Search Results for: supplements

January 13, 2022 By Neha Goyal 1 Comment

3 Best Vitamins To Boost Immunity

With cases rising cases and new, deadlier variants of COVID, it is important for us to take preventive measures and build our immunity. The food we eat determines our overall health and immunity. Immunity being our body’s first line of defense is much more needed now than ever. While a healthy balanced diet and lifestyle is the need of the hour, few nutrients play a very special role when it comes to boosting our immunity. Among different nutrients, today we will discuss the most potent vitamins to boost immunity.

Essential Vitamins To Boost Immunity

1. Vitamin C

Also known as ascorbic acid, Vitamin C is water-soluble. It helps kick start the action of our immune system by encouraging the production of lymphocytes & phagocytes, thus, helping the body protect itself from infections. The body cannot store this vitamin and being water-soluble, it’s easily lost through bodily fluids. Hence, it is important to consume foods rich in Vitamin C on a daily basis. Being heat sensitive, this vitamin is destroyed on heating, so it is better to get it from raw foods.

Food sources: Citrus fruits, kiwi, strawberry, amla, papaya, bell peppers, leafy greens, broccoli, black currants & tomato.

2. Vitamin D:

This is definitely one of the most essential vitamins to boost immunity. It is fat-soluble and hence, can be stored in our fat cells. Which means that your body can mobilize its own reserves if your daily intake falters temporarily. Deficiency of this vitamin is highly associated with increased susceptibility to infections. Not widely available in vegetarian foods, it is hard to get enough of it. For most people, the best way to take this vitamin is through supplements.

Food sources: Cod liver oil, salmon, tuna, fortified orange juice, fortified cereals, egg yolk, dairy and plant milk fortified with Vit D, Sardines, swordfish and certain mushrooms.

3. Vitamin E:

This fat-soluble vitamin is a potent antioxidant and helps reduce cell-damaging oxidative stress in our body. It has the ability to modulate immune functions at the cellular level which usually decreases with age. It helps in the rapid increase of the infection-fighting cells and boosts their infection-fighting capacity too.

Food sources: Sunflower seeds, almonds, peanuts, vegetable oils, spinach, broccoli, avocados, wheat germ oil, hazelnuts, pine nuts, pistachios, pumpkin seeds

PLEASE NOTE: Though these vitamins play a crucial role in the functioning of our immune system, a balanced diet and attention to other aspects of good health like exercise, sleep and staying stress-free is also very important. You must make the most of your nutrition from natural foods as much as possible rather than being dependent on supplements. Before you switch to any foods you have not consumed before, please consult your doctor or nutritionist in case you have any allergies.

We hope this article helps you. For more tips and to know more about foods and vitamins to boost immunity, check out Healthy Reads or ask a GOQii Coach by subscribing for personalized health coaching here: https://goqiiapp.page.link/bsr

#BeTheForce

January 12, 2022 By Mohammed Tufail Qureshi 1 Comment

Manage Stress By Managing Your Cortisol Levels!

How often do we hear people say, “I am so stressed”? Given the current pandemic scenario, the lockdown and the threat of new variants, we’re sure you might have heard a lot of people say this. While the stress is reasonable, do you know what causes it? Is it the pressure of working from home thwarting your work-life balance, is it the news or could it be the excessive release of stress hormones? If you weren’t aware, just as there are hormones that make you feel good, there’s a stress hormone called Cortisol but it’s not all bad.

The cortisol stress hormone management system is released by the adrenal cortex glands in order to regulate blood sugar, blood pressure and the immune system. While it does regulate blood sugar, blood pressure and the immune system, if it is released at a wrong time, it can be harmful. What triggers the rise of this crucial hormone is mental and physical stress, insulin spikes, too many stimulants, overindulgence of processed food and toxicity build up.

Sources Of Chronic Stress Include:

Lack of sleep and insomnia
Negative thoughts and emotions
Sugar cravings and low serotonin levels
Caffeine and stimulant abuse (more than 2 coffees per day)
Acidity and Toxicity
Lethargy and lack of energy

Burning stubborn belly fat has to be one of the most popular stresses that people have and most have a problem dealing with this issue. What we fail to identify is that losing body fat, especially on the lower abdomen, is a hormonal issue.

It’s NOT overeating!

It’s NOT sugar or carbohydrates!

It’s NOT lack of exercise!

The one culprit that can quash your fat burning efforts and leave you with stubborn belly fat is your cortisol and adrenaline hormones. Stress leads to adrenals burning out, and excess cortisol and adrenalin lead to a number of health problems. If prolonged, it can lead to:

Excess abdomen fat
A serious drop in testosterone, and rise in estrogen
Hypertension and anxiety
Bone, mineral and muscle loss (cortisol is a catabolic hormone and is often elevated)
High blood sugar and insulin resistance

How Can You Bring Cortisol Levels Under Control?

Given how high stress levels have been lately due to the pandemic, it is important to manage stress by managing spiking cortisol levels. Dealing with Cortisol can be tricky. If dealt with proper techniques and supplements, one can get the Cortisol levels under control. Here are a few tips to help you out:

Reduce physical and mental stress by becoming more calm and relaxed. Meditation and pranayama are your allies.
Exclude sugar and processed foods from your regular diet and replace them with whole organic foods that will help improve digestion and in turn, reward you with a healthier GUT!
Lower toxicity and acidity which adds stress to the body internally by making the simple shifts in the food choices, thoughts and emotions.
To take control of Cortisol levels, one needs to learn how to unwind and relax every single day for at least 20 – 30 minutes and learn to take deep breaths and clear the mind. You can also indulge in a hobby you like!
Meditation and yoga are some excellent ways to relax and bring down cortisol levels effectively.
Exercise is a true savior and has been shown to reduce cortisol effectively. But a word of caution – don’t overdo it and do it correctly or else it could have the opposite effect.
Cortisol is at its lowest during sleep. So, make sure you get adequate and good quality sleep. This Sleep Series could help you understand your sleep better.

Additionally, it’s best to steer clear of news and social media updates that stress you out. You can check it once a day to just get an update but there’s no point in indulging in every news article that comes your way, especially if it paints a grim picture. So zone out, take care of your health, keep calm and be stress-free!

We hope this article helps you during these precarious times. For more on stress management, check out Healthy Reads. To learn how to manage stress effectively, ask a GOQii Coach by subscribing for personalized health coaching here: https://goqiiapp.page.link/bsr

Stay home, keep calm and #BeTheForce!

August 19, 2021 By Kusum Soni Leave a Comment

How Garlic Can Help Boost Your Immunity

At some point you might have observed how some people rarely fall ill and even if they do fall ill, they recover in no time. Whereas, some people belonging to the same gender, age, and sometimes even same family, fall sick frequently and take time to recover. Ever wondered why? The answer is simple – immunity! We’re well aware that the immune system defends our body against infections and a compromised immune system can’t protect us! Hence, we must focus on building good immunity! This can easily be achieved with the food we eat and one of the foods that can help us is Garlic!

Garlic is loaded with nutrients, anti-bacterial, anti-viral, antifungal and antioxidant properties. Studies have shown that it can enhance immune cell function which reduces the severity of an infection.

Benefits of Garlic

It contains allicin, which acts as an immunity booster and an antioxidant that helps stop infections, and the spread of bacteria and air-borne viruses.
It is beneficial to your digestive health. A healthy gut enhances our immune system and reduces the risk of infection.
It supports your liver to effectively carry out detoxification.
It contains vitamin B & C, that fights off cold and cough.
It has proteins, minerals, the sulfur-containing compounds alliin, ajoene, daily sulfide and dithiin, and different enzymes, which makes garlic a “Healing Powerhouse”.

How Do You Use It In Your Diet?

You can enjoy garlic’s nutrients by slicing or crushing a whole clove and eating it raw, immediately, as allicin is unstable and loses its medicinal properties quickly.

You may also try adding raw crushed or chopped garlic, to:

Salad dressings
Soups as a garnish
Vegetable smoothies with other herbs
Peanut butter and apply on roti
Curd or vegetable raita
Coriander/mint chutney

Please note that cooking may cause loss of health benefits due to high temperatures. However, it was noted that crushing it and allowing it to stand for 10 minutes before cooking and by increasing the amount of garlic used in a recipe, one can compensate for the loss of its medicinal properties.

One can also go for garlic supplements like powdered garlic, aged garlic extract and/or garlic oil. However, one needs to be cautious, since there are no regulated standards for its supplements. You can also go for 2-3 raw garlic cloves a day.

A word of caution here is that garlic might reduce your platelet aggregation. People with serious bacterial/viral infections or taking anticoagulant medication/blood thinners need to be cautioned about consuming it. So consult your doctor, nutritionist or dietitian before adding it to your meals.

For more topics on Nutrition, check out Healthy Reads. To get these facts about food, nutrition and more, subscribe to personalized coaching and ask your GOQii Coach directly: https://goqiiapp.page.link/bsr

Keep your immunity levels up and #BeTheForce!

August 15, 2021 By Akanksha Khullar 1 Comment

How To Identify a Weak Immune System and Fix It

The immune system is a complex system of blood cells and organs and it protects the body from harmful germs that can cause illness. If a person is frequently getting infections, they might have a weak immune system. In some cases, people have a weak immune system which makes them prone to frequent infections. White blood cells, antibodies, and other components including organs and lymph nodes make up the body’s immune system.

How to Identify a Weak Immune System?

You can understand if you have low immunity when you come across the following symptoms:

Fatigue: Feeling extremely tired, like you do when you have the flu, could mean something’s going on with your body’s defences
Repeated Infections: These may include infections like chronic sinus infections, ear infections, pneumonia, etc.
Frequent cold, cough and flu
Digestion issues like frequent diarrhoea, gas or constipation

Other symptoms that might show up are:

Autoimmune disorders like type 1 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus etc.
Inflammation of the internal organs
Blood disorders or abnormalities such as anaemia
Growth and developmental delays in infants and children
Skin problems like rashes, itchy, dry or red skin or even white patchy skin.

How Can You Fix It?

People who have a weak immune system can take several steps to maximize their chances of staying healthy and avoiding infections.

1. Good hygiene
Good hygiene goes a long way in protecting you from several diseases and infections. This includes washing your hands:

Before, during, and after preparing meals and snacks
Before eating
After blowing the nose, sneezing or coughing
Before and after treating a cut or another open skin wound
After having contact with someone who is unwell
After using or helping a child use the bathroom
After changing a diaper
After touching an animal or animal food or waste
After touching garbage

2. Avoid people who are sick
If you have a weak immune system, avoid being too close to someone who has a cold or any other infection. Viruses can spread from person to person through contact. They can also spread via water droplets that the person expels into the air while coughing or sneezing.

3. Disinfect household objects
Germs that have the potential to cause illnesses can live on some surfaces at home such as doorknobs and remote controls. A person can reduce the number of germs that inhabit these areas by disinfecting them regularly.

4. Manage Stress
Stress can weaken the immune system and make a person susceptible to illness. Manage your stress effectively by practicing yoga, meditation or pursuing hobbies and keep your mind healthy to stay away from illnesses.

5. Get enough Sleep
Being deprived of sleep has a similar effect on the body as stress. Lack of sleep disrupts the normal production of white blood cells, a crucial component of the body’s immune system. Therefore, adults should aim for at least 7 hours of sleep per day,

6. Eat Healthy
Eating a healthy, balanced diet can improve a person’s overall well-being. If you have a weak immune system, go for a diet which is rich in vegetables and fruits as it will provide you with plenty of antioxidants and nutrients.

7. Exercise Regularly
Regular exercise keeps the body healthy. In addition to strengthening the body, exercise facilitates the release of endorphins which reduce stress levels. However, those with weak immune systems should be careful not to push themselves too hard as this can weaken the immune system further.

8. Consider Supplements
Some vitamins and minerals affect the immune system. For instance, a person with Vitamin C deficiency can have weakened immunity. Other vitamins and minerals that can affect immune function include vitamin A, Vitamin D, Vitamin E, iron, folic acid and zinc.

Amid this COVID-19 pandemic, you can take additional precautions and follow the guidelines set by WHO. So focus on building your immunity and stay indoors!

For more topics on building immunity, home workouts and medical advice, tune in to GOQii Play.

To get more advice on building immunity and healthy living directly from a certified GOQii expert, subscribe to personalized coaching here: https://goqiiapp.page.link/bsr