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June 24, 2020 By Swati Savla 6 Comments

Can Moringa Help You Fight the Coronavirus?

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, there have been many suggestions on boosting immunity against the virus. These include lemon, ginger, citrus fruits, vegetables, turmeric, etc. all of which are high on antioxidants, have anti-inflammatory or anti-bacterial properties – aiding the fight against the virus and helping us maintain optimum health. Imagine getting all these properties under one umbrella. Sounds interesting? One superfood can provide you all of these and that superfood is Moringa – vouched for by our ancestors as well.

Why is the Ayurveda Prescribed Moringa Valued Globally?

Almost all parts of this tree (roots, leaves, pods, flowers, seeds) are utilized in varied ways.
It has Vitamins like A, B complex (folic acid, pyridoxine, choline), C, D, E & K (4 times Vitamin A of carrots), 7 times Vitamin C that of Oranges, 2 times the protein of Yoghurt, 25 times more iron than spinach.
It is abundant in protein, calcium, potassium, iron, chromium, magnesium, selenium and zinc.
Phytochemicals present in Moringa include tannins, phenolics, saponins, anthraquinones, etc. and flavonoids like Quercetin, Isoquercetin, kaemfericitin, isothiocyanates, all of which have shown to have antioxidant, antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties.
These nutrients are not destroyed after drying or boiling.
It doesn’t leave behind hygiene as well. Moringa oleifera leaf powder was as effective as soap for washing hands when wetted in advance to enable antiseptic and detergent properties from phytochemicals in the leaves.

With all these benefits and properties, the magical Moringa can help you boost your immune system as well as ward off illnesses. Give it a try now but before you do, do consult your doctor or nutritionist.

We hope this article helps you. For more articles on moringa, nutrition et al, check out Healthy Reads or tune in to experts on GOQii Play.

Stay home, stay safe, eat healthy and #BeTheForce

May 12, 2020 By Sunita Arora Leave a Comment

How to Support Older Adults During the Coronavirus Pandemic

Currently, elderly people are vulnerable and at the highest risk of experiencing significant health complications due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Being socially isolated also creates a panic, affects mental and physical health of the elderly. Due to the pandemic, most older adults are not able to take walks, exercise and have limited access to their daily healthcare needs. Though the lockdown is necessary, it is essential for older adults to feel connected in order to avoid depression or helplessness. Loneliness, anxiety and uncertainty give rise to chronic stress, depression and insomnia in older people.

How Can You Help Older Adults In Your Neighborhood?

During this time, it becomes important to help older adults in our neighbourhood, especially the ones living alone. Here, I’ll be sharing some tips which families and caregivers can use to keep older adults disease-free, happy and mentally fit!

If you have parents or grandparents you’re not living with, give them a call to provide regular emotional support.
Ensure that an older adult’s daily needs and essential requirements like medicines, fruits, food, etc. are taken care of.
Take additional efforts to check and confirm that they are maintaining proper hand and respiratory hygiene.
Older Adults are more sensitive in the current situation. To safeguard them, it’s better that they should avoid stepping out for any reason as much as possible.
If routine check-ups can be done via phone consultation, please do so. Go to the hospital only when necessary.
Guide and educate the older adults in your area with the latest updates, precautionary measures, etc. Keep them informed!
Provide extra care if needed as some of them are on multiple medications due to chronic illnesses and sensory problems such as loss or difficulty in vision, hearing, etc.
Before self-medication with any drug, please consult a doctor.
Family members need to be super sensitive to the early symptoms of COVID-19 and testing if needed should be promptly done. This, however, should not give rise to panic, self-isolation and stigma.
Psycho-social issues are vital and families need to be sensitive to them. It is natural to be stressed, but signs of excessive panic, depression, sleep problems need urgent attention from a qualified mental health professional.
The elderly need to be involved in decision making even in times of crisis. Their rights, self-respect and dignity must be preserved and protected.

We hope this article helps. For more information or sessions on helping older adults, tune in to experts on GOQii Play.

Stay home, stay safe and #BeTheForce

April 1, 2020 By Navnee Garg Leave a Comment

Debunking Myths Around the Coronavirus Remedies

Social media has definitely played a major role in spreading the information and awareness about the onset of the coronavirus. While technology and the vast world of the internet provide you with a lot of useful information, there are also sources which produce false news which can be harmful. There have been a lot of unproven, fake remedies for the virus which have been doing the rounds on social media.

The agenda of this article is to spread awareness and bust all myths related to remedies for COVID-19.

Coronavirus Myths vs Facts

1. Claim #1: Drinking water every 15 minutes to keep the throat moist can prevent COVID-19. Water will wash down any virus in your throat into your stomach, where the acid will kill it.
Fact: There is no proven theory which states that drinking water will work against any type of respiratory virus. But ideally, hydration is good as it helps with all bodily functions.

2. Claim #2: Holding your breath for 10 seconds without coughing means that you are safe!
Fact: Being unable to hold your breath for more than 10 seconds without coughing may occur when you have fibrosis, but a diagnosis is much more complicated than this. Also, fibrosis is not a symptom for coronavirus. If you are having breathing issues, this could mean that you have an infection — with coronavirus or any pathogen – or that another health issue is taking place. The researches for changes at tissue level in the body due to the coronavirus are still under process.

3. Claim #3: Eating Garlic can prevent COVID-19
Fact: There is no proven research for any food which helps to prevent or cure the virus. WHO states that Garlic has “Antimicrobial properties” which may help you build your immunity but definitely not kill the virus.

4. Claim #4: The virus does not survive in hot weather or under the Sun.
Fact: The experts are still unsure about how the virus would react as the temperature rises. The virus is already spreading in countries like Singapore and Australia which are presently hotter than India. There is no doubt in the fact that the virus has the potential to continue spreading across the range of temperature and humidity as per the current situation of China.

5. Claim #5: Getting a flu vaccine will help with the coronavirus.
Fact: COVID- 19 is caused by the novel coronavirus whereas flu is caused by influenza A and influenza B strains. The symptoms and precautions may be similar but the cure will be different as the viruses are different.

6. Claim #6: Coronavirus is Man- Made.
Fact: Don’t believe everything you read on the internet. Experts are still trying to figure out the exact source, but it is likely to have originated from bats and was transmitted through them.

7. Claim #7: Taking a hot bath can prevent coronavirus.
Fact: Taking a bath with hot water is risky as it can burn the skin. The fact is that your normal body temperature remains around 36.5°C to 37°C, regardless of the temperature of your bath or shower. This will not protect you from the virus.

8. Claim #8: Spraying alcohol or chlorine all over your body kills the coronavirus.
Fact: Spraying such substances can be harmful to clothes or mucous membranes (i.e. eyes, mouth). Both alcohol and chlorine can be useful to disinfect surfaces, but they need to be used under appropriate recommendations.

9. Claim #9: Coronavirus only affects older people, younger ones are not susceptible.
Fact: The fact states that no age group is defined to be prone to be susceptible. Older people and people with pre-existing medical conditions (such as asthma, diabetes, heart disease) appear to be more vulnerable to becoming severely ill with the virus.

These are few of the false rumours that have been frequently circulating and many of us would have even fallen prey to it. WHO states that the only proven precautionary step is washing hands frequently. By doing this, you eliminate viruses that may be on your hands and avoid infection that could occur by then touching your eyes, mouth, and nose.

Also the best way to spread awareness about any remedy is by knowing the source of the information and confirming the authenticity of it. Being responsible citizens of our country, it is our duty to share and help others but not at the sake of false rumors.

We request you to read, verify the information by authentic sources like WHO, CDC and then circulate the information on social media. #GadheMatBano! Know the right facts, stay at home, stay safe and stay Healthy.

For home workouts, tips to build immunity and to stay up-to-date with the current news on COVID-19, tune in to GOQii Play.

#BeTheForce

March 16, 2020 By GOQii 3 Comments

7 Foods To Build Immunity Against the Coronavirus

With the Coronavirus pandemic consuming one victim after another, it has become increasingly important to protect ourselves against it. Apart from all of the other safety measures which we can take, including wearing a mask while traveling to crowded places, avoiding crowded places or washing our hands with soap at regular intervals, one should also focus on building their immunity. A good immune system can help you fight off any virus or infection. One of the best ways to build your immunity is nutrition but before we get into that, let’s understand what Immunity is.

What Is Immunity?

As the old adage goes, ‘Prevention is better than Cure’. Build a good immune system to prevent disease. The Immune system is an amazing protection mechanism situated inside every human body. It is designed to defend you against millions of bacteria, microbes, viruses, toxins and parasites that love to invade the body. To understand the power of the immune system, all that one needs to do is to look at what happens to a living being when it dies. This might sound gross but it does tell us all something very important about our immune system.

When something dies, its immune system (along with everything else) shuts down. In a matter of hours, the body is invaded by all sorts of bacteria, microbes, and parasites. None of these things are able to get in when the immune system is strong, but the moment the immune system stops, the door is wide open for diseases to breed. Once you die, it only takes a few weeks for these organisms to completely dismantle your body and carry it away, until all that’s left is a skeleton. So safely, one can conclude that a strong immune system keeps all of that dismantling from happening when one is alive.

The immune system is complex, intricate and interesting. And there are at least two good reasons for every individual to know more about it. First, it is just plain fascinating to understand where things like fever, hives, inflammation, etc. come from when they happen inside your own body. You also hear a lot about the immune system in the news as new parts of it are understood and new drugs come in the market — knowing about the immune system makes these news stories understandable.

Now that we have understood what the Immune System is, I would like to take you through how the immune system works and how the immune system can be boosted with a proper diet.

Foods That Can Help You Build Your Immune System

It takes at least more than an apple a day to keep the doctor away. One should ensure that your body and the immune system function smoothly by rounding out your food plate with plenty of colorful servings of fruits and veggies, plus 8 to 10 glasses of water a day, at the very least. The following ingredients can add that extra virus-fighting punch to your meal plan.

1. Yogurt
Probiotics, or the “live active cultures” found in Yogurts are the healthy bacteria that keep the gut and intestinal tract free of disease-causing germs, although they’re available in supplement form. A study from the University of Vienna in Austria found that a daily 7 ounce dose of yogurt was just as effective in boosting immunity as popping pills.

Your optimal dose: 2 servings of 150gm each in a day.

2. Oats and Barley
These grains contain beta-glucan, a type of fiber with antimicrobial and antioxidant capabilities more potent than Echinacea, reports a Norwegian study. When animals eat this compound, they’re less likely to contract influenza, herpes, even anthrax; in humans, it boosts immunity, speeds wound healing, and may help antibiotics work better.

Your optimal dose: At least one in your three daily servings of whole grains.

3. Garlic
This potent onion relative contains the active ingredient Allicin, which fights infection and bacteria. British researchers gave 146 people either a placebo or a garlic extract for 12 weeks; the garlic takers were two-thirds less likely to catch a cold. Other studies suggest that garlic lovers who chew more than six cloves a week have a 30 per cent lower rate of colorectal cancer and a 50 per cent lower rate of stomach cancer.

Your optimal dose: Two raw garlic cloves a day and add crushed garlic to your cooking several times a week.

4. Tea
People who drank 5 cups a day of black tea for 2 weeks had 10 times more virus-fighting interferon in their blood than others who drank a placebo hot drink, according to a Harvard study. The amino acid that’s responsible for this immune boost, L-theanine, is abundant in both black and green tea—decaf versions have it too.

Your optimal dose: Drink in moderation. Recommended 2 cups a day. To get more antioxidants from your tea bags, bob them up and down while you brew.

5. Fish
Selenium, plentiful in shellfish such as oysters, lobsters, crabs, and clams, helps white blood cells produce cytokines—proteins that help clear flu viruses out of the body. Salmon, mackerel, and herring are rich in omega-3 fats, which reduce inflammation, increasing airflow and protecting lungs from colds and respiratory infections.

Your optimal dose: Two servings a week (unless you’re pregnant or planning to be).

6. Mushrooms
For centuries, people around the world have turned to mushrooms for a healthy immune system. According to experts and several studies, mushrooms increase the production and activity of white blood cells, making them more aggressive. This is a good thing when you have an infection.

Your optimal dose: Shiitake, Maitake, and Reishi mushrooms appear to pack the biggest immunity punch; experts recommend at least ¼ ounce to an ounce a few times a day for maximum immune benefits. Add a handful to pasta sauce, or sauté with a little oil and add to eggs

7. Citrus Fruits :

When you catch a cold, it is recommended that we should have Vitamin C. as it helps build up your immune system. Vitamin C increases the production of white blood cells and these are key to fighting infections. Some popular citrus fruits include oranges, grapefruit, Kiwi and lemons. Because your body doesn’t produce or store it, you need daily vitamin C for continued health. Almost all citrus fruits are high in vitamin C. With such a variety to choose from, it’s easy to add a squeeze of this vitamin to any meal. Doctors have been recommending Vitamin C during this time of widespread infections

Your Optional Dose: Vitamin C supplement is recommended. But, before taking any supplement consult your doctor.

The above foods have proven to have boosted individuals’ immune system and produce more white cells in the body. Eat healthy and build your immune system. It will help you fight against all illnesses including the Coronavirus (COVID-19). So what are you waiting for? Get on the path of healthy eating and keep your immune system active and more energetic than ever.

For more tips and preventive measures against the Coronavirus, tune in to our experts on GOQii Play. Do leave your thoughts and queries in the comments below!

#BeTheForce