ASKDOCTORANCA

October to April is flu season, when the influenza virus
causes infection in the airways. Every year, countless
otherwise healthy Canadian adults and children miss work and
school due to the flu. Often confused with a cold, the flu
causes headache, chills and dry cough, rapidly joined by
body aches and fever. While the fever declines on the second
or third day of the illness, full recovery may take up to
six weeks. For some, influenza leads to life- threatening
illnesses like pneumonia, resulting in hospitalization and
even death.
A good diet, vitamins and exercise contribute to your
general health, and although proper and frequent hand
washing can reduce the spread of the flu, the best
protection is prevention – especially if you have a medical
condition.
Natural approaches
To ward off infection this fall and winter, begin to
strengthen the immune system with food and supplements.
Eat garlic:
shown to be an intense immune booster and it kills several
types of bacteria and viruses. Load up on garlic in your
food (pasta and sauces), and take an odourless garlic
supplement to reap the benefits of the active allelic
sulfide compounds.
Supplement with Vitamin C:
one of the most powerful immune boosting vitamins around.
This precious water-soluble vitamin is found in oranges,
orange juice, broccoli, other fruits and vegetables and high
quality multi-vitamins. Chewable Ester C or Vitamin C
supplements are readily available. An additional immune
booster is liquid Vitamin C combined with zinc.
Zinc it up:
if C is the ‘super immunity’ vitamin, then zinc must be
the ‘super immunity’ mineral, involved in the production
of a type of immune building white blood cell called
T-lymphocytes. Since soil erosion has caused reduced levels
of zinc in food, most people are low in this mineral,
leading to widespread immune problems.
The riches food sources of zinc include beef, lamb, pork
and salmon; vegetarian options include dairy products
(yogurt), whole grains, beans, nuts, and nuts butters,
pumpkin and sunflower seeds. Widely-available, zinc lozenges
are very effective for sore throats.
Eat probiotic-rich foods:
probiotics are the ‘good’ bacteria that naturally
inhabit the digestive system. Unfortunately, due to long
term antibiotic used, a low fibre diet or a diet heavy in
refined flours, sugars and/or alcohol, digestive microflora
(the ‘good’ bacteria) can be compromised, causing health
to suffer. Probiotics like Acidophilus or bufidus promote
health by suppressing the growth of harmful bacteria,
improving immune system function and enhancing the
protective barrier of the digestive tract. They are also
helpful in the production of vitamin K. Probiotics are kept
refrigerated and available in capsule, liquid or powdered
form. For best results, select a mixed-strain probiotics
supplement with five billions organisms per capsules.
Reduce sugar intake:
white blood cells fight off infection. A scale called the
leukocyticindex is often used to measure how many invaders a
white blood cell can kill within an hour. The average
grading on the leukocytic index is approximately 13.9.
According to Dr. Stoll, author of Saving Yourself from the
Diseases-Care Crisis, within 15 minutes of consuming 100
grams of refined sugar, the leukocytic index rating drops to
approximately 1.4. In other words, the average person loses
over 90% of immune function in this short time. It’s best
to avoid sugar-laden food products like pop, candy, cookies
and cake, especially when you are starting to feel run down.
Opt for natural sweet choices such as fruit, healthy
home-made popsicles or baked goods sweetened with apple
sauce or yogurt.
Get alkaline:
all foods, after being digested and metabolizes, release
either an acid or an alkaline base (bicarbonate) into blood.
Refined grains, meat, poultry, shellfish, cheese, coffee,
milk, and salt all produce acid, whereas most fruits,
vegetables, beans, almonds, olive and soy tend to be
alkaline. The body thrives in an alkaline state rather than
an acidic state. It’s very difficult, if not impossible,
for bacteria or a virus to flourish in an alkaline state.
Your alkaline state can be measured by your urinary or
salivary pH (potential of hydrogen). To test your saliva,
simply purchase pH paper from your local pharmacy or health
food store. Wait at least two hours after eating, fill your
mouth with saliva and swallow it. Do this once more to
ensure your saliva is clean, and then test with pH paper. In
the normal range (7.2- 7.4), the paper turns blue. If
excessive acidic due to diet, medication or for other
reasons, the paper turns a greenish yellow. If you’re
overly acidic, be sure to get 70 % of your food intake from
an alkaline source and 30 % from acidic choices. Opt for
green powders in your morning shake, liquid chlorophyll in
your daily water and alkaline forming foods like dark leafy
greens (spinach and broccoli).
Sweat it out:
A hot bath, sauna or shower induces sweating and cleansing
through the skin. Steam is an exelent treatment for
respiratory problems, and a hot sower or sauna can soothe
achy joints and muscles that accompany the virus.
Stay hydrated:
with water and diluted natural juices. This one is the most
effective ways to flush out the system and avoid infection.
Products that are labelled fruit drink, fruit beverage,
punch, cocktail or -ade may look and even taste like real
juice, but they are likely a mixture of sugar and water.
Check the ingredient list. If the first words are water,
sugar, glucose- fructose, artificila flavor etc., then the
product only contains a small amount of real juice and you
want to avoid these.
Rest:
sleep and rest are the best methods to help restore and
revitalize the immune system. Tuck yourself or your little
ones in early to get at least 8 hours, and allow an extra
nap to help the healing process.