Whats Good for Improving Our Immune System

I work on a schoolbus and usually don't get sick. I just use disinfectant spray a lot, take extra vitamin D in addition to a multi-vitamin, and use probiotics.

Chiropractic!! Probiotics, extra vitamin d, enough sleep and water. And stop getting the flu shot!

My husband and I drink this stuff called Emergen-C - You can get it at any store I think - We get our at Sprouts, but I think I have seen it in CVS. They are packets of powdered vitamins that you mix with about 1/2 cup water or juice and drink quickly (pretty yummy tasting too, tast like sparkling juice). I feel like it definately helps keeps us healthy - and if we do get sick it helps with the intensity and duration.

I absolutely agree with TJ! Vitamin D 3 saved us from alot of sickness this year. My son had H1N1 (sailed through it just fine) and the rest of us didn't even get a sniffle!

As for the flu shot......it won't protect you from anything. There is a Mayo clinic doc. that just issued an article on a study that he did, showing that kids who got the flu shot were 3x more likely to be hospitalized with influenza than kids who did NOT get the flu shot.

Another thing you can do is go buy a neti pot or sinus rinse kit from NeilMed. Do a sinus rinse with the prepared saline packets DAILY to prevent colds, sinus infections, sore throat, etc. Keeping your mucous membranes moist will go a long way in preventing infection.

Good luck!

Hi Sue,

The flu shot may prevent some flu but it will also break down your immune system to other things. My 92 year old dad is the only one in his nursing home that has not gotten the flu shot and he is the only one that hasn't gotten the flu...I also have him on a powdered product that can easily go down his feeding tube called Wholly Immune manufactured by Allergy Research Group. It's expensive but it's my daddy! If you're interested in that let me know and I can find the number where I order it. It's packs a strong punch!

First, you need to be on an absorbable multivitamin/mineral complex. I can get you information on a good one if you'd like. Beta Glucan is a strong immune booster. I keep it on hand at the house if anyone ever feels something coming on. It's one of the things that they use at the Bahamian alternative clinics to cure cancers. Get it from a pharmaceutical grade health store. There are varying grades and you don't need the highest for your issue so the price should be around $10 or 15 dollars. The prices can be into the hundreds.

Elderberry extract is another good one. In liquid form it can be put into tea or you can buy the capsules. Emergen-C that Tara mentioned before is what my 14 year old always reaches for because it tastes good and quenches her thirst (it's also an electrolyte).

Chiropractic care will also build your immune system. If you don't know of a principled upper cervical in your area you can go to ucspine.com and find one. Ask them how chiropractic helps the immune system and if they don't know, you're in the wrong place...

Hope this gives you some help!

M.

There can be a big difference between flu-like symptoms and developing actual influenza. The flu vaccine is a educated "guess" of which flu strain will be most prevalent in a given season but can often be wrong.

The jury's out on a lot of immunity-boosting products. Anti-oxidants are great for immunity, but a lot of it also has to do with genetics and your predisposition for getting sick.

I called my Oncologist's office because I was really concerned about how sick I had been this year - it was simply just a really bad year for colds, flu, sinus infections, etc.

The pollen counts being at record levels haven't helped either.

So, my advice from having a weakened immune system from chemo a few years ago is to be really diligent in washing your hands (that's probably the #1 thing people don't do well enough), eat lots of dark fruits/vegetables, take a multivitamin, and ask your Primary Care provider about the use of priobiotics, etc. to see if there's any clinical evidence to substantiate the improvement in immune system.

Make sure to get plenty of rest as well. As a lymphoma survivor, I can't personally validate the exercise statement regarding the lymphatic system, but I'll check with my Oncologist to see if it's valid.

Good luck.

First, there's the obvious: drink plenty of water, eat plenty of colorful fruits and vegetables each day, and stay away from sugar - sugar and refined carbohydrates (in excess) can really compromise your immune system.

Exercize and sweating it out really helps move things along in your lymphatic system and keeps you healthy. Just going for a brisk walk 30 minutes a day should be very helpful for you.

As far as supplements go, there are a number of different supplements that help keep your cells fresh and healthy. The simplest way of learning what vitamins may be helpful to you is google "Dr. Andrew Weil Vitamins". There's lots of useful information about health and supplements on his website and there's even a quiz you can take to see which supplements would help you the most. You don't have to purchase his vitamin packets if you don't want. I didn't.

Wishing a return to fantastic health to you and your husband soon.

Hi Sue, I cannot speak to the vitamins/homeopathic side, but I would certainly want to look at the stressors in your life which may be taxing your immune system, as well as is your body getting enough rest and exercise (not only important for physical health but to get out that emotional energy as well). I hope the docs have ruled-out something more serious and I would make sure the living area is free from mold and other toxins. Good luck! S. A. K., MFT

Well, since you asked... My daughter was quite sick about 3 years ago. I was trying to lose pregnancy weigh and deal with lack of sleep myself... My solution: I really focused on the quality of food in our diet. Three years later, we are rarely I'll from virus whatnot (even though she is in daycare and exposed to all the yucker germs imaginable).

1. I cut out foods made with high fructose corn syrup (aka: cheap, overly processed food). Foods made with sugar are metabolized more efficiently. This can be a challenge because it requires that you read labels. You will be amazed at how many foods are made with HFC syrup. (they're not good for you and they make you gain weight).

2. Eat yogurt everday.

3. Avoid preservative-rich/nitrite meats. There is lunchmeat, hot dogs and sausages that are made without nitries...

4. Find a *high quality multiple-vitamin* (health food store brand, not grocery store brand) and flax seed oil supplement.

5. Drink water with your meals. Sure, drink other beverages during the day if you need something different, but try to just have water with meals.

And of course, replace your pillows, toothbrushes, toothpaste tubes, lipsticks, makeup brushes... Basically all personal care items that you and your husband may have breathed or coughed on or come in contact with sweat and saliva while you've been sick.

Hope you feel better!

Sleep #1, moderate exercise #2, dietary approaches #3. Hand hygiene a very big help, does not boost your system but helps you protect yourself. Do you have pre-schoolers? They are the ones letting the barbarians into the gate, so to speak. Purell them whenever they come into your car, house.

First line of defense is always going to be food first. Make sure you are getting at least five servings of vegetables per day (a serving is a 1/2 cup, except for leafy greens which are one cup). Make sure at least one of those is green and leafy. You can also weight them on the side of vitamin C---- peppers, cauliflower are very high in vitamin C--- but not essential. Then make sure you are getting about three servings of fruit. Honestly, over the long term eating enough fruits and vegetables will make the most dramatic change in your immunity, because your body gets the vitamins it needs in the most natural form.

Other than that--- use coconut oil in cooking preparations....it is antiviral, antibacterial and anti-fungal. Make sure it is raw and cold-pressed, and be careful to use it at medium heat and lower (you destroy its properties at higher temperatures). Use garlic liberally in your food, and aim for at least a clove a day, and try to eat onions when you can.

Eat 2-3 servings of fish per week, or take a teaspoon of Cod liver oil or fish oil (if you aren't comfortable with the high levels of Vitamin A). This provides the EFA acids that help your immune system stay strong.

We're heading into summer months. Make sure you get at least 15 minutes of sun exposure with NO sunscreen per day, or take a vitamin D supplement of 2,000 IUIs a day. There are a gazillion studies proving the link between low vitamin D levels and low immunity. It's why people tend to get more frequently ill in the winter months, as vitamin D levels naturally dip. Vitamin D is in cod liver oil, but not a lot. Make sure you supplement in the winter time if you live North of an invisible line drawn through the country at Denver. Below that, make sure you get outside at least 1/2 hour or 1 hour a day or supplement.

Put lemon in your water. It helps to alkanize the water and provides minerals.

Finally, gargle with solution of 1/2 tsp. of salt in 1 cup of water, just when you wake up and after you brush your teeth, and just before you go to bed and after you brush your teeth. Your throat and nose are the two primary entry sources for germs to breed and grow into infection. Doing this kills them off before they can reach those levels. The federal government even lists this recommendation as one of the most effective ways to avoid getting the flu (it was in all their info about avoiding the swine flu).

They won't immediately cure a cold you have now, but give it a month and I guarantee you that you'll be feel better and you will get sick far less frequently. I have several immuno-compromised/medically fragile children and this simple regimen has dramatically, DRAMATICALLY slashed the amount of illnesses and hospitalizations for them. (Well, they don't/can't gargle salt water yet, but they do everything else!).