Urban Kitchen Nutritionist Toral Shah Shares Top Tips To Support Your Immune System As UK Restrictions Ease Yorkshire News

Despite the recent ‘Freedom Day’ in which virtually all Covid-19 restrictions were lifted, not all Brits are celebrating a complete return to normalcy. After 16 months of different lockdowns, a new survey * commissioned on behalf of Actimel reveals that some Britons are nervous about reverting to their pre-pandemic habits when it comes to social events, foreign travel and public transport.

It’s no wonder the thought of being in crowds fills us with anxiety after being in domestic bubbles for so long, and the survey revealed that more than half of Brits (51%) feel nervous about this. Interestingly, it doesn’t matter if you hang out with strangers or close family members, with similar anxiety levels to attend big events like festivals (44%) to those who admit feeling nervous about socializing with friends and family at parties or weddings. (40%).

Travel is another cause for concern, with one in three feeling uncomfortable with public transport (33%). This is not only true for everyday travel, but also when it comes to traveling on vacation, so much so that more than a fifth (21%) are undecided if they will travel for the whole of this summer, and one in ten is too nervous to to travel. this summer for fear of getting sick (12%).

The survey also reveals that Britons have encountered less common everyday illnesses, such as colds (43%), but are concerned that this will change with the reduction in restrictions. And it’s not just adults, parents in the UK have noticed a difference in their children’s health since they returned to school after lockdown, with 77% saying their children had had more sick days since they returned. to the classroom, with an average of 3 more days. off than usual.

Some health-savvy Brits have been trying to improve their lifestyle and support their post-block immunity through small changes, such as drinking more water (25%) and sleeping more (16%). However, a third of those surveyed (34%) admit that while they want to take care of their immune system, they simply don’t know where to start.

For those looking for advice on how to help give your immune system some support after blocking, Actimel has teamed up with nutritionist Toral Shah, aka Urban Kitchen, to provide you with some easy-to-follow tips to help support you. Toral’s best tips include:

· EXERCISE – “We all know that exercise is good for our health, but did you know that regular exercise can help our immune system and stimulate some of the immune processes? Exercise increases the watchdog function of our immune system to trap potential pathogens. “

· STRESS – “Stress can not only affect our mind, but it can also negatively affect our immune system. Practicing stress relieving techniques such as meditation and yoga can help our immune systems function optimally. Loneliness is associated with chronic stress, so connecting with friends and family, virtual or in person if you feel comfortable, can also help our immune system. “

· VITAMIN D – “Vitamin D is known to help maintain our immune health. In the UK, we don’t have enough UV light to produce vitamin D in our skin from October to March. This means that we need to eat foods or supplements rich in vitamin D.

· SLEEP – “Lack of sleep increases our susceptibility to infection. Sleep and our circadian rhythms (our body’s response to day and night) regulate our immune system and increase its effectiveness, so getting a good night’s sleep is even more important than we thought.

· EAT THE RAINBOW – “Phytochemicals are powerful compounds produced by plants that give foods their characteristic colors and are known to help support the immune system. Eating a varied diet of colorful plant foods can help build our resilience. “

Discover Actimel’s range of delicious cultured yogurt shots, with each shot packed with 10 billion L. casei cultures. It also contains 30 percent of your Reference Daily Intake (RI) for vitamin D and 15% of your RI for vitamin B6, both of which play a role in supporting your immune system **.