Everyone is stuck at home for the most part right now, which means it would be really easy to sit on the couch and snack on chips, cookies, drinks, and all the other things we tend to grab when we’re stuck at home and stressed. But right now more than ever, we really need to be doing everything we can to boost our immune systems! That includes getting exercise and eating nutritious foods that are high in vitamins and minerals. As far as exercise goes, even though you can’t go to the gym right now, there are still plenty of workouts you can do at home. If you haven’t seen it already, I’m going to be sharing different workouts on our Facebook and Instagram pages that you can do from your home with no equipment or very minimal equipment. So make sure you keep checking in to those pages daily!
When it comes to nutrition, I will start by saying that I am not a registered dietitian. What I am sharing is very general information from my knowledge in health and fitness. With that being said, the most important thing right now in my opinion is to eat your fruits and vegetables, because they tend to be the foods highest in vitamins and minerals. A good goal is to aim for 3 servings of vegetables and 2 servings of fruits per day. However, there are also other foods that are great for boosting your immune system as well. Yogurt and Kombucha have probiotics that are good for fighting off bad bacteria. Be careful to look at the sugar content in each of these because they often sneak in added sugar. Plain yogurt is your best option, and then you can add your own fruit to it for the vitamins! As far as Kombucha goes, it just depends on the brand, so look at the label and try to look for one with about 10g of sugar or less and 0g of added sugar. (A brand I like is GT’s in the Original or Gingerade flavors. They have 12g of sugar and 0g added sugar.) Some other great immune system boosting foods are almonds, sunflower seeds and avocados which all contain Vitamin E. Dark leafy greens also contain Vitamin E, but this vitamin requires the presence of fat to be absorbed into the body properly. Almonds, sunflower seeds, and avocados are great sources of healthy fats as well, which makes them the perfect snack for getting in this vitamin!
So as tempting as it is right now to snack on the traditional comfort foods, try your best to grab some of these more nutritious foods. That doesn’t mean you can’t have ANY chips or cookies or less healthy snacks. It just means that you should eat mostly the more nutrient dense foods and only a little of the other stuff. Again, I am not a dietitian, but I am simply sharing these tips because I am doing them personally and think it might be helpful for others as well! Please share if you have any other immune boosting tips! Stay healthy 🙂
