Nutritional Guide to Strengthen Immunity

When someone around you sneezes, about 20,000 tiny particles containing viruses are released into the air. The spread of COVID-19-style viruses occurs when they remain mobile in the air, and you come into contact with them. Viruses have specific target tissues. The coronavirus targets the lungs. Viruses are everywhere. The virus aims to send its DNA or RNA into the host cell to make it replicate itself so that it can continue to replicate.

Some viruses are dormant and wait for people to age, for weakened immunity, nutritional deficiencies, or stress to emerge. This is the answer to the question of why viruses emerge and people get sick when most people are stressed.

Susceptibility Factors for Disease

• Age
• Nutritional deficiencies
• Genetics
• Weak immune system
• Chronic diseases
• Stress

You Should Also Be Physically Good For Immunity

To be immunologically well, we also need to be physically well. Exercise helps to lower stress hormones such as cortisol. Exercise at home/in your dorm room to strengthen your immune system. Among all these factors above, the factor you can control the most is the food you take. The right foods you take will both support your immune system and reduce your stress factor.

When you do not get enough nutrients, 2 conditions occur:

• The immune system weakens.
• This makes viruses more powerful.

Fueling your body with certain foods can help keep your immune system strong. The nutrients needed to fight infections are vitamins A, C, D, and E, and the minerals selenium and zinc.

• Do not neglect to include oilseeds such as walnuts, almonds, and hazelnuts, which are sources of selenium, vitamin E, and zinc in your daily routine.
• Lemon, orange, grapefruit, tangerine, and kiwi are among the foods that support our immune system.
• Choose seasonal vegetables and fruits. Remember that the rhythm of the body's system and the foods grown in season are unique to each other.
• Gut flora is very important for the immune system. To nourish your gut microflora, it is important to eat a more varied diet high in dietary fiber. Consumption of foods that contain more plant sources, such as vegetables, fruits, nuts, whole grain foods, legumes, etc., is better for intestinal flora. The gut flora likes fiber, legumes, and fermented foods. Kefir, yogurt, pickles, and kombucha are among fermented foods.

Below are 7 foods that will strengthen your immune system:

• Citrus fruits: Vitamin C in citrus fruits helps boost the immune system and increases the production of infection-fighting white blood cells. The most common citrus fruits are grapefruit, oranges, lemons, tangerines, and limes.
• Broccoli: A source of vitamins A, C, and E.
• Garlic: Fresh, raw garlic has antibacterial and antiviral properties.
• Ginger: Helps reduce sore throat and other inflammatory diseases.
• Turmeric: Anti-inflammatory and disease preventive. Curcumin, naturally found in turmeric, helps to stabilize blood sugar.
• Green tea: A source of antioxidants called polyphenols that help fight infection.
• Sunflower seeds: Contain phosphorus, magnesium, and vitamins B-6 and E. They are also a source of tryptophan. Tryptophan is converted by the body into serotonin, which is considered a natural mood stabilizer. In this way, sunflower seeds can help you cope with anxiety and stress.

Food Alone is not Enough to Strengthen the Immune System

• Stress and sadness should be minimized and avoided if possible.
• The body strengthened by regular sports both increases energy and becomes much more resistant to diseases. Set weekly goals for yourself while doing sports.
• Studies are showing that people who sleep less than 6 hours a night are at risk of cardiovascular disease. If you cannot get quality sleep in case of stress, try to get support from lemon balm, chamomile, and fennel tea. It is very important for your heart that your sleep schedule is established. On days when you feel that your sleep efficiency is decreasing, you can benefit from herbal teas such as chamomile, fennel, or lemon balm tea.
• The hormone cortisol, a hormone that increases both appetite and the desire to eat, is secreted more under stress and the foods chosen in this situation are foods with high fat and high carbohydrate (sugar) content, which we call "comfort foods". During this period, try to avoid foods high in sugar and simple carbohydrates as much as possible. The American Heart Association recommends that children between the ages of 2-18 should not consume more than 25 grams of simple sugars per day. In addition, according to a study conducted at the University of Illinois, it was observed that people who increased their daily water consumption up to 600 ml decreased their daily calorie intake by 70-200 calories and consumed less sodium, cholesterol, and simple sugar.

Emotional Nutrition

Being quarantined at home can lead to food anxiety and emotional eating. First of all, you are not alone and it is normal to feel these emotions. When a stressful situation of coronavirus magnitude arises, people often experience significant changes in their eating behavior.

In response to the coronavirus, the following are recommended actions to cope with emotional eating:

• Ask yourself if you are really hungry and wait for a while to see if the urge to eat goes away.
• Keep a food diary of what you eat at what time. It helps to assess the current situation regarding diet and habits.
• Do not weigh yourself every day. We have enough stressful times, weighing yourself once a week will be enough.
• Be aware of the triggers that cause emotional eating. Triggers can be internal or external. For example, triggers can be listening to too much sad news or thinking about how hard it is to work from home. Ask yourself these questions: "When am I more likely to engage in emotional eating? What circumstances make it difficult for me to control my eating behavior? When and which foods do I crave more? Getting clear answers to these questions will help you to be stronger against triggers.
• Do not skip meals. Eat small portions often. This will make it easier for you to prevent eating attacks.

Snacks

During this period when we stay at home, you may find yourself constantly in front of the fridge or looking for snacks more than usual. You should take care to make snacks and refreshments from foods with high nutritional value that support your body's immune system.

Examples of quick and easy snacks can be listed as follows:

• Popcorn (fat-free and quantity to be determined)
• Yogurt with slices of fresh fruit
• Hummus with cucumber and carrot slices
• Fresh fruits
• Cheese and whole wheat bread or breadsticks
• Raw nuts
• Dried fruits such as dates

If You Enjoy Spending Time in the Kitchen, How About Making a Healthy Cake as an Alternative?

Health Cake Recipe

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons of date puree
• 3 eggs
• 1 tablespoon tahini or coconut oil
• 1 teaspoon granulated coffee (dissolved in 1/2 cup hot water)
• 1 tea glass of milk
• 1 tea glass of olive oil
• 2 tablespoons of cocoa
• 8 whole walnuts
• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 packet of baking powder
• 1 packet of vanilla

Preparation

• Blend the date puree and eggs with a mixer for 15 minutes.
• Continue blending by adding the other ingredients in turn.
• Finally, add the walnuts in pieces and bake in a preheated oven at 200 degrees for 30-35 minutes. (It may vary from oven to oven, you can check whether it is cooked with a toothpick)
• The date puree and coffee will make it like a wet cake.