Did You Know These Simple 5 Health Practices Can Boost Your Immunity And Reduce Recovery Time in COVID Times?

ESE MAGEGE

FOUNDER, HEALTH COACH,EMERGENCY ROOM PA, & MBA

DID YOU KNOW THESE SIMPLE 5 HEALTH PRACTICES CAN BOOST YOUR IMMUNITY AND REDUCE RECOVERY TIME IN COVID TIMES?

Copyright Ese Magege

Ese Magege ER PA & MBA is a seasoned Health Professional with over 12 years of Blended Health Care experience. She holds 2 Bachelors', an MBA, and several professional board certifications. She is a graduate of the Sophie Davis School of Biomedicine, City College in 2009 where she undertook her physician assistant studies. She has been practicing as a PA for over a decade in multiple specialties of medicine. Her practice areas include internal medicine, family medicine, cardiology, Critical care, pulmonary, and Emergency Medicine. She currently practices in the Department of Emergency Medicine at NYU.

She believes in an integrative approach to healing. One that explores emotional, mental, and physical health- the totality of being. Ese developed a passion for helping people make healthy choices because early identification and modification of unhealthy behaviors/ lifestyle can decrease the prevalence of the disease. This belief led her to further advanced studies and recently completed her integrative health studies at Duke integrative medicine. After this, she founded the Alchemical Center of Change (ACC) wellness center in New York City with a mission to transform lives and create a positive impact on society.

She is also the founder and chief executive of Touching Hearts Foundation USA- a non for profit organization devoted to the alleviation of human pain and suffering by providing food, disaster relief, and education.

She has been speaker and presenter at various professional conferences within the United States and internationally in her homeland - Nigeria, on mindful practices. Her latest research and presentation titled: “ Food on the Endocrine glands” explored mindful eating. Her book “Happiness for no reason” will be released this winter. https://www.alchemicalcenter.com/ Alchemical - Center Of Change

As an Emergency Room physician Assistant & a Duke certified integrative health coach caring for patients sick with the COVID 19 virus, I find these 5 simple health practices very helpful in boosting immunity and shortening healing time when battling with the virus.

1) Eating Plant-based Foods: Eating a balanced diet is important for radiant health. Your daily diet should include a portion of plant-based foods. Plant-based food includes fruits and vegetables. There are so many health reasons to eat plant-based foods but for the purpose of this article, we will stick to the antioxidant benefits in fruits & vegetables. Most fruits and vegetables contain antioxidants which are nutrients that can boost your immunity when down with a viral illness. Some foods are higher in antioxidants than others. Examples of antioxidants are betacarotene, vitamin C, vitamin E, Zinc, Copper, Selenium, etc. Foods high in antioxidants include blueberries, broccoli, spinach, sweet potatoes, ginger, garlic, almonds, and so forth. To learn more about antioxidants see the article by Harvard health publishing https:// www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/ understanding-antioxidants

2) Drinking Adequate Water; It might shock you to know that this basic practice is so often ignored. An overwhelming majority of people do not drink adequate water. Water is essential for radiant health. Your body depends on water to survive. Water makes up about 60 percent of your body weight. The national academies of science, engineering, and medicine note that adequate daily fluid intake is about 2.7 liters for women and 3.7 liters for men. Anyone with underlying medical conditions such as heart failure, hyponatremia, SIADH, or anyone on medications that retain water should seek medical advice on how much water to consume.

3) Deep Breathing Exercises: During inhalation, air flows into the lungs and fills the tiny air sacs. These air sacs contain small blood vessels that circulate blood. Oxygen and carbon dioxide are exchanged at the point where the blood vessels and air sac meet. The airways and blood vessels can become stiffened by respiratory infections, smoking, air pollutants, and so forth. Doing deep breathing exercises regularly can improve lung function and endurance. A deep breathing exercise entails taking in full breaths to completely expand the lungs and then exhaling completely. Deep breathing has also been shown to reduce stress and anxiety.

4) Get Morning Sunlight: Excessive sun exposure can be detrimental to your health however lack of sunlight can also affect your health. There are many benefits of sunlight. The right balance of sunlight can have mood-lifting benefits. Sunlight increases the brain’s release of serotonin, the happy hormone. Serotonin is associated with boosting mood. Happy moods can decrease stress levels and improve health. Also, morning sunlight reinforces the body’s natural circadian rhythm that controls sleep at night. Getting adequate sleep at night improves your health & can quicken recovery time from illness. How much sunlight to get depends on your skin tone & health history. In general, WHO recommends 5- 10minutes of sunlight for health benefits.

5) Develop a Healthy Mindset:

One way to develop a healthy mindset is by having happiness habits. What are those things that put you in a happy state? Take a few minutes in a day to do the Times of the global pandemic bring up different emotions. Some of these emotions can be unpleasant. The way we respond to our emotions can have a negative impact on our health.

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How do you respond when you feel sad, angry, overwhelmed or frustrated?

Studies have shown that our autopilot response is flight or fight or freeze.

Unless you have reconditioned this autopilot way of responding chances are you respond in this way when you are triggered. These three ways of responding; fight, flight or freeze causes stress on the body because cortisol (stress hormone) levels are increased as the body prepares for defense things that make you happy until it becomes second nature. Research has shown that being happy boosts your immunity & improves health.

For more information, on how to stay healthy during COVID 19 pandemic please visit our website www.alchemicalcenter.com

At the Alchemical center of change, our happiness for no reason program teaches you a new way to respond that is safe & healthy for the body. You will learn scientifically proven health practices that boost happiness levels by decreasing stress hormones and boost your body's natural feel-good hormones. To learn more about our programs please visithttps://www.alchemicalcenter.com/

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