Complete nutrition and exercise are the two most essential factors of your lifestyle which help in improving your body’s immune response.
My exercise regimen includes practicing Yoga once a week after a 5 day heavy workout routine to strengthen my muscles, improve flexibility and also as a recovery measure after intense workouts. And, I am amazed by the results I have observed in such short span of time. I had acute sinus issue which is now resolved because of practising Pranayama daily. I have observed that it greatly improved my immune system’s ability to ward off illnesses.
Along with regular exercise, your daily diet is critical to overall health. Complete nutrition is essential to benefit your body in totality.
Though I am not an expert, I have a regular lifestyle routine since the past decade and I would like to share my observations/learnings about how focus on complete nutrition and exercise have helped me over the years.
Be an early riser:
Due to work from home and online schooling, I developed a habit of binge-watching OTT series and would fall asleep after midnight. Because of this, I wasn’t able to get up early the next morning and felt lethargic the entire day.
To get my act together, I incorporated the practice of switching off my cell phone half an hour before sleep. Now I wake up early, sit outside to consume fresh air, daily dose of Vitamin D and practice Pranayama.
Have a glass of warm water:
After waking up, I have a glass of warm water. Sometimes I add cinnamon powder and fenugreek powder to it. This practice has improved my metabolism and digestion.
Pranayama:
In Sanskrit, ‘Prana’ means life energy and ‘Yama’ means control. Pranayama involves various breathing exercises and patterns. Pranayama coupled with Yogic Asanas have many health benefits. Practicing Pranayama helps in improving lung functioning, enhances cognitive performance, reduces stress and brings in mindfulness.[1] Even a simple deep breathing practice can help you.
Here are few basic Pranayama which I practice and which have enhanced my body’s immune response.
Eating nutritious food at regular intervals:
Consuming a nutritious diet comprising a healthy mix of carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals and proteins is very important to build immunity. I plan my meals in advance. I am conscious about the time interval between each meal and use the healthy eating plate as a guide to plan my meals.[2] You can also seek a professional for diet counselling.
Additional nutrients to enhance functioning of my immune system:
After a certain age, mostly after one turns 35, a body requires additional nutrients to fight illnesses and build more strength in bones and muscles. I have started taking Ensure since last year. It has given a boost to my overall health.
Ensure contains 11 immunity nutrients that work at the cellular level to support the activities of the immune cells. Taking in Ensure can help build your immune system to #EnsureStrongerInsideOut.[3] Drinking this supplement regularly helps my body fight illnesses and deliver my best at all that I do.
I hope sharing my daily routine is useful in your wellness journey. Do share about your daily nutrition and exercise to build immunity.
[1] https://www.healthline.com/health/pranayama-benefits
[2] https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/healthy-eating-plate/