Category: Food is Medicine! Immunity is the Focus!

Ginger is a common and indispensable ingredient in our kitchen. An important aromatic spice, it helps us in boosting immunity and keeping us healthy in many ways.

Fresh ginger is rich in gingerol that has anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant properties. It has multiple health benefits as listed below.

1. Strengthens immune system
2. Eases Flu and common cold
3. Keeps our stomach healthy and eases digestion
4. Fights Cancer
5. Helps reduce cholesterol levels
6. Remedies vomiting
7. Regulates Blood Sugar level

Ginger soaked in honey and consumed every morning in empty stomach is a traditional practice that gives best results in terms of boosting immunity, keeping our digestive system intact and staying healthy.

Citrus fruits like Orange, Lemon, Sweet Lime, Grapes, etc., are excellent sources of Vitamin C that strengthens our body’s ability to fight against diseases that are common. They also contain good amounts of other vitamins and minerals that provide a host of health benefits apart from plant compounds with anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory effects.

Our body requires regular intake of Vitamin C. So it is important to add various forms of citrus fruits in appropriate levels to our every day diet.

Citrus fruits also contain good amounts of fibers that help in digestive health, reduction of bad cholesterol and aiding weight loss.

They give us the best benefits when they are consumed as whole fruits than in a serving of fruit juice. More sugar per serving of fruit juice will increase calories.

Garlic is said to contain compounds that help our immune system fight germs. When it is crushed and chewed, it releases sulphur containing compounds, shown to boost the disease-fighting response of certain types of white blood cells (WBC) in our body.

Garlic promotes Phagocytosis, the ability of white blood cells to fight infections. It also stimulates other immune cells such as machrophages and T-cells to fight bacterial and viral infections.

In case if you are averse to consuming raw garlic, it is better to crush or chop them and let them remain for 10 minutes before cooking. It will prevent the loss of its medicinal properties.

South Indian traditional methods also suggests chopped garlic, medium roasted with ghee has good benefits.

Content Reference:

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/garlic-fights-colds-and-flu, http://www.perthgarlicfestival.com/Health%20Benefits.htm#:~:text=One%20way%20garlic%20works%20is,to%20scavenge%20for%20cancer%20cells.

Our craze for newfound cuisines has long ago pulled us away from our traditional food practices. Traditional Indian food always had all the required ingredients for boosting immunity in our body and keeping us healthy.

It is important that we quickly re-adapt to our traditional food practices to boost our immunity and keep ourselves safe against not just covid, but any such pandemic or other diseases that may surface out in future. It is also important to boost our body’s immune system in order to generally stay healthy and lead a happy life.

We would like to summarize the importance of 5 such ingredients on how they are helpful in boosting immunity!

1. Citrus Fruits: Many of you know citrus fruits like orange, lemon, sweet lime and grapes are rich in Vitamin C, a nutrient that strengthens our immune system. They also contain good amounts of other nutrients like Vitamin B, phosphorus, magnesium, potassium and copper besides being rich in plant compounds that have various health benefits including anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant effects.
2. Ginger: The aromatic spice is a commoner in the Indian Kitchen. Ginger is also a common home medicine for stomachache, vomiting and common cold. The anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant properties in ginger can improve immunity in our body. Ginger soaked in honey, consumed in empty stomach every morning, is an age-old practice in keeping the digestive systems healthy, boosting our immunity and staying healthy.
3. Turmeric: For a very long time, turmeric has been one of the most used medicinal spices in India. It has more than 300 nutrients beta-carotene, flavonoids, calcium, iron, ascorbic acid, potassium, zinc, etc. Curcumin, the abundantly available polyphenol in turmeric is anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant and anti-bacterial in nature with wound healing effects. Turmeric is a powerful immunity booster and an ingredient used time immemorial in Indian cuisines.
4. Garlic: The best way to make garlic work as an immune booster is to use it in a way that we will chew and eat it. When it is crushed and chewed, ‘allicin’, an ingredient in garlic converts in to sulphur containing compounds that gives it the medicinal properties. These compounds have been shown to boost the disease fighting response of some types of white blood cells of the body.
5. Almonds: They are forever the best snack. Almonds are high in vitamin E that acts as an anti-oxidant helping the body’s immune system function. They also contain iron and protein that are essential for the immune system. Almonds lower bad cholesterol and are also packed with potassium and magnesium that along with vitamin E ensures free flow of nutrients in the blood.

CORONA KAVACH HEALTH INSURANCE OFFERS MANY THINGS THAT MAY NOT BE COVERED IN YOUR BASIC HEALTH INSURANCE COVER

1. Consumables: In all health insurance policies, expenses related to consumables like PPE kits, oxygen, and consultation fees will not be covered. The ‘corona kavach’ policy covers all these including other related expenses that are considered deductibles under a normal health insurance policy.
2. Home Care Expenses: Treatment expenses for Home care are allowed in ‘corona kavach’ policy, as there is a possibility that you are advised to undergo treatment for being COVID-19 positive at home. Medical expenses incurred during homecare treatment will be covered up to 14 days under a ‘corona kavach’ policy.
3. Pre and Post Hospitalisation: Your pre and post hospitalisation expenses, i.e. 15 days before hospitalization and until 30 days after discharge, will be reimbursed under this policy.
4. If you opt for AYUSH (Alternative Treatments like Ayurvedic, Yoga, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy) treatment, it will be covered as a part of the ‘corona kavach’ policy.
5. The policy provides for Road Ambulance Cover i.e. transfer from home to hospital or hospital to home, in an ambulance.
6. Besides, this specialised health insurance comes at a low cost…Why claim and waste the Sum Insured in your basic health insurance cover?..

Though the world is looking at an earlier than expected vaccine for Covid-19, still it is going to take a while before we have it for our use. So, it will make a lot of sense going for an additional ‘corona kavach’ health insurance policy that comes at a low premium.

The specialized insurance policy is available with most of the leading insurers with options for 3.5, 6.5 and 9.5 months tenures.