Eat these Immunity Booster Foods & Stay Healthy

Discover 6 Immunity-Boosting Superfoods to Eat During Lockdown

With everyone instructed to stay at home during COVID-19 Alert Level 4 measures, you can use this down time to whip up new recipes that contain immunity-boosting ingredients to help you stay healthy and maintain a nutritious diet. While no superfoods can “cure” or protect you from the coronavirus, these foods can help to bolster your immunity with little to no effort. While some of these food items may come as no surprise to you and already be staples in your pantry, it’ll serve as a good reminder and inspiration to get creative the next time you’re in the kitchen.

1. Sweet potato and carrots

Belonging to the red, yellow and orange coloured food group, sweet potatoes and carrots are delightful sources of beta carotene, which is a precursor to vitamin A. According to the healthline, the benefits of consuming beta carotene-rich foods can include:

• Improving cognitive function
• Maintaining your skin’s health and appearance
• Protecting your lung health
• Reducing macular degeneration
• Preventing cancer

Replace your standard baked potato with a baked sweet potato or make sweet potato mash for an easy menu change-up. Carrots are great eaten on their own with your favourite dip of choice.

2. Turmeric

Hailing from India and other parts of Southeast Asia, Turmeric’s primary active component is curcumin. Curcumin is what gives turmeric its vibrant yellow colour. Popularly used in Asian curries, curcumin isn’t just a flavour enhancer, it is also a powerhouse when it comes to its anti-inflammatory and gut health benefits.

A simple way to add more turmeric to your diet is by adding it to your go-to spice mixture as a BBQ rub or by using it in your home-made salad dressing.

3. Green leafy vegetables

By no means a new-comer to the game, green vegetables are a vital source of anti-inflammatory antioxidants and also provide key immune-boosting nutrients such as vitamins A, C and folate.

Plus, did you know that foods rich in folic acid, such as spinach, broccoli and asparagus, can help you body generate new cell growth and improve circulation in the body, thus aiding the overall health of the hair cells in your inner ear? If you’ve had success with using your diet to maintain or improve your hearing health, the team at bloom™ hearing specialists would love to hear about it!

Thinking of ways to incorporate more greens into your current diet? Rather than opting for your usual Greek salad, why not try an Asian-style veggie stir fry? Just throw a few bunches of greens such as buk choy or choy sum into the fry pan with a splash of olive oil and a good douse of oyster sauce – away you go!

Another delicious, fool-proof method is by adding a handful of spinach or kale into a smoothie. You can change up the ingredients to suit your personal taste preference.

4. Garlic

A garlic a day keeps the vampires away! But in all seriousness, a research study found that the group that had a garlic supplement daily for 12 weeks throughout the cold season, experienced significantly fewer colds and recovered faster if infected, compared to the placebo group.

Mouth-watering recipes that hero garlic as an ingredient include the traditional Italian pasta dish, Spaghetti Aglio E Olio.

Using ingredients that you most likely already have in your pantry, this garlic-starring dish is sure to be a hit, even with the fussiest of eaters. You can try out this recipe by eatwell.co.nz.

5. Pomegranate juice

Containing higher levels of antioxidants that most other common fruit juices, the anti-inflammatory properties of pomegranate juice can help to inhibit the growth of cancer cells, as well as control the inflammation associated with arthritis, amongst other benefits. It can also assist you to lower blood pressure, which is critical during stressful times.

6. Red capsicum

Compared to an orange that has about 53 milligrams of vitamin C per 100 grams, the red capsicum has:

• Almost triple that at 127 milligrams per 100 grams
• Plus, when cooked, the vitamin C level rises again to about 171 milligrams per 100 grams

So next time you reach for an orange when you feel a cold coming on, think twice. Stuffed baked capsicum is a house-hold favourite amongst many and can take as little as 15 minutes to prepare. A heart-warming comfort food during the colder months, you may want to test out this stuffed capsicum recipe by New Zealand Woman’s Weekly on foodtolove.co.nz.

Eat the rainbow and reap the immunity-boosting rewards

And there you have it, six immunity-boosting foods to try adding to your diet during the coming weeks to keep yourself feeling healthy and revitalised, even if you’re stuck at home. On top of maintaining a healthy diet, be sure to also try out our easy exercises to do at home, to ensure that you’re keeping your physical activity levels up too!

A tidying expert, bestselling author and star of Netflix’s hit show “ Tidying Up with Marie Kondo”, Marie Kondo’s minimalism approach to simplifying and organising your home has taken the world by storm. Made famous for her “KonMari Method”, she takes her followers through a methodical approach of discarding items that no longer spark joy in your life, thanking them for their service, then letting them go. Now’s a better time than ever, to tackle room by room, going through items that you no longer need. Do you really need that Better Homes & Gardening magazine that’s been sitting untouched for the last five years? Didn’t think so!

With the current Coronavirus mantra of washing your hands regularly, you might as well take this time to clean and organise your home. Wipe down the dusty window sills, clean out your linen closet…do a bit of pre-Spring cleaning that will undoubtedly leave you feeling refreshed and satisfied, as you tick off each item. A tidy home is a happy home.

Avid puzzler or a beginner, you can keep your mind active and stimulated by picking up a jigsaw puzzle. Whether you live on your own or with a partner, puzzling is a rewarding activity as you chip away at the board bit by bit. If you’re a beginner, go easy on yourself by starting on a 500-piece and if you’re a novice, tackle a 1,000-piece project that is four times more difficult than a 500-piece. The challenge is yours to decide.

Puzzle-solving is proven to help adults improve their memory, build better problem-solving skills, enhancing mood as well as lowering stress levels. You can choose a puzzle theme that suits your interests or is visually appealing, whether it’s a scenic backdrop of an iconic location or a scene from your favourite movie. You’re never too young or old to puzzle!

A fun and enriching activity that you can do outdoors while basking in the sun rays, gardening is the perfect activity where you can learn new skills or pick up from where you last left off. Depending on what you decide to grow, whether it be a little herb garden or some new florals for your planter box, you’ll reap the rewards of your efforts by having something beautiful to look at whenever you’re outside.

If you don’t have access to an outdoor garden, you can try your hand at planting indoor bulbs such as hyacinth, narcissus and amaryllis bulbs. A sight for sore eyes, these spring bulbs are beautiful additions to your window sills or around your home, where it’s sunny and well-lit.

According to a study carried out by Professor Nina Kraus of neurobiology, physiology and otolaryngology at Northwestern University, Illinois in the Australia, music can help to train the brain and improve hearing. Consisting of 18 musicians and 19 non-musicians between the ages for 45 to 65, the study found that among people with hearing loss, musicians were better at detecting, processing and remembering sounds.

Certain instruments have proven to be better for learners with hearing loss, with piano and guitar being amongst the popular choices. Alongside playing an instrument, singing and dancing can also be combined as a form of music therapy, assisting you to communicate better and preserve your speech listening skills. Plus, we’re here for you throughout your hearing journey.

Make social distancing or self-isolating at home a fun experience
And there you have it, four fun activity ideas you can do from the comfort of your own home, whether it’s by yourself or with a loved one.

We hope you found this list of ideas helpful and if you did, please feel free to share with your family members and friends who may be finding it difficult to stay at home during COVID-19.

For the latest updates on how bloom™ hearing specialists is keeping our valued customers safe and well during these uncertain times, please visit our COVID-19 Coronavirus Update page.