We need to load up on zinc through everyday diet
Zinc is an essential mineral for immunity.Zinc is vital for more than 300 enzymes in the body.
Zinc makes a key component of WBC that fights infections.
Our immune system is designed in way that can fight off foreign cells to protect us against various allergies and illnesses.
As COVID-19 continues its grip the world, it is emphasized time and again to boost immunity through either diets or supplements. Apart from Vitamin C and D, Zinc is another nutrient that has been identified as an essential mineral for our immune systems. Zinc is associated with many biological functions in a human body and is involved in multiple cellular processes.
Zinc is vital for more than 300 enzymes in the body, plays a key role in protein synthesis, wound healing, DNA synthesis and cell division. It is also required for proper sense of taste and smell. Besides, zinc makes a key component of WBC that fights infections.
Ironically, despite being an essential nutrient, human body cannot produce or store zinc on its own. Therefore, it needs to be supplemented through diet. To add to it, a large percentage of Indians have a lower intake of zinc than the required levels for optimal immune function.
Zinc deficiency dampens innate and adaptive immune responses. Zinc deficiencies are evident by oxidant stress, increased inflammatory process, and life-threatening situations, as well as premature cell death at the cellular and sub-cellular levels.
Zinc-Rich Foods:
Zinc is naturally present in the foods and available as a dietary supplement. A wide variety of foods contain zinc.
Animal-based foods are the best source of zinc - oysters top the chart with meat and poultry providing most of the zinc in the developed nations. Plant-based foods are generally low in zinc content. The bioavailability of zinc from vegetarian diets is lower than non-vegetarian diets. Phytates, which are present in vegetarian foods like whole-grain breads, cereals, legumes, etc., bind zinc and inhibit its absorption. The vegetarians might benefit from using certain food preparation methods that increase bioavailability of zinc - for instance, soaking beans, grains, and seeds in water for several hours before cooking or allowing to sprout; roasting foods or fermenting them are also considered beneficial.
The plant-based foods containing considerable amount of zinc, include nuts, like walnuts, almonds, cashews and seeds, like sunflower, pumpkin, watermelon seeds; milk and dairy products; whole grains and legumes, like chickpea, lentils and beans.
Second batch of Russian Covid-19 vaccine Sputnik V reaches Hyderabad
Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories, the marketing partner of Sputnik V in India, tweeted that “the consignment that arrived today in Hyderabad contains 60,000 doses of the second dose component of the #SputnikV vaccine. Samples from the consignment will be sent for release to the Central Drugs Laboratory.”
The first consignment consisting of 1.5 lakh doses that arrived in Hyderabad on May 1 was cleared for use on May 13 by the Central Drugs Laboratory in Kasauli. Samples drawn from all consignments would be sent to the central facility in Himachal Pradesh and the vaccine used on getting clearance.
The maximum retail price of the vaccine is ₹995, including a 5% GST. The company said this was the rate at which it would be supplying the vaccine to the government and private sector.
First batch of DRDO's anti-Covid drug 2-DG to be released tomorrow
The first batch of drug 2-deoxy-D-glucose drug to treat Covid-19 patients, developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation in collaboration with Hyderabad's dr Reddy's Limited, will be launched on May 17, marking a landmark in India's fight against the Covid-19 pandemic. Defence minister Rajnath Singh and health minister Dr Harsh Vardhan will release the first batch of the drug.
In the trials, patients treated with this drug recovered around 2.5 days earlier than those under standard treatment. A significantly higher proportion of patients improved symptomatically and became free from supplemental oxygen dependence (42% vs 31%) by day 3 in comparison to SoC, indicating an early relief from Oxygen therapy/dependence, the government said.
WHO Benchmarks for Sodium in diet
"Sodium is an essential mineral for our body to function as it is involved in nerve impulse conduction, muscle contraction and for maintaining the water and mineral balance. But when consumed in excessive amounts, it may cause an increased risk of heart diseases, high BP, stroke and kidney problems."
This is why the World Health Organisation had set a limit of 5-gram for daily salt intake.
WHO released a new set of global benchmarks for sodium levels in more than 60 food categories, with an aim to help countries reduce sodium contents in foods to improve overall diet.
Mind & Body Healing - Exercise/ Meditation to Reduce Stress
This is a 10 week exercise designed to promote wellness and reduce stress.
Every week, we will upload a recording. We encourage you to listen to the recording during the week and practice the exercises every day.
The program aims to slow down the fast pace of thoughts in your head, reduce the outside noise of the world and encourage quietness, introspection, acceptance, calmness and peace within. This will help in reducing stress which affects us both physically and physiologically.
Breathing is such an automatic and intrinsic part of our body that we tend to ignore it. However, this is vital for our body – the taking in of oxygen without which we can’t survive and the exhalation of carbon dioxide.
we need to take a little time to breathe in the positive and exhale the negative.
Week 1
