Corona pandemic is seriously a concern for people, especially who always postponed the thought of getting healthy & fit. If you are the person who grabs a piece of high sugar cake in spite of knowing it is not good for your diabetes or who drinks the ice-cold coke or alcohol in parties when you have tendency of asthma, then it’s time to quit all these stuff and turn to healthy diet & lifestyle. Below are general tips for people willing to strengthen their immune system not only to battle against this coronavirus but also against many more infections that is going to come as a threat in the future. Now that most of you are staying home to keep yourself, your family & friends safe, it is time to reconsider your diet habits and opt to follow a healthy one.
Detoxify your body first
All these years, micro toxins would have accumulated in the body due to improper diet, untimely sleep or lack of sufficient physical activity. Even if you say that you are a fitness freak and had followed healthy practices, some external factors like pollution or mental factors like stress contribute to micro toxins in your body. So, one should flush out these toxins as the first step towards boosting immunity. For detoxifying your body, follow a one-week diet plan as below.
Meal Plan
Breakfast – Oats porridge or a bowl of fruits or wheat pancake (without eggs or white sugar. You may use whole wheat flour with water and natural sugar)
Lunch – Rice or Indian bread (Chapati) with boiled vegetables, mung soup cooked with turmeric, cumin, fennel, coriander, ginger, black pepper and yoghurt.
Dinner – Plain Kitchari (Rice cooked with lentils & spices) or Vegetable Kitchari (Rice cooked with vegetables, lentils & spices) or lentil soup
For snack – Roasted popcorn
For dessert – Fruit or dry fruits
Drinks – Ginger infusion
How to prepare Kitchari? Take ½ cup of Basmati rice, ½ cup of Mung daal (yellow lentil) and wash them in water for 2 – 3 times. Then soak them in one cup of water for 20 minutes. Then empty this including water into a pressure cooker or open vessel. Add ¼ tsp turmeric, 1 pinch asafetida, ¼ tsp cumin, ¼ tsp crushed black pepper, ¼ tsp salt and add ¼ cup of water if cooking in pressure cooker or ½ cup water if cooking in open vessel. In pressure cooker, you need to cook for one whistle. In open vessel, cook for 15 – 20 minutes, until well cooked. If using vegetables, you may add ½ cup of chopped vegetables like carrot, onion, peas, etc. (do not add juicy vegetables) along with the above into the pressure cooker or open vessel, but you need to add more water, say ½ cup more in both cases.
Ginger infusion can be taken twice a day. To prepare ginger infusion, in a glass of hot water, add ¼ tsp dry ginger, cover with a lid for 5 minutes, then filter & drink.
Things to avoid
White sugar, sea salt, White flour, Processed food, Bread, Coffee, Tea, Fruit juices, Carbonated drinks, refrigerated food & drinks, ready to eat food, meat, Frozen food, cooked food which is refrigerated and consumed the next day or during the week.
Things to include
Fruits, vegetables (raw & steamed), nuts, dry fruits, cereals, pulses, yoghurt, milk, herbal infusions, warm water, spices, rock salt, ghee or unrefined oil like groundnut oil, mustard oil, sesame oil, coconut oil, almond oil or olive oil. Spices mainly turmeric, black pepper, ginger, cumin, fennel, coriander are good to use.
Lifestyle guidelines to support detox & boost immunity
Regular exercise or yoga – 45 minutes to 60 minutes daily.
Sleep before 11 pm and wake up early.
Gargle with saline water twice daily.
Apply one drop of ghee inside each nostril at bedtime.
Self-massage with sesame oil or coconut oil two to three times a week.
Avoid alcohol & smoking.
So follow the one week detox plan to get back on track with good health.
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