Your best health
Protect yourself against colds, allergies, heart disease—even cancer—with these 23 easy immune-boosting strategies. You may never get sick again!
By SUSAN HAYES
Practice yoga. Regular yoga will lighten your system’s workload. Washington State University researchers found that breast cancer survivors who practiced Iyengar—a type of yoga that emphasizes precise alignment—three times a week for eight weeks had decreased activation of an immune system protein that “switches on” in response to stress.
Take echinacea. In 2007, researchers looked at 14 studies evaluating echinacea’s antimicrobial effect on the incidence and duration of colds and concluded that the herb “decreased the odds of developing the common cold by 58 percent, and the duration of a cold by 1.4 days.” Take 900-1,800 mg per day in three equally divided doses at the first sign of cold, flu, or illness, says Fred Lisanti, N.D., L.Ac.
Eat crunchy veggies. Try to get one cup of cruciferous vegetables—like broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, turnips, bok choy, or Brussels sprouts—at least three to four times per week, suggests Michelle Babb, R.D., C.D., at Bastyr Center for Natural Health in Seattle. In one study, University of California, Berkeley, researchers found that DIM, a chemical produced when broccoli, cabbage, and kale are chewed and digested, enhanced the immune response in mice. UCLA researchers have since found that eating broccoli (which is rich in the antioxidant sulforaphane) may actually turn back the clock on an aging immune system.
2. PICK A MUSHROOM EXTRACT. Take a mushroom extract supplement like AHCC (Active Hexose Correlated Compound) every day to activate your body’s most potent white blood cells and increase production of the “messenger chemicals” that help immunity cells communicate, say researchers from universities in Japan and the Yale School of Medicine. Try AHCC supplements from Quality of Life (q-o-l.com).
3. BOOST YOUR VITAMIN D. Although the RDA is 200-400 IUs, most holistic practitioners say women need 1,000 to 2,000 IUs of vitamin D every day. If vitamin D levels are low, “your immune cells may work more slowly and may not reproduce as quickly,” says Paul S. Anderson, N.D., professor of the naturopathic medicine program at Bastyr Center for Natural Health in Seattle. Ask your doctor for a vitamin D test. If you’re deficient, take vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) supplements, and get outside for 15 minutes of direct midday sunshine.
Take echinacea. In 2007, researchers looked at 14 studies evaluating echinacea’s antimicrobial effect on the incidence and duration of colds and concluded that the herb “decreased the odds of developing the common cold by 58 percent, and the duration of a cold by 1.4 days.” Take 900-1,800 mg per day in three equally divided doses at the first sign of cold, flu, or illness, says Fred Lisanti, N.D., L.Ac.
Eat crunchy veggies. Try to get one cup of cruciferous vegetables—like broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, turnips, bok choy, or Brussels sprouts—at least three to four times per week, suggests Michelle Babb, R.D., C.D., at Bastyr Center for Natural Health in Seattle. In one study, University of California, Berkeley, researchers found that DIM, a chemical produced when broccoli, cabbage, and kale are chewed and digested, enhanced the immune response in mice. UCLA researchers have since found that eating broccoli (which is rich in the antioxidant sulforaphane) may actually turn back the clock on an aging immune system.
500 milligrams of vitamin C daily will fuel your cells to fight infection, says
Lise Alschuler, N.D., president of the American Association of Naturopathic
Physicians. Eat plenty of vitamin C-packed foods like golden kiwi (90 mg),
Brussels sprouts (80 mg), or oranges (50 mg), or look a supplement with
biofl avonoids. Whenever you’re exposed to illness, bump up your intake to
500 mg every two hours, says Alschuler.
Lise Alschuler, N.D., president of the American Association of Naturopathic
Physicians. Eat plenty of vitamin C-packed foods like golden kiwi (90 mg),
Brussels sprouts (80 mg), or oranges (50 mg), or look a supplement with
biofl avonoids. Whenever you’re exposed to illness, bump up your intake to
500 mg every two hours, says Alschuler.
3 SUPER SUPPLEMENTS
1. TAKE PROBIOTICS. Probiotics (the “good” bacteria that live in our digestive tract) help your body absorb the nutrients it needs to keep up a resilient immune system. Look for probiotics in fermented foods like yogurt, kefir, and aged cheese, or check out supplement brands like Jarrow Formulas (jarrow.com) and Culturelle (culturelle.com). Take a dose of three to five billion CFU (colony forming units) daily, says Gary Huffnagle, Ph.D., author of The Probiotics Revolution (Bantam, 2007). 2. PICK A MUSHROOM EXTRACT. Take a mushroom extract supplement like AHCC (Active Hexose Correlated Compound) every day to activate your body’s most potent white blood cells and increase production of the “messenger chemicals” that help immunity cells communicate, say researchers from universities in Japan and the Yale School of Medicine. Try AHCC supplements from Quality of Life (q-o-l.com).
3. BOOST YOUR VITAMIN D. Although the RDA is 200-400 IUs, most holistic practitioners say women need 1,000 to 2,000 IUs of vitamin D every day. If vitamin D levels are low, “your immune cells may work more slowly and may not reproduce as quickly,” says Paul S. Anderson, N.D., professor of the naturopathic medicine program at Bastyr Center for Natural Health in Seattle. Ask your doctor for a vitamin D test. If you’re deficient, take vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) supplements, and get outside for 15 minutes of direct midday sunshine.
Your Comments:
Dr Gary Huffnagle recommends three probiotics and the only one with multiple strains, acid proof and with a medical strangth is Theralac and this article fails to mention this simple fact.
-- Jeff Thurston
Your Comments:
I subscribe to Natural Health, love the magazine. April's article- "You can prevent CANCER" is fantastic. Thanks, I made a notation for my adult children to read it.
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