Massages and good nutrition boost your immunity!

Hey guys did you know that MASSAGE is one of the ways to prevent you from contracting diseases?

Research shows the benefits of consuming nutritious foods on your health, being the most powerful means to prevent diseases. Nutritious foods such as antioxidants, Omega 3 rich foods and other immunity boosters might go as far as to treat diseases of all kinds even those that we fear the most like cancer.
Antioxidants fight the free radicals in your body and boost your immunity, the most powerful are:

• Vitamin A rich foods in yellow and orange fruits and veggies apricots, peach, carrots, and sweet potatoes, etc…
• Vitamin C rich foods in orange, kiwi, broccoli, and green bell peppers, etc…
• Vitamin E in walnuts, almonds, avocado, and olive oil, etc…
• Zinc in meat and whole wheat grains, etc…
• Selenium in Brazilian nuts, tuna, beef, poultry and fortified breads, and other grain products, etc…

Omega 3 rich foods such as flaxseeds, fish oil, sardines, tuna, and salmon greatly help in the process of fighting disease as they are anti-inflammatory. They should be consumed daily!

Top immunity boosters are garlic, onion, green tea, ginger, oregano, yogurt, cauliflower, cabbage, broccoli, soja while foods that decrease the levels of immunity are those containing saturated fats such as meat, dairy and butter.

It might come as a surprise to everyone but massage therapies are also immunity boosters according to a research conducted by doctors at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles, USA. Massages are well known to decrease body pain, improve mood and relieve stress.

Researchers found that during one hour of massage your body passes through a series of important biological reactions leading to a reduction in the levels of cortisol, a hormone produced during stress and responsible for killing cells that are important for immunity, it also leads to a reduction in vasopressin levels that stimulate the contraction of the arteries and an increase in the number of white blood cells which fortify the immune system. Massage also elevates the levels of the hormone oxytocin associated to feelings of well being and relaxation

Massage reduces your stress levels thus helping you avoid getting a cold or another illness while under stress.
Other scientific research studies clearly show the many positive benefits of massage on our health and well-being such as:

• Relieving stress and promoting an overall feeling of relaxation which helps you move more easily
• Alleviating pain and tension
• Decreasing inflammation
• Promoting speedy recovery from injuries (work, trauma, accident or sports-related)
• Improving blood circulation as well as high blood pressure
• Improving and strengthening the immune system
• Relieving musculoskeletal problems and improves posture
• Relieving pregnancy discomforts

Samia Khoury Dietitian