Special for the Coronavirus Era: How to Strengthen Your Body Naturally

Allow me to guess what you're praying for these days? Well, it's not hard to know: health. 

Indeed, we have other concerns, like livelihood, for example, but our primary prayer is for the health of our family and the health of the entire people of Israel.

You'll be pleased to know that precisely where we all are today – home, there are many natural ways to help us maintain good health, strengthen the immune system, and fare better with viruses and pathogens. We've chosen several natural treatment methods to help you strengthen your body and soul now, to get through these turbulent days in peace.

(Photo illustration: shutterstock)

Caution with Sugar and Snacks

First, we spoke with Sarah Hefer, a naturopath, clinical herbalist, and blood type method expert. Within the broad field of naturopathy, she loves to focus especially on nutrition and explains: 'It's the fuel for our body. Before taking supplements and herbs, it's important to perfect the diet. I've seen impressive results with dietary accuracy according to the blood type method because it's a genetic match. This approach is especially suited to those who cannot or do not want to take supplements'.

So let's focus on our current situation: the coronavirus that everyone fears. What do you recommend to prevent infection, both for usually healthy people and for those in different risk groups?

Sarah: 'First, listen to the Ministry of Health's guidelines, that's the first thing. Don’t try to be 'wise guys' and do exactly what they tell us. The second recommendation is 'avoid evil'. Avoiding evil means stopping as much as possible with all processed foods, which can be: cakes, sweets, soft drinks, ice cream, and popsicles. Anything containing hydrogenated fats, such as: cookies with margarine, hummus, vegetable cream, and such. All these severely weaken our immune system. Then move to 'do good', which means introducing as much natural food that strengthens our immune system and is rich in vitamin C and vitamin D, for example: garlic, onions – in salads and cooked dishes, ginger root in salads, sandwiches or paste, turmeric root – can be grated into dishes and salads. It's also important to know that sugar significantly harms the immune system. It is known as a 'robber' of vitamin B, which are vitamins linked to deficiency. After excessive sugar consumption, our immune system can be suppressed for several good hours, exposing us to the possibility of contracting various viruses. Additionally, a lesser-known fact is that viruses and pathogens consume sugar, just like cancer cells. Sugar allows them to continue to exist in our bodies, so it’s really worth avoiding sugar as much as possible'.

Are there foods you recommend consuming, like vegetables or fruits that can strengthen our immune system?

Sarah claims that each person suits something different, just like different vehicles require different types of fuel. There are engines that run on gasoline, some on diesel, and others on gas or electricity, just like our bodies. Physical needs vary from person to person, and what suits and is good for one can be harmful to another.

Nevertheless, Sarah also provides a list of things that are good for everyone: 'Lemon, green tea, broccoli, broccoli sprouts - these are some of the things. The point is to listen to our body, what makes it feel good and what doesn’t. Another important thing that's suitable for everyone is to chew food thoroughly and not to eat until bursting. Also, snacks between meals are not good for anyone, including snacking on a fruit or vegetable. Additionally, it's important to consume vitamin D and vitamin C, especially for people with weakened immune systems. In the case of a fever, it's possible to consume a double amount of vitamin C. Plenty of hydration, mainly water, and herb infusions are very good for strengthening the body and the immune system'. 

Do we have a way to know if our immune system is strong enough?

Sarah: 'Everyone can feel on their own what their body is signaling. If there is a sense of weakness, fatigue, or lack of vitality, it usually indicates that the immune system is weak'.

Are we talking about physical weakness, or also mental weakness?

'Both, everything is connected, the mind impacts the body and the body impacts the mind. Regarding sugar, for instance, if someone is addicted to sugar, it can actually lead to depression or mental illnesses, so the body affects the mind and, of course, the immune system is affected.

(Photo illustration: shutterstock)

Strengthening Positive Thinking

The second therapist we spoke with is Zehava Roz - an NLP master trainer. Zehava provided us with knowledge and tools for good mental coping with the situation, ensuring our body isn't negatively affected by the virus. Zehava argues it’s important to maintain a certain level of readiness in our situation to protect our health and that of our loved ones, but beyond that, the stress mechanism is very dangerous and can lead to severe physical conditions.

Does unnecessary stress increase our chances of infection?

Zehava claims it does and explains how it happens: 'In a situation of high mental stress, like today, the performance of the immune system drops, our body secretes hormones like cortisol and adrenaline, which create confusion in the body and suppress the immune system. Sometimes this can cause the opposite effect of an overactive immune system, leading to the body attacking itself. Hence, one may develop various autoimmune diseases, or increase the inflammatory response in the body'.

For those who want a more detailed explanation, she explains: 'Hashem created within us a central nervous system and a peripheral nervous system. The central nervous system controls our brain, while the peripheral nervous system is divided into two parts, one of which is the autonomic nervous system – the involuntary one. The autonomic nervous system is divided into the sympathetic system and the parasympathetic system. Both these systems are automatic with no conscious choice on our part. The sympathetic system takes all our energy for survival purposes, secreting stress hormones that, as a result, weaken our body and immune system, in turn enhancing the functioning of the sympathetic system and on it goes. If we stay in such a state constantly, it may lead to illness, infection with viruses, and so on. In contrast, when the parasympathetic nervous system begins to work, our body becomes more sensitive to leptin - the satiety hormone, secreting positive hormones like dopamine and endorphins, making us feel better'.

So in simple terms – how do we encourage the body to strengthen the positive system?

'Very simply - it's important to know that the solution to stress is relaxation. There is physical relaxation - which involves various physical actions we can do to calm the mind, and there is cognitive relaxation - which is the interpretation we give to the events around us and consequently our feelings change. This is essentially what everyone refers to today as 'positive thinking'.

Zehava adds that to break the circle of stress, we need to understand what we're doing to ourselves: 'After realizing that we're harming ourselves through stress and mental pressure, we can make a conscious effort to calm down. This can be through physical relaxation or cognitive relaxation. In doing so, our body's parasympathetic nervous system is activated. In fact, we don't have a choice in how each cycle operates, but we do have a choice of which cycle to activate'.

Are there practical actions we can take to start activating the parasympathetic system that benefits our body?

Zehava: 'A single deep and good breath can improve the feeling and activate this system. One deep breath impacts the vagus nerve and the hypothalamus, which is a gland responsible for secreting cortisol. A minute with 10 deep, slow breaths, or even 4 deep breaths and a rest can help. Additional things like thinking positive thoughts about ourselves, expressing gratitude, or any positive word, can trigger the parasympathetic system. Relaxation or simply being with closed eyes to relax is helpful too. Muscle relaxation impacts the mind and reduces stress. We don't need to change the situation but be aware of our feelings and adjust accordingly, effectively controlling our nervous system. The bad news is that without an effort to switch to the parasympathetic system, one remains predominantly in the harmful sympathetic system, so we must make this effort for ourselves'.

Are all these concepts referenced in Judaism?

'Of course. It is written in the Shulchan Aruch, chapter 22, that 'one who wishes to maintain health must know the emotional movements and be cautious of them, like happiness, worry, fear, and emotional activities. The wise should be content with his share throughout his days of vanity and not worry over a world that is not his, nor seek advantages... and be in good spirits and joy because it is a reason to increase natural heat... and to reject excess... also, the power of reason will be stronger... worry opposes joy and it also cools by cooling natural heat... fear induces coolness in the body...' Judaism understood this before everyone else, essentially'.

(Photo illustration: shutterstock)

Correct and Strengthening Activity

The final expert rounding out our picture is Ayala Kosaev - reflexologist and natural health consultant. Ayala explains that the natural health method can treat very many types of illnesses, even those that conventional medicine cannot address. The natural health approach addresses the root of the problem through transitioning to a healthy lifestyle. 

What does a healthy lifestyle include and can it prevent us from contracting coronavirus?

Ayala explains: 'A healthy lifestyle is not just natural nutrition, as many believe. It also includes physical activity, breathing, and anything that can improve our health. Regarding the coronavirus, it's important to know that our body is constantly dealing with viruses and bacteria. What we actually want to do is strengthen our immune system, so it can deal with them easily. There are two processes simultaneously occurring in our body all the time: building and breakdown. Building is for energy creation and tissue building, and breakdown is a process consistently breaking down dead cells and excreting toxins. At any given moment, our body releases waste, even for a person who eats very healthily, there is always waste the body needs to dispose of. Waste is excreted by the respiratory system, sweat, urinary, digestive systems, and more. Our goal is to strengthen our health so that the body is stronger and waste excretion is optimal. We need to ensure waste excretion exceeds what we put into our bodies. This is not about food quantity; it could be toxic gases we breathe in the street or various substances we are exposed to. When we start accumulating waste, we have a problem. Good health should be when waste output exceeds input. Encouraging the excretion of toxins can be done by natural nutrition and avoiding toxic or industrially processed foods. In this period, we want to adhere to this more, so that even if we do get infected, we can get through it easily and quickly.

'In addition to nutrition, it's very important to ventilate home rooms and maintain hygiene, breathe clean air, and avoid air fresheners or purifiers. Of course, it's important to maintain physical activity within our current limits. When we exercise, blood circulation improves, and the entire body starts functioning better. If possible, getting some sun exposure can help a lot with vitamin D absorption. Another mineral to take, especially now, whether as a supplement or through proper diet, is zinc. Zinc is known for its importance in boosting immune system function, maintaining body vitality, and resistance to respiratory diseases and others. Sources of zinc in food are: pumpkin seeds, legumes, whole grains, parsley, basil, cashews, pistachios, sesame, and tahini. It's also recommended to ensure sufficient sleep hours - 7-8 hours per day'.

Are there exercises from the world of reflexology that anyone can do at home for themselves or children to strengthen the immune system?

Ayala gives us two simple exercises that parents can perform on their children to calm the body and strengthen the immune system:

The first exercise is to start with applying oil like almond oil, olive oil, or even regular body cream on the child's feet. Begin massaging the foot from the toes toward the body, so you stimulate blood flow and strengthen the lymphatic system and immune system.

The second exercise will not be on the foot itself but on the ankles on the sides of the foot. Massage the ankles on both sides of the foot, one foot at a time, in circular motions. This action also strengthens our immune system and calms the body.