As the coronavirus (COVID-19) spreads around the globe, it shows no sign of waning in North America and Europe - at least, not yet. The most frightening thing about the virus is the fact that it is, in fact, more contagious than SARS and MERS, according to the Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention!
Because there is no specific medicine against the virus (yet), right now, the best way of protecting yourself and your loved ones against COVID-19 (other than wearing a mask, using alcohol, bleach, etc.) is to strengthen your immune system.
Here are 4 ways to strengthen your immune system, as recommended by Ontario-certified Chinese medicine practitioner, Arthur Lo (PhD)!
1. Maintain emotional stability 🙂
TCM believes that emotional disorders and imbalances directly affect the internal organs and qi. Therefore, people who feel emotionally turbulent should try their best to relax.
How can you relax? You can:
Exercise 15-20 minutes daily (eg yoga, pilates, weightlifting, etc.)
Try new hobbies (e.g. painting, dancing, movies, learning new languages, playing video games, cooking, etc.)
If you want to learn more about how you can maintain emotional stability, please read Dr. Lo's book, "Let TCM Wipe Out the Blues".
2. Drink Immune System-Strengthening Soups 🥣
E.g:
Want to see more soups? Please see this link.
3. Eat Regularly
You also need to have a healthy diet and eat regularly.
Adults leading a sedentary lifestyle (i.e. working at the office / home for 8-9 hours per day) should consume between 1300 and 1625 calories per day.
Having an irregular diet will hurt your spleen and stomach, which in turn will have a negative impact on your immune sytem.
Foods that boost immunity include:
Cordyceps militaris
Tricholoma matsutake
carrot
blueberry
fish high in Omega 3 such as catfish, sardines, salmon
4. Go to Bed on Time and Wake Up on Time 💤
Everyone should go to bed early and get up early. Try to sleep at 10-11 pm and wake up at 7-8 am as much as possible.
Adults should sleep more than 7 hours a day. Lack of sleep will make you prone to illness.
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