Building your own army

It's often said that you cannot have a huge castle built on foundations of sand - it'll collapse sooner than later. For the castle to remain standing in all circumstances - and of course, the vagaries of nature are manifold, you cannot expect to have pleasant weather all the time - the first thing you need to do is to make sure your foundation is strong enough.

Now, once the foundation has been built, what can be the next step to protect the castle? There are enemies all around, waiting to attack your newly constructed edifice at the first opportunity. So, it's time to raise an army of valiant soldiers who can guard your castle at all times!

Wonder why I'm talking about building castles and armies in a post that's for a contest titled 'An Immune India'? Nah, it's not because I've got myself addicted to war movies... it's just that what you've been reading so far is not very different from our own body's mechanisms.

The immune system refers to the functioning of the body that deals with fighting infections and other foreign matter. It's our body's natural defence system - one that we're all born with - and it gets strengthened further from about a few hours after we're born - first from mother's milk, and later by vaccines that stimulate our immune systems to produce tiny molecules called antibodies to fight against dreaded diseases.

The fact that the failure of the immune system can be a one-way route to death (as seen in AIDS) signifies the paramount importance that it has got. If a nation doesn't have a strong army, it would soon be invaded by its enemies and perish. Likewise, the process of building a strong foundation by developing a healthy immune system has to begin right from a very young age.

But how?

Begin with mother's milk - as mentioned above. No matter what anyone says, there's no identical substitute for it. It definitely gives a much-needed boost to the baby's immune system.

Listen to whatever the doctor says. A balanced diet is necessary, and so is adequate water. These two practices, though very simple, can go a long way in ensuring that your immunity stays strong and you're well protected from a huge amount of illnesses. And so is good sleep!

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy; and it makes his immune system dull, too. Tell your kids to go out and play! (or if you've got siblings or cousins or friends who are kids, tell them to drop the Xbox console and indulge in some street cricket instead.) Nothing beats physical exercise when it comes to maintaining a fit and healthy body.

So, these were the ways in which you can modify the lifestyle of kids so that their immunity develops. But then, in today's world where the environment is fast deteriorating and there are infectious agents lurking everywhere, is this enough?

It's always better to be safe than sorry - and that's why, it's definitely preferable to give our immune systems a shot in the arm with various additives taken in the diet. And what better place to look for these than our ancient Ayurvedic texts?

Remember how our grandmothers used to tell us to chew on amla? Modern science has proven that amla (or Indian gooseberry) is indeed a powerful antioxidant and immunity stimulant. There are many other herbs too - mustak, for example: which is an anti-inflammatory drug, and guduchi: which has immunomodulatory properties - which all help to boost our immunity in all spheres.

All of these herbs - numbering around 40 - are mixed in proportionate amounts to create a formula known as chyawanprash. Chyawanprash is not a new thing - it is mentioned in texts as old as the Mahabharata. And it has been certified by modern science too to be very effective - no surprise that our forefathers knew so much!

For many years, Dabur has been selling chyawanprash which has been proven to be incredibly effective in developing immunity. It's a universal fact that kids hate taking sour medicines... but this is different! Dabur Chyawanprash even comes in a variety of flavours - such as mango and mixed fruit - to make it pleasant to the tongue as well. Now, what's better than a medicinal formula that makes immunity strong while being delicious at the same time? And it's not just for kids - people of all ages can relish it with pleasure.

Give it a try. And if you want to know more about it, visit http://www.daburchyawanprash.com/

This post is written for the contest An Immune India on IndiBlogger. For more details on the product mentioned here, visit www.daburchyawanprash.com