We hear claims, especially from experts in Ayurveda to eat Amla or Indian Gooseberry to stay healthy, to prevent illness, to fight virus threats. Is Amla a super food? We hear modern medicine doctors saying things like – Amla or for that matter any food cannot treat or prevent Corona. So where does the truth lie?
The truth lies in the fact that, no matter which disease – it is ultimately your body defense, the immune system that has to fight and win. And to do that successfully, its war machinery should have adequate supply of all types of required ammunition and artillery.
Your diet and your life style is what provides your immune system with required raw materials to manufacture its ammunition and bolster the body defense. It all comes down to what you eat and what you do.
Nutrition strengthens body defense
Be it nutritious food or medicine, they only help your body in fighting the disease. But nutritious food is preferred to medicine because “prevention is better than cure”.
- Nutritious Food is your natural diet, you can have it everyday, unlike medicine.
- Nutritious Food being natural is accepted by your body, unlike medicine that can have side effects and complications.
- Nutritious Food helps you stay healthy, so that your body has all required tools to fight when an external threat like a virus or harmful bacteria occurs.
That does not mean you should not take any prescribed medicine in case of an illness. It only means – prevention is better than cure – and hence prepare your body defense by regular consumption of nutritious food.
Medicine requires Doctor Prescription – Nutritious Food does not
Wise people do not take Vitamin supplements or any other supplements. They eat natural food that contain vitamins, minerals and other nutrition that our body can naturally absorb. For instance, instead of Vitamin C supplements, have some Indian Gooseberry, Lemon, Oranges in your regular diet. Instead of calcium supplements add some dark leafy greens, almonds, yogurt to your regular diet.
These supplements are only money making ways for big pharma. Don’t you get adequate calcium or any other nutrition for that matter from natural diet? Then why do they prescribe these supplements? Why not instead ask you to add X, Y and Z fruits, vegetables and nuts to your diet? Because, your eating of fruits, vegetables and nuts does not help big pharma make money.
There is no single SUPER FOOD
Yes, there is no single SUPER FOOD. The real super food is a good combination of various nutrients your body needs on a regular basis. Regular intake of a combination of below mentioned natural diet should be enough to keep you healthy.
- Fiber rich food
- Vegetables
- Fruits
- Nuts
- Leafy Greens
- Spices
Do not stick to just one type of food for long periods of time. Keep changing your intake of fruits, vegetables, nuts, greens. In that way your body will keep getting different type of nutrients from different sources.
Eating a single food means you only get those nutrients that are present in that food. And, there is no single super food that can supply all your nutrition requirements. Maintaining adequate nutrition levels IS the real super food.
You are what you eat. Remember never to take stuff that boasts to be super food like protein shakes, anti-oxidant powder, etc. Even when a food is nutritious, there is only so much of it your body can take in everyday. Everything else is thrown out as waste – and body has to spend additional energy to remove that excess waste.
If you stay hungry for two days, will you eat three days worth of food on the third day? No. You won’t, because you can’t! Similarly body will expel even excess nutrition intake. So its no use eating tonnes of something just because it is nutritious. It only gives additional work to body to get rid of it. Do not overdo anything.
Another key point is to avoid junk food, it adds no value to your health. In fact, junk food is bad for your health. Have a regular diet of good nutritious food.
The Secret to stay healthy
If your body has the following in your daily routine, you will rarely come across a situation where you need to take medicine.
- Nutritious Food
- Adequate Water
- Physical Exercise
- Sleep
- Meditation
- Fixed Daily Routine
The rule is though, not to over do anything. In excess amount, even the nectar of immortality becomes poison. And additionally, you should avoid the following completely.
- Smoking
- Alcohol
- Junk Food
So yes, Indian Gooseberry does not protect your body from Corona Virus or any other virus directly. But nutritious food like it prepares your body so that when there is a virus attack, your immune system can fight it effectively. The very basic requirement for a person to win a wrestling match is to be healthy and fit. Isn’t it?
Ayurveda focuses heavily on prevention than cure. Diet is a very essential part of it. Add to it a combination of Yoga, Pranayama and a vegetarian life style – and you can stay healthy. Your body can fight off external threats like viral fever, bacterial infection easily, because it has a good army of healthy cells in its immune system.
If you came here looking for a single super food that you can keep eating and eating and grow healthy and healthier – Sorry! You learn swimming by swimming only. You stay healthy by doing healthy things only. Eat good food, do good things, have good sleep, drink good amounts of water, do good physical work, stay healthy and fit. God bless you.
