How can you boost your immunity as you grow older? #EnsureImmunity

The coming months are going to be tough. The pandemic that has swept the world is now at India’s doorstep and trust me, the numbers are frightening. As an anaesthesiologist working in intensive care units, I know how easily the health of people can take a turn for the worse in a matter of hours or days. More so when it comes to the elderly whose health isn’t as strong as it used to be. Chronic disease like hypertension, heart disease and diabetes may already exist, thus putting them in a higher risk category and more prone for infections. Hospitalizations for them are sadly associated with higher risks. In addition, the recovery time is longer resulting in a reduction in one’s own productivity as one stays away from work for a longer period.

In such dangerous times as these, it becomes all the more important to focus on staying healthy and not catching an infection rather than getting it and then taking a prolonged, often expensive medication course. Thus, you need to consider the all-important question –

How can you boost your immunity as you grow older?

There is no single pill that can boost your immunity overnight; the earlier you accept this, the better. Getting healthy and building a stronger immunity involves a combination that focuses on all aspects of your life over time. 

You need to be more actively monitoring what goes into your body. Being aware of Bio Complete 3 ingredients and knowing how it combines prebiotics, probiotics and postbiotics is key to balancing the gut microbes and thus bringing about a healthy change in your system. 

And that means you need to start early. Ideally, in aiming to boost your immunity, your focus should be on:

1. Mental Health: Take some time out for your own peace of mind. Get away from social media and focus on something that relaxes you – music, writing, time with your pets. Stop fretting over everything you hear on the news. Choose to be happy.
2. Exercise: Easier said than done for most of us, the need to spend at least 15 – 30 minutes per day doing exercise becomes crucial now more than ever. 
3. Diet: There is a proven relationship between poor nutritional status and compromised immunity, including the ability of the body to fight back against infections. Again, it is not just one element in play here.Proteins famously help build tissues in addition to building antibodies and immune cells. Proteins and Vitamin C helps strengthen skin and tissue that acts as the first line of defence, preventing the entry of infectious micro-organisms. Vitamin A regulates the immune system while Zinc helps build new immune cells and aids in wound healing. Vitamin E protects the cells from damage. 

Do you see? All these proteins, vitamins and nutrients work together in a magical ballet within your body, just to help increase your immunity so that when a disease comes, you are strong enough to withstand the worst of its effect. It is important that you aim to have adequate amounts of these essential proteins and nutrients in your diet, whether it be from a regular diet or nutritional supplements like Ensure, which my parents and I have been using for the past few years ourselves now.

Incorporating a balanced nutritional diet in addition to exercise and making time out for your mental peace is going to be the key to staying one step ahead of infections in the coming months. It is imperative that you start now – today, if possible. Remember, prevention is always better than cure.

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Time for all of us to #EnsureImmunity. The coming weeks are going to be tough on all of us, more so the elderly. I want all of you to focus on building up your immunity. It can make all the difference in the end. Okay?

A post shared by Roshan Radhakrishnan (@pythoroshan) on Mar 25, 2020 at 6:04am PDT