During this season, it is best to avoid foods that are cold, heavy, soft, and sticky. Not only can these foods weaken your immune system, but they can also produce excess mucus. Your body’s mucus production is actually meant to lubricate your organs and trap dust, bacteria, and other potentially harmful airborne particles so that it can get rid of these things more easily before they have a chance to settle into your lungs. However, too much mucus can also restrict your breathing.
Here are some foods you should stay away from:
Dairy: milk, yogurt, ice cream, pudding
Red meats
Oily/fatty foods like nuts, nut butters, and fried foods
Sweets
Breads and pastas
Packaged and processed foods
Instead, favor hot, pungent, and dry foods. For example, stock up on warm soups, steamed bitter greens, pungent spices, and, ideally, a home-cooked meal.
To combat the “cold” effects of this season, turn to heating spices. These can include the following:
Turmeric
Cinnamon
Clove
Black Pepper
Ginger
Cumin
Garlic
Cayenne pepper
These spices not only reduce mucus buildup but also kindle your digestive fire by speeding up your metabolism. Some of these spices, like garlic and ginger, can also combat inflammation.
Eating citrus fruits like oranges, tangerines, or grapefruits are a great way to boost your immunity. They contain vitamin c, which is an essential nutrient for your body.
You can also add freshly squeezed lemon or lime to hot water during your morning routine. While water has many advantages of its own, the health benefits of lemon water include nutrients like antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals. It is a great way to do a gentle cleanse.
The coronavirus doesn’t do well with heat. The best way to boost immunity is to keep moving, stay active, exercise in fresh air, and get some sunshine. Sweat it out.
Before bed, practice steam inhalation followed by two drops of sesame oil or eucalyptus oil in each nostril. To do this, grab a pot of boiling water, cover your head, and inhale the steam. Dry nasal passages trap infections more easily, so keep them moist and lubricated.
Try out breathing exercises like Pranayam. These breathing techniques energize your body and mind and help keep your sinuses clear from any mucus buildup.
Apply oil, like sesame oil, to your whole body and follow it with a hot shower. Oil massages to the skin can boost neurotransmitters that regulate your feeling of well-being.
Tongue cleaning Ayurvedic technique is excellent practice that will improve health and vitality.
Tongue scraping removes any buildup, including bacteria and other toxins, on the tongue. Since your mouth is one of the main gateways between your mind-body and the environment, maintaining its health is important to your general well-being.
Minimize eating any frozen, leftover, or quickly reheated food. This is because these foods, while convenient, generally have fewer nutrients than fresh, home-cooked meals. Fresh is best!
Seventy to eighty percent of your immune system is in your colon and gut lymphatics. Eliminating your body's impurities on a daily basis is very important. If you don't eliminate your waste daily, it turns toxic and breeds inflammation. This adds stress to your body, breaking down its immune system. Take two to four capsules of Triphala with warm water at bedtime.