While we are home over the next 30-60 days this will be a great time to start boosting our immune system. We need to make sure that when we come out of this our bodies are in peek condition to handle any residue that is lingering around . Over the next four weeks I will be posting new information on how to boost your immune system naturally while at home. I will be giving tips in each post how to ward off things like stress, anxiety, worry, and panic that can kill your immune system as dead as it can die.
The Immune System
The greatest way to preserve your health and increase longevity is to have and maintain a very vigorous and strong immune system. The state of your immune system will make the difference whether or not we our bodies have the ability to fight off sickness and disease that can literally cut our life short or interfere with the quality of life in out later years.
The primary job of the immune system is to protect our bodies against disease. Although we call it a system, the immune system is not associated with one particular organ. In reality, it is a collection of cells that seek out and destroy bacteria, fungus’s, viruses, precancerous and cancer cells, and any other foreign invader that it deems to be dangerous.
The reason why older people are being heavily affected is because as we age our immune system loses some of it punch, and as a result, we become more vulnerable to diseases that we could easily have shaken off in our youth. This is the reason why older people are strongly advised to get flu and pneumonia shots each year. In most cases a younger person could defeat the influenza virus in a couple of weeks, but an older person may not be as lucky. He might stay sick longer and have a greater risk of developing pneumonia or other complications. The effectiveness of T-cells (the body’s primary disease fighting cells) decline the fastest with age which causes a measurable drop in immune function especially by the time we reach our seventies and eighties.
There is HOPE, there are things we can do and put in place so we slow down this decline in our immune system. In these series of post i will give information on how certain food and herbs can help to boost our immune system along with different things you can do to reduce stress, anxiety, fear, worry and panic.
FOODS AND HERBS THAT HELP BUILD AND BOOST THE IMMUNE SYSTEM
GARLIC
Modern scientist have confirmed that garlic is a veritable pharmacy of healing compounds. it is rich selenium, which provides the building blocks for several enzymes that affect the antioxidant network, including Glutathione peroxidase which rejuvenates immune function. Garlic has been proven by research to effectively reduce blood pressure and plaque. Matthew Budoff, MD, professor of medicine at UCLA, and Gayl Canfield, PhD, RD, director of nutrition at Pritikin Longevity Center in Miami, have conducted three randomized trials using 250 mg tablets of Kyolic aged garlic extract to standardize the doses. Gayl Canfield noted that it’s always better to eat the raw garlic to achieve greater benefit. Garlic seems to ratchet down an enzyme called angiotensin, which constricts blood vessels. In the three trials it was suggested that garlic acted much like the ACE inhibitor drugs that fight high blood pressure, and seemed to have a significant impact on the buildup of plaque. The physicians found that plaque progression slowed down by more than 50% in the people taking the garlic extract, compared with the non-garlic group who was on standard drugs.
With heart disease being the number one killer or both men and women in this country, a simple task of eating garlic could dramatically reduce these deaths. Yet most people can’t seem to believe that it work, or it’s just that simple. The single most important step we can take for heart health starts with what we put on our plates. Diet can be so effective that the British Medical Journal published a paper suggesting that doctor shelve the idea of developing a combination drug with multiple heart meds in it (the Polypill). Instead recommend a Polymeal- a “tastier and safer alternative” that consist of wine, fish, dark chocolate, garlic, almonds, and a heaping serving of fruits and vegetables. Dr. Agatston warns that the longer a person waits to change their diet, the more likely they’ll need drugs.
GINGER
The immune system is responsible for a complex set of processes designed to protect the body from disease. At times, the immune system can become overactive and actually contribute to negative health outcomes. Ginger has been found in the scientific research to help balance the immune system to restore it to proper functioning. Ginger has been studied for many years for its benefits for a wide range of ailments and health disorders. Ginger is a spice that contains potent antioxidants (powerful phenolic compounds) such as shogaols, zingerone, and gingerols. These strong compounds have been linked to providing relief for dozens of health related issues. Ginger can also be used topically as an analgesic. Ginger has been used as a home remedy for thousands of years. In the writings of nearly every ancient society (Chinese, Indian, and Roman) you will find Zingiber officinale.
Ginger has proven beneficial in so many areas of health; I’m just going to list a few. Motion sickness: ginger has shown in several studies that it may provide significant relief of nausea or motion sickness without the detrimental side effects of drowsiness and dry mouth. Morning sickness: In a double-blind, randomized placebo-controlled trail, a group of pregnant women ingested 125 mg of ginger extract four times a day for four days. All the women were less than 20 weeks pregnant. The women who ingested the ginger showed significantly reduced symptoms of morning sickness, compared to the women who consumed the placebo. Inflammation: In a recent study involving patients who tried conventional drugs to alleviate painful symptoms found that 100% of patients with muscular discomfort experienced relief of pain or swelling when they consumed ginger on a daily basis. Chemotherapy-Induced Nausea: A team at Siena College in Loudonville, New York, did a study on 28 patients who were receiving chemotherapy for the first time. The controlled group ate their normal diets, while another group drank a high protein shake with ginger twice a day. The patients taking the shake with ginger reported significantly fewer instances of nausea, and electrical measurements of the stomach muscles revealed less gastric dysrhythmia. These results lead the researchers to conclude that high protein meals with ginger reduced the nausea that follows chemotherapy. Colon Cancer Prevention: At first scientists were unsure about why gingerol displayed such effectiveness against colon cancer, but a study revealed that the leukotriene A (4) hydrolase protein (LTA[4]H), whose activity can act as a catalyst for colon cancer cells, is targeted by gingerol. To Fights Ovarian Cancer: Ginger has had its most promising effect in the fight against ovarian cancer. At the 97th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research, Dr. Rebecca Liu and her team from the University of Michigan made a presentation about gingerols ability to kill ovarian cancer cells by inducing apoptosis (programmed cell death) and autophagocytosis (self-digestion). The study was done using a whole ginger extract containing 5% gingerol on several different ovarian cancer lines. Cancer cells show no signs of becoming resistant to ginger cancer-fighting property
THYME
Thyme essential oil can not only help alleviate the symptoms of allergies, it can also strengthen our immune system making us less likely to be plagued by allergic responses. Yes thyme is another immune stimulating, immune boosting essential oil with the affinity for the respiratory system. Several studies have shown that thyme oil can help thin mucus. Thyme oil acts as an anti-inflammatory and stimulates the production of white blood cells. By stimulating the production of white blood cells the body’s natural resistance to allergens is strengthen and start to kick in to lesson or allergic response to seasonal allergies.
Essential thyme oil is a powerful medicine, made from garden thyme that can prove lethal if taken in large doses. Known since ancient times as a medicinal herb, thyme contains large amounts of thymol. Thyme (Thymus vulgaris) has a spicy, warm, herbaceous aroma that is both powerful and penetrating. Thyme oil’s heady herbal scent lends a touch of the exotic to inhalations and is effective when released in a diffuser. As a dietary supplement, it is one of the strongest antioxidants known. Thyme supports the immune, respiratory, digestive, nervous, and other body systems.* Thyme may also be used to enhance the flavor of food, and is considered very warming in Chinese medicine.