How to Boost Your Immunity to Colds and Flu

  As cold and flu season begins it seems that every place you go someone is sneezing! How can you boost your immunity so that you can stay healthy this fall and winter? Getting sick is not only unpleasant, but inconvenient, and  zaps your energy level too.

   If you have kids, you know how hard it is to avoid catching germs from those little slimy hands – they are like sponges! On average, school-age kids in America experience eight to ten colds a year? If you have two children, and the average cold lasts for 10 days, and each parent gets half of their colds. That’s (8+8+4+4) x 10=240 days of someone possibly being sick in your household –more than half the year!

   Fortunately, there are some easy ways to strengthen your immune system by adding some common yet nutritious foods to your diet. They have high immunity-boosting nutrients (e.g. vitamins A, B, and C, zinc), anti-viral and/or anti-bacterial properties:

   1. Yogurt or Kefir (ideally plain as added sugar can suppress immunity) – probiotics help strengthen immune system.

   2.  Pumpkin seeds – high in zinc and omega-3, both essential for a healthy immune system.

   3.  Cold water fish – good source of protein and omega-3.

   4.  Fresh fruits and vegetables, especially carrots, beets, sweet potatoes, apples – they are rich in beta-carotene, a precursor of vitamin A.

   5.  Ground seeds, lentils, beans and whole grains – good source of B vitamins and protein.

   6.  Ginger – has anti-viral properties.

   7.  Garlic – has anti-viral and anti-bacterial properties.

   8.  Honey (raw) –has anti-viral properties.

   9.  Green tea –has anti-viral properties.

  10. Mushrooms (maitake, reishi, shiitake) – elevate flu-fighting agents.

  11. Avoid sugar and alcohol, both of which can weaken your immune system.

 

What Causes Heart Disease-- a Cardiologist Speaks Out

If you have ever had a test result of elevated cholesterol in your blood, you may have been warned about cholesterol. I have been on several occasions.
While I was never advised to go on medication for it, I was usually given standard advice to watch out for and avoid cholesterol in my diet. In fact in my last exam everything was good as far as my overall results, except that the "bad" type of LDL cholesterol was a bit high, which caused concern for my doctor.
I was already eating whole grains and fish, and avoiding trans fats and foods high in cholesterol. Researching cholesterol, I discovered the conventional wisdom regarding cholesterol is not unanimous. Cholesterol as such is less of the culprit than it was previously thought to be.
Dr. Dwight Lundell, a cardiologist who has performed thousands of surgeries, is one of many physicians who now question this prevailing belief about cholesterol and heart disease.
Instead, Dr. Lundell questions the role that saturated fat and cholesterol play in heart disease. He states that rather than cholesterol, it is inflammation, that is the source of most types of degenerative disease, especially heart disease and type 2 diabetes. And he finds a diet of processed foods high in sugar and Omega 6 fatty acids as a leading cause of many health problems,including heart disease:

Heart Surgeon Speaks Out While we do need some omega 6 fatty acids in our diet, many people are consuming too much of them. Omega 6 is found in margarine and most cooking oils including corn, soy, safflower, palm kernel oil and canola oil except expeller processed canola oil. Olive oil and fish oil are a good source of omega 3 fats.