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Basic Home Remedies That Can Help You Recover From The Infection

recover from the infectionThe nasty Coronavirus can have a damaging effect on your body, making it weak, even after months of its occurrence. It mainly causes damage to the lungs as well as other organs. Hence, the body requires time to recover to its formal state. A few common symptoms observed from the infected people include fatigue, loss of appetite and even breathlessness. Even if you have battled the virus, you still need to shower a lot of care and love to your body to ensure complete healing. Here are some home remedies that can help you recover from the infection.

Home Remedies To Recover From The Infection

  1. Take rest: To heal your body, it is important to take enough rest before you resume your old routine. Some doctor’s advise on staying isolated for a period of 7 days as the virus may still remain in your body. Keep a low pace for doing your regular basic routine to prevent fatigue. Your sleep is greatly disturbed at the peak of the infection in the hospital. Stress has an impact on your sleep quality. Try returning to your regular sleep-wake cycle by creating a sleep environment that is free from any disturbances like too much noise or light. Avoid smoking, alcohol and caffeine. To sleep better, you can try having a sleep-inducing drinks like poppy seed-nutmeg milk which can be prepared by mixing a teaspoon of roasted poppy seeds (khus khus) and a pinch of nutmeg in half a cup of warm milk before bedtime.
  2. Eat healthy and nourishing meals: The right kind of meals will help in regaining your strength. Your diet should include good quality proteins such as boiled eggs, legumes, nuts, seeds and lentils that will repair your body. To ease your digestion, you can eat small portions of meals. Include fresh colorful seasonal fruits and veggies that will provide antioxidants and help in speedy recovery. Since your body has been drained, it is important to eat calorie-dense foods rich in healthy carbs such as whole grains, brown rice, sweet potatoes and milk that can boost your immune system and give you energy. Spices and herbs like turmeric powder, basil or tulsi, star anise, cinnamon, garlic, ginger, triphala powder, pepper can be added in your diet to strengthen the immune response and uplift your energy levels.
  3. Stay hydrated: Sip warm water throughout the day that will help soothe your throat. Have a kadha to get rid of congestion, recover faster and keep your immunity strong. To prepare a kadha, boil 1 tsp of carom seeds, ½ tsp organic turmeric powder, a small piece of crushed ginger and a tsp of black pepper in a glass of water. Reduce it to half and drink this concoction post dinner. Take steam inhalation once in a day and do salt water gargles that helps to cleanse your respiratory tract and improve your lung capacity.
  4. Exercise a little daily: Exercising is essential as it improves blood circulation and detoxifies the body. But start with slow, low intensity exercises such as walking by moving around at home, doing seated marching, leg lifts, side bends, forward and backward stretches. Do not push yourself too hard and monitor your breaths while doing any activity. Practice breathing techniques such as diaphragmatic breathing and pursed- lipped breathing which help in enhancing lung capacity. It is also crucial to engage in activities like meditation, spiritual practice or listening to music that can improve your psychological state and reduce stress.

We hope these remedies help you recover from the infection. Do let us know your thoughts in the comments below. For more tips on dealing with the COVID-19 infection, check out Healthy Reads or tune in to LIVE sessions by experts on GOQii Play.

For more guidance, you can speak with your GOQii Coach by subscribing to GOQii now: https://goqiiapp.page.link/wssu 

Stay home, stay safe and #BeTheForce

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COVID Care: Home Remedies For COVID related Cough

covid related coughIf you or your loved one is recovering from the COVID-19 infection, taking proper care for curing your COVID related cough is important. Currently, cough is one of the most common symptoms of the viral infection and can manifest in the form of both wet (productive) cough as well as dry persistent cough.

COVID Related Cough Needs Care!

I am sharing a few remedies that might help you deal with a COVID related cough. These supportive remedies are not meant to replace any medically prescribed cough medications, but to give you additional relief. If your symptom of cough worsens with difficulty in breathing, please report to your treating doctor at the earliest. 

Some of the emergency symptoms are:

  • Difficulty in breathing
  • Extremely high temperature, 103 F or above
  • Chest pain or pressure
  • Confusion
  • Severe cough with choking
  • Blue lips or face

Tips To Manage Wet Productive Cough

  1. Water: Lukewarm water helps in loosening of phlegm and allows for an easy exit out of the system. Drink a generous serving of lukewarm water, sip by sip, throughout the day. For added benefit, throw in 5-7 leaves of fresh ‘tulsi’ in your water jug.
  2. Steam inhalation: 3 times a day will help loosen up the phlegm congested in your lungs. Make sure to take deep breaths (with your eyes closed) when you inhale steam.     
  3. Lie down on the right or left side: Lying in these positions helps drain phlegm from the respiratory tract. While intermittent proning will also improve breathing, do not lie down on your back which is not a cough-friendly resting position.

Tips to Manage Dry Cough

  1. Warm liquids: Warm tomato soup, rice gruel, moong dal soup, herbal decoction (of dried ginger, clove and honey) or plain warm water may help you have an immediate relief from a dry cough. In case you don’t have any soothing drink around, swallow repeatedly.
  2. Turmeric tea: Ingredients required- 1/4th tsp dried turmeric powder (Haldi), pinch of black pepper (Kali Mirchi), 1 spoon of jaggery (Gudh) and 1-2 drops of organic ‘ghee’. How to prepare? Boil a glass of water > add turmeric, black pepper and jaggery in it > allow to simmer till quantity reduces to half > Turn down the flame, strain the tea in a cup and allow it to cool > once warm add 1-2 drops of ghee before drinking. Adding few threads of ginger root and pinch of clove while boiling, makes it a more powerful antiseptic and anti-inflammatory agent while Ghee makes the curcumin from turmeric more bio-active in our body.
  3. Gargling with salt water (1/4th tsp salt dissolved in a glass of water) is an age old remedy for cough and sore throat. You may also add a pinch of turmeric powder in your gargle water for a more antiseptic effect or gargle with a betadine solution dissolved in water (1part betadine in 3 parts water). Do not drink or swallow saline water or betadine.

Hope these remedies provide you some help in dealing with COVID related cough! We wish you and our nation a super speedy recovery! For more useful tips like these, check out Healthy Reads or tune in to LIVE sessions by experts on GOQii Play. 

For any further queries, reach out to your GOQii Coach by subscribing to GOQii now: https://goqiiapp.page.link/wssu 

Stay home, stay safe and #BeTheForce 

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Sleep Series: Sleep Tips and Summary

sleep tips and summaryThe internet is full of various sleep tips and advice but which one is the best one to follow? Don’t worry, I have shared some sleep tips which I’ve personally experimented with and benefitted from over the last couple of years. Hope they help you too! 

Sleep Tips For A Good Night’s Rest 

1. Day Time:

  • The sleep preparation process starts from the time you wake up
  • What you do during the day, impacts how you sleep. Sleep is not just a standalone event that happens in the evening.  Sleep is designed to unwind, scavenge, reorganize and rebuild from the activities of the day. So, be cognizant of what you do in the daytime
  • Get some Sunlight, especially first thing in the morning. This sends a clear signal to “Body Clock” that it is Daytime – it will automatically set up the night time. 
  • Try walking without any footwear on natural ground while taking morning walks. It helps immensely!
  • No Coffee/Cola after 13:00 hours – I found the impact of tea is milder on sleep. At 4pm, masala tea with ginger, etc. is ok. 

2. Evening

  • Get used to dim lights post dinner. Light is the number 1 inhibitor to the onset of sleep
  • I have two sets of lights in my house – one for “illumination and celebration” and one with dim lights conducive to induce melatonin secretion.

3. Dinner

  • 30 minutes before dinner, take 1-2 spoons of Apple Cider Vinegar with 1 spoon of honey in 1 glass of water. Works wonders for sleep, digestion, acidity, GERD, etc.
  • Early dinners are the best! Between 6-7pm max. You do not want your digestion process working during sleep
  • Stop the intake of water 90 minutes before sleep if you are above 45.

4. Preparing to Sleep

  • 30 minutes before your scheduled sleep time, start unwinding. Phone can be kept outside the bedroom or better, switch it off. Reading a hardcover book is a great way to induce sleep. I used to read a book on macroeconomics
  • Pranayama is a great way of preparing the body for sleeping. I found the following useful
    • 4-8 method: Inhale through nose for a count of 4 and exhale through the mouth for count of 8 – ask me if you do not yawn and feel sleepy at the end of 3 minutes
    • Shitali Pranayama: 3-4 rounds – cools the body
    • Ujjayi: 3-4 rounds – strengthens the throat muscles – works against collapsing during snoring
  • Lavender Essential Oil: Apply 1 drop of good quality lavender essential oil on your pillow. You will sleep like a baby. Do not use more than one drop, I do not want to get a call from your boss! 
  • If you can get your Ayurveda or Siddha doctor to prescribe “Ven Thamarai (white Lotus) Churna”, mix it with a half-cup of warm milk and honey 60 minutes before going to sleep. Non habit forming and sleep inducing medicine. Not just helps in onset of sleep, but helps in overall quality through all stages of sleep.

5. Bedroom

  • Darkness is a friend of sleep. Pitch dark room with no night light. Use a sleep mask for your eyes if needed. Go for movement sensing light in case you get up at night
  • Air conditioned room is the best – cool temperature is essential for good sleep. Set what is comfortable fo you – 24 degrees is generally ok for Indians (web prescribes 20 degrees which is American Standard)
  • On bedroom accessories, I have covered in previous blogs
  • Bed is reserved for unwinding and sleeping – so avoid working or eating from bed

Sleeping well is essential to a good career for knowledge workers. Sleep builds memory, creativity, innovation and problem solving skills which are crucial and cannot be replaced by “Artificial Intelligence”.

If this Sleep Series by Srini got you excited about sleep, try reading Why we sleep – a book by Matthew Walker, the Sleep Guru. To read more about sleep, check out Healthy Reads or tune in to LIVE sessions by experts on GOQii Play. 

To get more guidance to help you sleep better, subscribe to GOQii and let our experts help you: https://goqiiapp.page.link/wssu

#BeTheForce 

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What Should You Eat If You Get Infected By COVID-19?

What Should You Eat If You Get Infected By COVID-19?

We are going through a very tough time with everyday monster surges in COVID-19 cases all over the country, excluding a few districts. It almost seems like each and every household has one or more members down with this infection. Thankfully, we have a good number of people getting well too! Food plays a key role in any form of recovery. So which kind of food should a person infected with COVID-19 eat? 

A Balanced Diet Is Key To COVID-19 Recovery 

Each day, the combination of food should include: 

  • Whole Grains: Millets, oats, wheat, brown rice, white rice, all this as roti, khichdi, upama, Pulao, Daliya, Chilla etc. 
  • Proteins: Eggs, Lentils, Legumes, Dairy Products, Soy Products, can be taken as besan cheela, Dal Soup, Sprouts Chat, Moong dal Khichdi, Paneer Bhurji, Omelette, Dosa, chickpea bowl, rajma, etc.
  • Fats: Good fats have anti-inflammatory acids like omega 3 fatty acids. So include flax seeds oils, extra virgin olive oils and safflower oil. Good fats can also be added from almonds, avocado, laddu with a mix of nuts, white sesame seeds, kalonji, ajwain all roasted in desi ghee helps provide essential minerals like zinc and magnesium for fast recovery. 
  • Fiber: Fresh fruits and vegetables are great sources of dietary fibers, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. So try to include two fruits a day, along with 2-3 cups of vegetables. This requirement can be met by adding soups mashed vegetables and fruits as small mid meals.

Apart from these main macros, here are a few things you need to consider:  

  • 2-3 liters of water should be included daily as infections dehydrate the body. Infused water, coconut water, water with honey can help meet the requirement. 
  • Immunity boosters like a herbal concoction, turmeric milk, soups and broth should be included at least one or two times a day.
  • As far as possible, make sure that all fruits, vegetables are fresh and meals are home cooked. 
  • Always eat small and frequent meals as the body will not tolerate big meals at a time. 
  • Avoid alcohol as it is highly dehydrating and may inhibit your immune system.
  • Limit salt and sugar
  • Avoid packaged processed food. 

Given all the dietary guidelines, a question may still come up as to how to manage adequate calorie intake when the infection has robbed you of your taste buds and sense of smell.

  1. Try adding lemon juice or vinegar in food, soups and water. The flavor of acids from them comes through even when smell or taste is impaired. 
  2. Try going a bit heavy on spices like cinnamon, black pepper, cumin, garlic and ginger, which could add flavor back to food.   

To make things a bit more clear, here is a sample diet chart, although it will be more customized as per symptoms.  

  1. Early morning: 5 to 6 soaked almonds, two dates and lukewarm lemon cinnamon water or tulsi lemon honey water.
  2. Breakfast: Besan cheela or moong dal cheela or stuffed omelette sandwich or paneer paratha or idli sambar or vegetable uttapam with coconut chutney.
  3. Mid meal: Coconut water or any one fruit with one tsp mix seeds
  4. Lunch: Rice with dal and subzi or Ajwain roti with rajma and any green leafy vegetable
  5. Evening: Any herbal concoction (kadha or green tea) and chana/ sprouts/ sweet potato chat and any one fruit
  6. Pre dinner: mix veg soup or moong dal soup or chicken broth or boiled egg
  7. Dinner: Khichdi or vegetable daliya or oats cheela or oats with milk or Garlic roti with any dal and mixed veg 
  8. Post dinner: One cup milk with turmeric and pinch of black pepper

We hope this article helps you manage COVID-19 infection and recover quickly. For more information, check out Healthy Reads or tune in to LIVE sessions by exprts on GOQii Play. 

For more expert guidance, subscribe to GOQii or download the app here: https://goqiiapp.page.link/wssu 

#BeTheForce 

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