03/10/2020
IMPROVING IMMUNITY against threat of COVID19
(Forgive the lack of formatting fonts for emphasis - not sure why it doesnt appear as an option 🙏)
The Coronavirus has created havoc around the world. Much to the chagrin of highly advanced western medicine, we now have a virus that has no vaccine - just yet!
So then, what is it one can do beyond the usual precautions enumerated in the news?
While the recommendations we receive from media - do not socialize or come in contact with contagion - do form part of the recommendations in Ayurved (& are called Nidaan Parivarjan - Avoiding the Cause)....
Ayurved places a greater emphasis on increasing immunity (Prakriti Vighatana - the enhancement of Immunity to avoid disease in the presence of exposure) ...
Considering COVID19 is a virus that primarily affects upper respiratory tract and targets the lungs, here are some recommendations to improve overall immunity, particularly of the lungs....
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Recommendations are alternatives in decreasing order of effectiveness; you may do one or more if possible. Where you do not have a particular ingredient in a list of many, you may just skip it. Proportions mentioned are for 1 person. Multiply appropriately for a family.
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1. Boil
(3/6 Tejatta/ Bayleaf leaves + 4/6 black/ green pepper corns + 4/6 green cardamon pods whole + 2 badyan/ star anise seeds)....
In 4 cups of water...
& simmer to reduce to 2-3 cups.
Drink 1 cup of the tea, twice/ thrice a day
2. Boil
(4/6 cloves of garlic &/or 4/6 black peppers)
In (1 cup milk + 1 cup water)
in a 1Qt (4 cups) pot
=> simmer to 1 cup
=> strain off the garlic and black pepper
=> drink 1/2 cup before bedtime & 1 cup early morning... or 1/2 cup per person at bedtime in family... adding a pinch of turmeric before drinking improves [potency further.
3. Boil
(2 tsp cumin/ jeera seeds + 4 tsp coariander/ dhaana seeds + 1 tsp fennel/ saunf seeds)
In 4 cups of water;...
Possibly simmer to 3 cups if you have time.
=> Add rock candy or sugar to taste, drink through the day.
Add pinch of dry ginger (sunthi) for improved effect.
In addition....
4. Make sure your meals are boiling, steaming hot, primarily 'savoury' like chicken soups, hot thin daals, watery gruels, and always cooked with some of these spices -
ginger, garlic, black pepper, bayleaves, rosemary, oregano (but skip the green chillies & jalapeños!)
5. Plain whole/ 2% milk boiled with turmeric and black pepper, simmered few mins - late morning and bedtime. Now touted as Golden Milk in the US, this has been a staple remedy in India for millenia! 😊
6. If none of these are feasible or are too much work...
Just mix 1/4-1/2 tsp of grated ginger with 1 tsp honey, add a pinch of turmeric (optional)
=> enjoy the mixture... and drink hot water - 3 times/ day.
7. Eat a few morsels LESS than your full-meal capacity, leaving sufficient space for easy breathing.
This ensures your metabolic fire (Agni) never completely dies out (allowing disease to set in).
9. MOST IMPORTANTLY - REFRAIN FROM...
- COLD & CONGESTIVE items like yogurt (especially sour varieties or during the morning hour - just refrain a few days!!!), icecreams, buttermilk, avocadoes, beef & pork (goat, chicken are ok - best in curries or ras/ chawal).
- ICE water and all chilled drinks... this is a major contribution to an immediate drop in the body's ability to fight disease.
- People who get phlegmy/ congested with milk, may wanna refrain from milk - though above recipes should all be fine.
- Do not expose yourself to cold, dry winds/ weather either. This leads to the drying and/or inflammation of nasal passages that expose one further to foreign bodies, when healthy mucosal lining has been altered/ damaged.
- Severely dry items like popcorn, dry crackers & so on that cause 'dryness' of the breathing channels and lungs... are best refrained.
Written in the most Indian way with no frills, no pictures, no unnecessary statistics and no quoting of epidemiological studies ... 😄😄
I hope this helps.
In humility 🙏🙏
P.S:
People on blood thinners/ heart medication may wanna be careful with turmeric & black pepper even though taking it through milk should usually not be detrimental. Please check your medication literature for any contra-indicated combination
