Stay Healthy During COVID-19
At Instructor Live, we have been inundated by questions on how to stay healthy, so we thought we would give you some hints and tips to keep on top of things and stay as healthy as possible. InstructorLive specialises in exercise, lifestyle choices, immune function and supplements, so here are our recommendations.
1. Keep active
If you can, go for a walk every day, get fresh air and keep moving to boost serotonin levels for mood, immunity and a good night’s sleep. Whilst outside, keep away from people as much as 10 steps if you can. Exercise helps reduce stress so try to exercise at least three times a week. We have over 70 programmes to choose from, so no excuses 😉
2. Meditation
Meditators are officially 31% less likely to catch viruses. Panicking and being stressed lowers the immune system significantly, so Meditation is an exceptional way to manage stress and immunity. Consider our class Asana Mindful Yoga with Beth.
3. Stay Connected
We sometimes hear older generations saying the internet has changed things and not so much for the better. Whilst I have short moments of agreement, this is not one of those times. We can stay connected as much as we like being online. We can Skype, Zoom, Facetime, phone call and goodness knows what. Many companies and instructors are offering online classes and meditation groups. We have never been so connected. Instructorlive is part of this movement and very much here for you during this time.
Whilst being at home, there is the temptation to stay on social media and scroll for hours. We recommend you stay connected and active through apps such as ours but to avoid extensive time on social media with much scaremongering and frightening news, keep your online time to a minimum but staying abreast of important news each day.
4. Stay Productive
Whilst staying in your jammies is a real temptation, you are best to get up, shower, walk, pick up an IL exercise stream, assign jobs to yourself, cook fresh foods, help others and think about the things you wanted to get done that you never had time for. I am going to clear out my closest although I work from home, so I will probably just work more.
5. Healthy Food
Try and keep food as nourishing and as fresh as possible. Baked bean sales are at a record high and whilst we want some practical staples we need to remain as nourished as possible. Buy up some fresh food and cook in batches to freeze, if you have space. Even buying in some frozen vegs and berries is a good way to add in your five a day.
Consider smoothies where you can buy in healthy protein powder sources, flaxseed or hempseed oils, nut butter, non-dairy-shelf stable kinds of milk, and so on. Check out our recipes here for the ultimate breakfast smoothie.
Making up batches of soup keeps you busy and is a great way to include some of your five a day. Soup can be left in the fridge for up to a week and stored successfully in the fridge.
Eggs are the most bioavailable and affordable source of protein you can get your hands on other than Whey that comes in at a whopping 100%. Please think of your neighbours and don’t buy up all of the eggs known to mankind. Check out our tasty recipe for breakfast egg muffins.
6. Drink plenty of Water
Stay hydrated. It’s lucky we have drinkable water and we won’t run out of tap water, so please don’t think we are preaching to you about having to have clean water. If you can filter your water, this is a better option but if not, no biggie for the time being. However, unfortunately, a lot of tap water contains toxins such as chlorine, fluoride, aluminum, nitrates, insecticides, herbicides, prescription medications, and more. Please bear in mind caffeinated drinks such as green tea, black tea, coffee will dehydrate you – so top on water accordingly.
7. Give Back
We know everyone will be worried about income, job stability, business buoyancy and so on and the government will help but also there will be ways to try and overcome this. If you have the funds check out local businesses, see if they have anything on offer. Some are asking for donations now, for something in return in the future. Check out Just Giving and Go Fund Me.
8. Support your Immune System
Many of you will be feeling a little lost and worried. Supporting your anxiety, immunity and general well-being is essential in these times. Some of you can have an under-functioning or overly sensitive immune system due to a number of factors. Those of you need to take all of the precautions, keep as isolated as is possible but also looking too good, fresh food and supplements to help modulate immune function. We have posted the supplements here, with research to back it up:
Supplements to try:
Here are some herbs, vitamins, and minerals that we highly recommend. Please know this is not to be taken as medical advice or personal consultation. Please consult your doctor before adding any new supplements to your regime.
- Probiotics; good bacteria may protect against the virus as probiotics elicit many immune responses. Although further detailed research is necessary probiotics and is expected to be among the rational adjunctive options for the treatment of various viral diseases. We love Biocare’s probiotic blend called LAB4. There’s a huge amount of research around it and can support immunity in a number of ways.
- Ashwagandha; is a wonderful adaptogenic, Ayurvedic herb for anxiety stress and immunity. It can certainly help in times of need when one is releasing extra cortisol due to the bodies ‘stress response’. We love PukkaHerbs (you may well know the teas) for this beautiful herb but they offer herbs in organic capsule and powder form also.
- Vitamin C; in megadoses (5-8 grams of vitamin C) administered before or after the appearance of a cold and flu can reduce or even prevent symptoms. We particularly like liposomal vitamin C as it stays present in the body for longer, to be utilised effectively. That said one can constantly give themselves small doses of 500mg-1gram every couple of hours and it doesn’t need to be liposomal to be good. We love Vitamin C 500mg from Biocare, liposomal vitamin C Zooki and liposomal vitamin C by Coyne Health Care.
- Vitamin D; is thought to protect against respiratory infections by boosting levels of antimicrobial peptides in the lungs (natural antibiotic-like substances). This may also explain why vitamin D may protect against asthma attacks, which are commonly triggered by respiratory viruses. We love Bio Mulsion D by Biocare as it is made water-soluble and easily absorbed (by nature fat-soluble vitamins are difficult to absorb).
- Andrographis; is a plant that is native to South Asian countries such as India and Sri Lanka and a commonly used Ayurvedic medicine. Andrographis is well known for preventing and treating the common cold and flu (influenza). Pukka produces a lovely organic Andrographis that we highly recommend.
We hope that this was helpful. Please know we are here to support you during this time, keeping you fighting fit with all your daily exercise commitments covered.
Austin – InstructorLive Trainer
