It’s that time of year when the flu, colds and other viral maladies “strike” at the populace. What time of the year doesn’t it? I don’t know about you, but I have noticed that the flu seems to be year round now. Colds always have been. So what can we do to resist these “bugs” that are supposedly attacking us? The answer is: the best immunization you can have is a strong immune system.
Many factors effect immune health. Most are well within our control. We need to stop treating these illnesses as something that jumps out and grabs us and makes us sick, but rather a condition within our body that sets the stage for an infection of any kind to proliferate. Until we do, we will continually dread them and take drastic measures to avoid them, even when those measures have a high probability within themselves of causing the very illness we are trying to avoid!
Our best defense is a powerful offense. That powerful offense is an effective immune system. Every day in our lives we are confronted with things that challenge our immune health. Environmental factors, dietary factors, exposures to the pathogens themselves, stress, lack of rest, a poorly functioning endocrine system, and even poor digestion. In each of these factors we have multiple tools available for supporting, counteracting or influencing in some manner or another, our immune system. We can provide a powerful offense. Why don’t they teach us this in school or in the media?
There are several things we can do to support immune health. The following are 5 Tips for a Strong Immune System:
Tip #1: Control Your Appetite: Many things that are in our diet are there because we have poor self control – especially when it comes to satisfying a little piece of meat in our mouth (called a tongue). In an effort (or without effort) to satisfy taste, we unknowingly suppress immune function. Sugar is one of the biggest culprits, but not the only one. Simply, avoid sugar. Sugar, through many mechanisms is an immune suppressant. Yet when a child is ill, what do we give them? Ice cream, 7-Up, popsicles, and Jello. It tastes good, goes down easily and cools. This is given because of lack of education regarding the negative effect sugar has on immune function. So we inadvertently prolong the illness, rather than supporting immune function to resolve it.
Eat real foods – fresh vegetables, fruits and non-commercialized meats instead of overly processed nutritionally devoid packaged foods. These processed foods do not supply the vital nutrients necessary to strengthen immune health and contribute to poor health in general. Because meats today are treated with antibiotics, we have conditioned bacteria to resist antibiotics when given for an illness. Antibiotic resistance is today a real concern as the anticipated “super bugs” are possibly beginning to surface.
Tip #2: To have a strong immune system, you have to have a balanced endocrine system. Several systems within the endocrine system support immune health. The liver detoxifies materials that are potentially threatening to the strength of the immune system, and is responsible for most metabolic functions in the body either directly or indirectly. Doing regular detoxification programs that lighten the burden on the liver, as well as herbs to support liver function are vital. The adrenals are also important for immune function. They secrete cortisol when stress is high. Cortisol weakens immune function. Supporting adrenal health with herbs and adrenal glandulars help them cope with stressors more effectively. The pancreas is important as the ability to manage blood sugar has a direct effect on the immune system. The thymus gland’s primary function is to assist the immune system. Having good thymus function helps prevent upper respiratory infections. Thymus glandulars are particularly useful for fighting respiratory, throat and glandular infections, along with some good anti-bacterial or anti-viral herbs.
Tip #3: Stress is a pretty good destroyer of immune function. Stress is interpreted by the body as a flight or fight response. Anything not needed to fight or run away (from perceived danger) is shut down. You don’t need the immune system to survive an imminent danger, so it gets shut down. Also stress releases cortisol, a hormone secreted by the adrenal glands. Cortisol is a pro-inflammatory hormone when it surges (actually is part of the ANTI-inflammatory system when it is balanced), and it suppresses immune function. Since we all have stress, we have to find ways to mitigate that stress so it has as little impact on the body as possible. Ensuring healthy adrenal function (the body’s coping mechanism), taking classes like yoga or meditation and eating lots of vegetables is very helpful. Vegetables provide the vital nutrients, such as minerals, to support the function of the various organs and glands that get called into action when stress arises. Supporting these systems supports immune function.
Tip #4: Adequate sleep and rest are essential for a highly functioning immune system. The average woman needs 8-9 hours of sleep per night, men 7-8. If you are not sleeping well, you have probably already seen the detrimental effects of sleeplessness on the body. Getting acupuncture and nutritional recommendations to help you sleep better is pretty important. And, as you may expect because it is one of the “5 Tips for a Strong Immune System”, it is vital for healthy immune functioning. Good quality minerals assist the ability to fall asleep easier, and sugar/carbohydrate control is essential for maintaining sleep.
Tip #5: Take some immune-supporting herbs. One of the best for long term immune support is a good quality Echinacea – such as Echinacea Premium by MediHerb. Once misunderstood, they now know that Echinacea is best when used long term, but is also a great acute care herb. Goldenseal, although a wonderful antibacterial and antiviral is an adaptogenic and long term use reduces its effectiveness. Medicinal mushrooms such as ganoderma, shitake and maitake are wonderful, as is fresh or whole garlic. Be careful not to use fractionated garlic. This means parts were taken out of it (such as deodorized). Fresh is best or the good old-fashioned pill form with the whole garlic in it. I also like thymus glandulars and thymus cytosol extracts for infections involving the throat or swollen glands. The best way to use any immune support glandulars or herbs for long term immune support is to get 4 different ones, and rotate through them – taking a different one each week, then repeating the cycle the following months.
© 2009 Holly A. Carling, O.M.D., L.Ac., Ph.D.
