We all know that staying hydrated is important — especially in the summer months, but did you know that staying hydrated can actually boost your body’s first line of defense against the coronavirus?
Staying as healthy as possible is one of the few preventive measures for COVID-19. Drinking enough water is extremely important to keep your body healthy, and reduce the risk of infections.
KEY HIGHLIGHTS
1. A myth, that drinking water every 15 minutes, or keeping your mouth moist all the time can prevent coronavirus infection was doing the rounds on social media;
2. While drinking water does not guarantee that you will not contract the virus, staying hydrated can help boost immunity;
3. Until we have a vaccine for the novel coronavirus, staying as healthy as possible is the best way to prevent an infection.
Our bodies are made up of about 70% water. Hydration plays a key role in keeping us healthy and also ensuring that all our body functions run efficiently, without any problems. Staying hydrated is recommended for weight loss, healthy skin and hair, and also for boosting our immunity.
As the novel coronavirus spreads rapidly all over the world, experts suggest that apart from practicing personal hygiene by washing hands frequently, coughing and sneezing with nose and mouth covered, etc, people should follow a healthy diet, stay hydrated, and quit smoking, drinking, to reduce their risk of the novel coronavirus infection.
How staying hydrated can boost your immunity
A myth that drinking water every fifteen minutes will keep coronavirus at bay, had been doing the rounds on social media. While drinking water does not guarantee that you will not contract the coronavirus, staying hydrated can boost your immune system, and ensure that the body is able to fight the virus, if it is transmitted to you.
Drinking water helps to oxygenate your cells. When your cells have enough oxygen, they are working at their full capacity, which helps them guard your body against any foreign bodies that try to enter, and fight them, if they do.
Hydration also plays a very important role in regulating your body temperature, according to the CDC. Therefore, if you do come down with a fever, whether is it a symptom of COVID-19, or any other infection or disease in the body, drinking enough water is very important. According to a report on Harvard Health, staying hydrated is important for a variety of reasons, and keeping the risk of infections reduced is one of them. Hydration also helps in the transmission of nutrients to all parts of the body and keeps all body tissues and functions running efficiently – a pre-requisite for reducing your risk of infections. The medicines we take when we have a viral infection – like the common cold or flu can cause dryness in the body. Also, when we are sick, we tend to lose a lot of water from the body in the form of mucus, which is our body’s way of removing the disease-causing germs from the body. When we drink enough water, we stay hydrated, and more mucus (along with germs) can be removed from our body.
Until we have a cure or vaccine for the coronavirus, it is extremely important to take all precautions and keep ourselves safe and healthy. While staying hydrated does not guarantee you won’t get the virus, it can be helpful in reducing your risk, and may also help in recovering from the disease.
