作者： bharat.cn

Director of Jeeva Ayurveda Dr Pratap Chauhan shared three ways in which Ayurveda can boost your immunity at Aaj Tak’s E-Agenda on Saturday.

#1: Eat Chyawanprash

Speaking at a session, Dr Chauhan said the name of Chyawanprash, which is a popular Ayurvedic health supplement, comes first to his mind while talking about increasing immunity. He said Chyawanprash is very beneficial for the lungs.

#2: Drink Ayush kadha, turmeric milk

Dr Chauhan said most people are making Ayush kadha in their homes to avoid coronavirus, which is a good immunity booster. He also explained the method of making it: add four basil leaves, two black pepper, ginger, cinnamon and dry grapes to a cup of water and boil the water. To sweeten it, add jaggery or honey too. Drinking this twice a day to increase the immunity of your body. Apart from this, also consume turmeric milk.

#3: Put sesame oil in nose or gargle with it

The health expert further said that by putting oil in your nose, the body remains disease-free. He suggested putting sesame oil in both nasal cavities twice a day.

He also suggested gargling with sesame oil. This too has to be done twice a day. He said that if the nasal membrane and mouth captivity remain lubricated, then no germs can attack the body through them.

These molecules arrange themselves in different orders to form various types of shapes. In the case of the novel coronavirus, these molecules make a sparkling red ball with crowns – giving identity to the family of coronavirus.

They are very, very small in size compared to their pathogenic cousins such as bacteria and fungi. They prey on almost any living organism. Some viruses infect other pathogens and make them sick. Bacteriophage is an excellent example. It infects and kills bacteria. Bacteriophage is considered as the reason why River Ganga water remained relatively bacteria-free before humans exceeded their capacity to keep the river water clean.

Coming back to viruses, they are so simple that most scientists don’t even categorise them as living beings. Remember, school textbooks called them the link between the living and the non-living.

The novel coronavirus, scientifically named as SARS-CoV-2, is a comparatively large virus. Its size is about 120 nanometres – four times that of the poliovirus, which is just 30 nanometres. But a harmless Escherichia coli bacteria – the ones present in our gut – is some 16 times the size of the novel coronavirus. An average red blood cell in our body is about 64 times larger than the novel coronavirus.

The key molecule in all viruses including coronaviruses is protein. These are genetic materials and a storehouse of a very limited set of instructions – like a specific software programme. When these viruses get a favourable environment – namely, the body fluid – they start replicating themselves. This is their reproduction. They enter a cell and eat it from inside. When they leave the cell, they are in millions and the host cell is nothing more than garbage.

This is the way they wreak havoc among species including humans and crops. They are very smart and can travel through air, water, soil, droplets and from one person to other person. Through human-to-human transmission via saliva or mucous droplets, the novel coronavirus spread to all corners of the world after emerging from Wuhan in China. It took humans for a ride, literally.

Now, let’s take a look at how the novel coronavirus behaves in our body. Proteins are crucial for the functioning of any living body. They don’t only build muscles but they also establish the communication network within the body system. What is required, where and when, and how an issue inside the body is to be fixed is done by these proteins — specifically, mRNA (messenger RNA), which perform the sentry’s role in the body.

It is this variety of protein that keeps SARS-CoV-2 going. Typically, a human cell uses about 20,000 different types of proteins. Viruses use much less. For example, an HIV — one that causes AIDS — uses only 15 proteins to do its work. The novel coronavirus deploys 33, that too with the small size of its body.

The ministry went further to state that current figures put the recovery rate of Covid-19 patients in India at 20.88 per cent. Between Friday night and Saturday evening, India recorded a total of 56 coronavirus-related deaths.

Maharashtra accounts for 18 of these deaths, followed by Gujarat with 15, Madhya Pradesh with 9. At the same time, Delhi and West Bengal recorded three deaths each, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh two deaths each and Punjab and Kerala one death during the same period.

According to the latest figures, Maharashtra has the most number of cases (over 6,000), followed by Gujarat, Delhi, Rajasthan, each of which has more than 2,000 confirmed cases. The state of Maharashtra has also witnessed the most Covid-19 casualties in comparison with other states.

MHA order on standalone shops, shops in residential areas

In an order late on Friday night, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) made exceptions for shops selling non-essential goods in both urban and rural areas to reopen for business starting April 25. The order applies to standalone shops and shops in residential neighbourhoods, provided that they are registered under the Shops and Establishments Act and abide by a few instructions. The MHA order said that these shops have been allowed to operate with 50 per cent of their employee strength but they will have to follow social distancing norms and ensure that all staffers wear protective masks.

While the MHA clarified that the order is applicable to shops located inside and outside the purview of municipal corporations and municipalities, it also stated that shopping complexes and malls have not been given the permission to reopen for business as of yet. In a tweet on Saturday, the MHA spokesperson further clarified that restaurants, salons and barbershops have not been given permission to operate since they provide services and the order is aimed at reopening shops selling goods.

Apart from businesses included in Clause X, liquor stores across the country have also been exempted from this revival order. E-commerce platforms have also been denied to deliver non-essential goods for now.

States react to MHA order: What’s open, what’s not

Among states that took a cue from the MHA order to allow shops fitting the criteria to reopen for business are Nagaland, Odisha, Gujarat, Goa and Haryana. Meanwhile, Delhi has also implemented the order with the exception of its 95 containment zones.