If you’ve been infected with COVID19 in the past, are you protected already? Should you still get the vaccine? Are you ever at risk to get COVID19 again? These are some great questions circulating the social media scene, so let’s get the facts out there so people are empowered to make great health decisions.
So if you’ve already had COVID the good news is that 98% of recovered people have produced antibodies against the spike protein found in COVID19. Whether you suffered through symptoms or barely realized you were fighting off the infection, your immune system has delivered some internal protection which seems to last between 6-8 months for most folk. This is still a bio-individual process so recovered individuals will vary in the amount of time they are protected – and no one knows for sure how long the natural protection is. So the urgency of going out and getting the vaccine is low; but the need to get the vaccine is still there. We do have studies and confidence in the vaccine protection, so the CDC is recommending that all adults get this vaccine even if they have recovered from COVID in the past. Covid-recovered people can get re-infected a second time AND a study showed that reinfected people can carry the virus without symptoms increasing the risk for super-spreading. If we are ever to live in a covid-free world, we have to stop the spreading! S
At this time it’s not clear how effective natural immunity is against the COVID-19 variants which are present globally. The current Pfizer and Moderna vaccines seem to show efficacy against the variants.
To effectively progress to the vision of a covid-free world, we must remain vigilant with our protective measures of washing hands well, wearing a mask, social distancing, and avoiding crowds.
Texas and the US loves to consume its tea… iced and usually in the summers; but outside the US, hot tea is common and almost known as medicine in a cup. There are literally endless number of ways to create a hot flavored drink that can bring heat into the body and have a health impact. So what are the best herbal teas one can create or drink? From a nutritional therapist’s point of view – who has experience living in both the UK and India – these are my suggestions.
Herbal teas can contain flowers, herbs, spices, and other roots; but do not typically contain “tea” which is anything derived from the Camellia Sinensis plant (green, white, black, oolong tea variations). Most herbal teas are caffeine-free and gluten-free… but NOT ALL. So if that is important to you, then you must read the ingredients and certified designations of any new tea you introduce. The benefits of herbal teas are:
Positive health impact
Won’t keep you up at night
Can be used as a smoothie base
Can be used to flavor cooking (oatmeal, soup, marinades, grains)
Can be used as a cocktail mixer
Loose herbal teas can be used as garnish (salads, desserts)
Darshi’s Suggestions:
Ginger: A pungent taste best known to help with supporting immunity, reducing nausea, reducing motion sickness, creating inner heat, fighting inflammation, reducing pain (post-workout, osteoarthritis, menstruation). You don’t have to buy tea bags if you already stock fresh ginger. Simply grate washed ginger (skin and all) into boiling water and boil or steep for a few minutes. I like to instant pot my tea on the soup cycle to intensify the flavor and make larger portions to use throughout the week (hot or iced).
Mint: A sweet taste best known to help with easing indigestion, enhanced breathing/ bronchial relaxation, and better muscle repair/ increased oxygen levels to the brain and other organs. You don’t have to buy tea bags if you already stock or grow fresh mint. Simply add washed mint leaves into boiling water and boil or steep for a few minutes. There are new varieties of mint plants, including a chocolate mint plant that makes minty chocolate tea or cocktails.
Hibiscus: A tart taste best known to help with promoting weight loss, boosting good cholesterol (HDL), lowering bad cholesterol (LDL), lowering triglycerides in diabetics, and protecting the liver. It is also immune-supporting and anti-bacterial. You have to buy tea bags here for full impact.
Roobios: An earthy taste best known to help with fighting inflammation, protecting bone health, improving digestion, and preventing obesity. It has some important minerals too (iron, calcium, potassium, copper, manganese, zinc, and magnesium).
Chamomile: A floral taste best known to help with calming/inducing sleep, fighting inflammation, easing menstrual cramps, regulating blood sugar and protecting bone density
Our daily recommended servings for fruit is between 1 – 2 cups depending upon age and gender. But the definition of “1 cup serving” is not necessarily 1 true cup. So it’s good to understand what a piece of fruit literally translates into in terms of serving size from the hyperlink above – for example 1 small apple = 1 cup serving or 16 grapes = ½ cup serving or ¼ cup of dried fruit = ½ cup serving.
Knowing where to find this information can be empowering when creating your own meal plan for the week to ensure you get your recommended fruit intake.
When I reach out for a type of fruit, I consider the nutrilicious value (nutrient value & the taste together). I lean more toward stone fruits and berries. Stone fruits provide great nutrient value, taste, and more volume for equivalent calories when satiating hunger. And berries provide ample antioxidants. An antioxidant rich diet seems to protect against stroke, artery stiffness, blood clots, high blood pressure, and chronic inflammation. Berries are an excellent choice for fruit consumption because they provide 10 times more antioxidants than other fruits or vegetables, are immune-boosting, memory improving (blueberries), cardiac-protecting, have anti-cancer properties, AND boost our natural killer cells. Our natural killer cells are part of our immune process to fight against virus (think COVID19 protection here among others)
These days health professionals are exploring what supplements and foods can help specifically with COVID19 illness. While we all explore ways to get GBOMBS into our daily routine, what does one do if they feel especially concerned about lung function? The answer could lie in quercetin.
Quercetin is a natural pigment in many fruits, vegetables, and grains. (plant-based not animal). It’s an antioxidant which also boosts immunity, is anti-inflammatory, and reduces blood pressure and allergy symptoms.
Antioxidants are compounds that bind to free radicals. Looking back at chemistry, free radicals are end products of reactions where there are free floating electrons – remember them? I recall my Chemistry teacher telling me he thought that was a carcinogenic thing. Fast forward almost 40 years and now I can say, he was right. Free radicals are damaging to the body, and are linked to numerous chronic illnesses, including cancers, heart disease, and diabetes.
Antioxidants neutralize the free radicals by binding to them and this helps minimize the destruction that could occur. A recent study I looked at (May, 2020) shows that quercetin has benefits specifically with lung cancer cells. Some people take quercetin supplements, but I always prefer real God-made foods. Common quercetin food sources include:
Maybe one of the best gifts that 2020 brings is the chance to slow down and reconnect with yourself to feel more in control of your life choices. Suddenly we are not in automatic drive mode, but in mindful acknowledgement that things are different… perhaps forever-more.
How do we navigate changes that COVID19 has effected around the country/world? There is no better time than now to ask the introspective questions of life and your value system.
What’s really important to you – the long-haul perspective? We all are bio-individual in terms of our DNA and how it responds to individual conditions. It’s no surprise then that we all may have different values and different priorities placed on them. Reflecting on our values can mitigate some stress effects as we finalize on what means most to us at this time in our lives. If you want to better understand your values, you can look at these VALUES flashcards, and select the five that are most important to you. These are your core values.
What’s worked well for you in the past in dealing with stress? We all have different histories, and avenues we’ve already explored with stress busters. Maybe you already have ideas on how to calm the inner fires that create anxiety within. The successful approaches of yesterday may have some positive effects as anti-stress agents, and you won’t know until you try. Self-reflect a bit on any strategy that didn’t work well, and pass it so you can focus on what does work well. A number of ideas come to mind for calming that inner spirit within. These include breathwork, meditation, a fun activity, a brisk walk, a hot tub-soak with fragrant candles around, or indulging in my favorite cup of tea.
Where are your resources? Spend a minute understanding your resources today – Where you can lean on to get compassion and empathy. Brainstorm on the full gamut of resources at your disposal. Have you socially closed yourself off because of COVID19? Perhaps its time to open those channels in a safe responsible way. We know more about COVID19 today than we did in March; so heed the science, and take some steps to live life socially again, with caution. Don’t sit in the sidelines, afraid and stressed; that can do more harm than good mentally.
What are your strengths? If you aren’t sure, take a free strengths assessment here, and then dedicate a notebook to journal your thoughts, wisdom, and strategies to alter your future with a mindset that is open to creativity and not encumbered with stress. Knowing you have strengths, resources, and past successes can guide you to tomorrow’s success with stress management.
We have over 100 trillion bacteria in our gut microbiome. Our microbiome impacts a majority of our immune system. I’ve written previously about eating for our gut bacteria (Balancing Trillions of Friends), but it is vitally important to also promote diversity in our gut bacteria also.
Dysbiosis is an imbalance between the “good” and “bad” bacteria. Dysbiosis can happen from inadequate diet, lack of exercise, surgery, or antibiotic use. Adding prebiotics helps with dysbiosis. Prebiotics are food for the good bacteria. With prebiotics, the healthy bacteria can cultivate over time. Probiotics are actual bacteria strains. Each can contain different genus, species, and strains. Since we know that diversity is important, the more the merrier! But if you buy a particular probiotic bottle with a fixed number of strains, and you take it daily. It may not help as much as if you purchase 2-3 different probiotics containing different genus, species, and strains. Then you can alternate what you are providing the microbiome. It’s more efficient at promoting diversity.
To learn more about probiotics check out the Metagenics Video on probiotics. Contact your local health & wellness coach for more information!
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