How Too Keep A Healthy Immune System!!
Cold and flu season is upon us! Plenty of bacteria, viruses and other nasty little germs are just waiting to attack our immune systems. So what's a person to do?
First, and this is probably easier said than done, avoid people who you know are already sick. If you do come in contact with a person suffering from the cold or flu, avoid breathing their expelled air, touching your nose or face and wash your hands often. If you share phones or a desk with a cold suffer make sure you wipe down the phone and use your own pen or pencil. This is all common sense advice, but sometimes we forget precautions when rushed for time. Often it’s hard to avoid situations where cold and flu carriers are such as malls and the workplace. So as a second line of defense, it’s a good idea to keep your immune system working at maximum level. Some things that play havoc with the immune system are stress, inadequate rest and a poor diet. During the busy cold and flu season it is easy to forget to take care of yourself but it is important to take some precautions to avoid becoming ill. Make sure you keep stress under check and get plenty of sleep as well as watch your diet. The more rundown you are the more you weaken your immune responses and your ability to fend off cold viruses and other diseases. We all find ourselves in situations where we just can’t avoid stress, but we can change our perspective of the situation. By changing perspective we can handle the stress much better without doing damage to ourselves. If that seems impossible then the final line of defense is nutrition. There is an increasing body of evidence that suggests some vitamins; minerals and other components in certain foods can contribute to your inner defense against colds and diseases such as coronary heart disease, atherosclerosis, and cancer. Foods high in the antioxidant vitamin C are the most likely to boost the immune system and defenses to a cold virus. These include all citrus fruits, strawberries, cantaloupe, cherries and many vegetables such as broccoli, green peppers and cauliflower. In fact almost all fruits and non starchy vegetables contain significant amounts of vitamin C. It is best to get as much vitamin C as possible through food first then supplement to get the additional amount. According to many studies, the amount of vitamin C that has been shown to boost the immune system and help ward off colds is 1000mg. Other important immune boosters include vitamin E, beta-carotene and zinc. Vitamin E is most abundant in oils, nuts and seeds. Beta-carotene is most widely found in orange vegetables and some orange fruits such as sweet potatoes and cantaloupe. Zinc is a mineral and is present in almost all cells in the body. Zinc is responsible for a number of functions in the body including keeping the immune system healthy. Foods that are rich in zinc are wheat germ, beef, and Brazil nuts, cashews, pecans, sesame seeds, oysters, crab, black-eyed peas and garbanzo beans. Zinc is best gotten from foods, because supplementation of 100 milligrams and above has been found to cause a number of problems in some people, including: nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, stomach pain, lethargy and fatigue. The other important and often forgotten nutrient is water. Make sure you drink plenty of water during the cold and flu season. Try to get at least 64 ounces per day. Here are 10 things you might try to get your immune system in peek working condition. Start your day with a citrus juice or if you can’t drink citrus, opt for a glass of cranberry juice. Put some strawberries or raisins in your fortified cereal. Pack a piece of fruit to have as a mid morning snack. Have a nice green salad at lunch topped with green peppers, shredded carrots, garbanzo beans, sunflower seeds and olive oil and vinegar for dressing. Add a cup of vegetable soup and a tall glass of water. Have some cashews, pecans or brazil nuts (about one ounce) for an afternoon snack Start your evening meal off with a glass of vegetable juice or a cup of tomato soup Add another salad and don’t forget to make it colorful using dark green, red and orange vegetables. Have a sensible portion of lean beef (3 to 6 oz.) a couple time a week, if desired Take a multi vitamin/mineral supplement daily.
