majority of the COVID-19-related deaths that have occurred globally are among individuals aged more than 50 or have had certain pre-existing health conditions like cardiovascular diseases, hypertension, respiratory illnesses, diabetes, etc. The COVID-19 aggravates the underlying diseases, especially among the old-aged, who have a weaker immune system.Even as the healthcare experts are working tirelessly to discover a vaccine and other medications to treat the COVID-19 symptoms, they recommend the people to focus on building the immune system. But, the big question is how to boost COVID immunity to fight the deadly virus?Here is a list of simple yet highly effective ways to improve your immunity and counter the COVID-19 virus attack.

The food you eat plays a critical role in determining your overall immunity and your ability to fight any infections. People who have an unhealthy eating pattern like eating junk food and eating at odd hours are more susceptible to infections and other illnesses than those with disciplinary food habits.Experts recommend eating a low-carb diet as it helps in controlling your blood pressure and sugar levels. Also, it would help if you focused on eating a protein-rich diet to maintain your overall health. Make sure to include lots of vegetables and fruits rich in vitamin C, vitamin A, antioxidants, and other essential nutrients.Certain food items like broccoli, spinach, garlic, mushroom, bell peppers are known to boost the immune system and make it more resilient against infections.

The importance of water in keeping yourself fit and healthy cannot be understated. Dieticians and healthcare professionals from worldwide have corroborated that staying hydrated throughout the day helps lower the chances of infection as the water helps flush out the toxin from the body. Experts recommend having at least 8-10 glasses of water every day, especially warm water, to fight Coronavirus.

There are literally millions of articles and blogs that list down the various health benefits of regular exercise. Today, in the purview of the COVID-19 lockdown, as you stay home due to the lockdown, you need exercise more than ever before to keep yourself active. Also, regular exercise keeps your body functioning at its optimum capacity, strengthening your immunity and increasing your body's natural ability to ward off virus attacks.No, matter if you are a newbie or a fitness enthusiast, 30-45 minutes of exercise every day helps improve your metabolism, which directly impacts the COVID immunity. If you don't work out daily, otherwise, now is a good time to start.

Just as it is important to eat well and do regular exercise, it is critical to get good sleep. Experts suggest that full-grown adults must get at least seven to eight hours of sleep in day; it is one of the best ways to build immunity. If you get less sleep, you may feel tired, and it will also hamper your brain activities.Also, lack of sleep prevents your body from getting sufficient rest, which affects the proper functioning and will have a direct impact on the immunity.

It is quite understandable that as you are staying indoors for a prolonged period and are constantly worried about your loved ones' safety and well-being, it has a major impact on mental well-being. Also, the various disturbing news about Coronavirus can make you feel stressed, which in turn can have an adverse effect on your immunity.So, even as the times are challenging, it is paramount that you try to stay mentally stronger and practice distressing exercises like meditation or yoga. Meditation calms your mind and helps you feel relaxed in all situations. Today, there are thousands of fitness gurus and yoga experts who teach online meditation and yoga. Joining one of these classes can help you keep yourself fit, mentally stronger, and more resilient to the virus.

Certain lifestyle habits like smoking, drinking alcohol, and using other intoxicating substances weaken your immune system and make you more susceptible to illnesses. Besides, regular smoking and drinking alcohol destroy the good cells in the respiratory tract that are crucial to fighting the viruses that enter through the nasal orifices.New research claims that the individuals who consume alcohol every day are at higher risk of suffering from Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS), which is one of the conditions caused by the COVID-19 infection.So, changing your lifestyle habits is vital to building strong COVID immunity.Apart from the above tips to boost your immunity, you must also follow other precautionary measures to minimise infection risk.

You may be aware that COVID-19 is a highly infectious disease. In India, initially, most positive cases were imported cases, which later spread to communities and multiplied rapidly.So, to keep yourself safe from being exposed to the COVID-19 virus, it is advisable that you avoid all kinds of travel unless necessary. And while you are travelling make sure to take the basic precautionary measures like covering your face with a mask, carrying an alcohol-based hand sanitiser and remember to sanitise your hand every time you touch anything or anyone.Also, as far as possible, try to use your non-dominant hand to access handles, doorknobs, etc., to reduce the risk of exposure to the virus.

Since the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic, the IRDA (Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority) has directed all the health insurance companies to cover the COVID-19-related expenses under their existing policies issued to the people. So, if you already have a health cover, you can be sure to get coverage for the COVID-19 hospitalisation expenses.However, if you don't have a health insurance cover, it is high time that you purchase a policy now to get financial protection against the hospitalisation expenses. Today, many insurance companies in India offer several COVID-19 specific plans covering all related costs.A robust health insurance policy with sufficient sum assured is vital to get financial immunity against the high treatment cost.

The information contained herein is generic in nature and is meant for educational purposes only. Nothing here is to be construed as an investment or financial or taxation advice nor to be considered as an invitation or solicitation or advertisement for any financial product. Readers are advised to exercise discretion and should seek independent professional advice prior to making any investment decision in relation to any financial product. Aditya Birla Capital Group is not liable for any decision arising out of the use of this information.