Did you know, lockdown has taken a toll on your health?

It is a fact that the COVID restrictions have made it difficult for us to lead our lives as healthily as we would earlier. Supplies are limited, exercise is limited. Also, since most of us are working from home and  in most scenarios without househelps, cooking a full meal each time is becoming a challenge. Also, if you are going through tough situations such as job loss, salary cuts or struggling with mental health issues like anxiety, fear, depression, and loneliness, it might get difficult to focus on healthy living as before.

But dealing with COVID also requires a robust immunity. Therefore we need to focus on that as well. Here are some tips to keep your system healthy when there are limitations

1. Keep yourself hydrated: Keeping yourself hydrated is essential in order to get your body to function at its best. And not just hydration with water, but given the onslaught of the heat wave, we need electrolytes as well in our diet which means coconut water, kaccha mango water or aam panna, lemon water, curd and  its variants, bel juice, kokum sharbat etc...all nourishing drinks. Prepare pulps of raw mango, kokum, bel  etc. on one available day of the week; freeze in ice cubes tray. When you want to drink, dissolve  a cube in your glass of water and you are ready to go. Tender coconuts can be brought in bulk, and stored in a cool, dark place eliminating the need to running to a grocer everyday.

2. Plan your meal and snack times beforehand: Make a schedule for when you would be having your breakfast, lunch, snacks and dinner. Keeping monitored time-gaps will save you from indigestion, lower chances of skipping meals or over-eating. 

3. Eat healthy snacks: Food cravings come along with lockdown restrictions. You might feel like having tempting snacks such as chips and junk food, but given the heatwave and lack of exercise, their consumption should be limited. Instead try and indulge in simple snacks that include more of nuts, sprouts, dried fruits, yoghurts, fruits, makhana, a mixture of seeds such as sunflower, flaxseeds, sabja etc. or the likes that are high on essential nutrients, antioxidants and proteins. 

4. Make each meal count: Make each meal a power meal. In every meal or snack include one or more immunity-boosting foods that are available easily and can be stored like eggs; use turmeric in cooking; have fresh lime water with a dash of  ginger juice; add besan and oats in your normal wheat flour to make the rotis healthier; use ragi in dosa batter; blend and freeze leafy greens and knead that into flour for paranthas; add a handful of sprouts to salads and soup. 

5. Cut back on sugar and caffeine: Looking at all the moms cooking elaborate desserts for their families from homemade banoffee pie to rasogullas can be tempting  no doubt, but it is best to not fall into the trap. Keep desserts once a week. Remember that you are not able to burn all that sugar due to lack of exercise. Also, WFH should  not translate into many cups of tea and coffee. Caffeine acts as a diuretic and in this heat can disturb the body’s natural water balance. If you are one who wants something to sip on, go in for green tea hot or cold.

 6. Eat well cooked food, buy foods that do not rot fast enough: Most summer fruits such as watermelon, melons, cucumbers do not go bad fast enough which is a saving grace during COVID crisis. Buy and stock these so that you get a healthy snack when wanted. Also, when using eggs, meat, chicken, ensure  they are well cooked thoroughly.

Eating healthy needs to be accompanied by other health measures as well such as walking, even if it is inside your house (do not answer a phone call while sitting...walk your talk) and getting enough sleep. Stay safe, stay healthy.