Strengthening Immunity

It's that time of year when every 2nd person appears to be stricken with an infectious disease of one sort or another. This & all the advertising warning us of the dangers of bacteria & the need to destroy them with a host of nicely colored, highly toxic chemicals, makes us think that we are living in a war zone. "Us" versus "them" microbes.

At the same time we have the medical profession, backed by the huge pharamaceutical "cartels" & government-funded advertising campaigns, insisting that we need to call in mercenary help to defeat the invaders: Vaccines to "artificially inseminate" our immunity, and antibiotics to "blow-up" the unwanted guests.

But the limitations & longer term negative implications of calling in the hired soldiers is starting to spread out of the scientific journals into the popular media. The population that apparently needs flu vaccines the most (the frail & elderly), are the least likely to benefit from flu shots & the most likely to suffer side-effects. Plus we always seem to be 1 step behind this year's "bugs", with the latest vaccines not providing the degree of coverage that we would like. Most of us are acutely aware of the massive problems we have created for ourselves by the overuse & abuse of antibiotics. We seem to have played into the hands of our "enemies"; the very thing designed to destroy them has lead to their increased strength.

So, are we defenseless against a stronger foe? Or, can we get back to the basics of germ warfare to win the battle? Here are my strategies for a successful immunity campaign:

1) MAN THE BARRICADES:

The 1st line of defense that we have against the invasion of microorganisms is our mucous membranes: Our skin, which includes the walls inside our airways & intestines. You may not realise, but we have millions of "foot soldiers" guarding the exterior of these walls. These are known as "normal flora". Millions of "friendly" bacteria that have to get out of the way if any invaders are to get through. We can continuously replenish our troop numbers by taking a good brand of Acidophillus & Bifidobacteria. You can get these in some yoghurts, yokult drinks, capsule or powder form. The bottom line here is; the more of the good guys, the less chance the bad guys will get through the lines of defense.

Don't forget that a course of Antibiotics will wipe out these important allies. After every script of Antibiotics that you succumb to - Always take large doses of Acidophillus. Otherwise you usually end up with a secondary invasion by another foe: Candida or other unwanted guests.

2) STRENGTHEN THE WALLS:

If the invaders can get past your normal flora, they still have to break through the walls of your body - the mucous membranes that we mentioned before. So what is the main building block of these walls? Lipoproteins, which are made largely from fatty acids. Many of us remember being forced to swallow a spoonful of cod liver oil when young? Cod liver oil is 1 of the best sources of Omega-3 fatty acids. How did they know that this stuff was so good for our bodies way back then? I can still taste that disgusting fishy burp as it regurgitated for the next few hours.

Other sources of EFAs are flaxseed oil, algae, deep-sea fish, some sprouts, & some nuts. Even if you feel the need to have a low-fat diet, you need to make sure you are getting plenty of these fatty building blocks to have strong walls of defense against infection.

3) INCREASE YOUR ARSENAL:

If the attacker does get through into your blood stream & intercellular spaces, then let's hope your immune system has enough bullets to shoot down the enemy. So here's the question, what types of weapon does our immune system use? The fastest response units are fairly non-specific in their action. That is, they don't care who the enemy is. Once he has been detected & located, they try to blow him up with the same type of weapons. These types of white blood cells use up lots & lots of antioxidants as "bullets". So make sure you buy & supply lots of "bullets" to your immune "soldiers".

Vitamins C, E & A, among other antioxidants are all needed in large quantities for a successful battle. You can get these in tablet form, in a "Superfood" mix, or by eating masses of fresh vegetables & fruits.

4) TAKE AIM:

To defeat an enemy you must first know he's there. Then you need to know exactly where he is hiding. Then you need to know enough information about his weaknesses & tactics to set winning battle plans. This process is dependent on a brilliant reconnaissance troup. This is provided by a healthy & fully functional nervous system.

The best way I know of to maximise the performance of your nervous system, is to get a regular chiropractic spinal adjustment. I'm always disappointed when people cancel their appointment with me because they have an infection. This is when you most need an adjustment! And by keeping up a schedule of regular check-ups it has been shown that your defense (prevention) & response (treatment) to infection is improved.

Oh, our poor nervous systems. Our culture abuses & suppresses it so much that it's no wonder that when we actually need it to do some work, it's sluggish & ineffective. (A bit like a soldier on "dope".) We have a pill to suppress every sensation that our culture has decided are unnecessary hindrances to our busy lifestyle. In fact most of these sensations are supposed to be listened to. They are the language of your nervous system. Some of us need to learn this seemingly foreign language, the rest of us just have to get rid of our selective deafness.

4) "FIRE!"

I've got a few extra weapons that I keep in my "arsenry" (pantry actually), that I pull out of retirement in the event that the war is really hotting up. Colloidal Silver is 1 of the original substances used as an antimocrobial & is an excellent natural ally. Echinacea is always handy to have in the fridge ( I keep it in a liquid form). This is good when the battle is being waged in the lungs. At the first sign of a skirmish put some Liquid Zinc on the tongue. If you can taste it then you can leave it in the fridge. If you can't taste it then start dosing up on it. This has been proven to be able to cut off an invasion in its tracks. And when the "trench runs" hit? Whey is fantastic for drying up & killing many of the most common enemies that can cause diarhoea. Eucalyptus & Tea Tree Oils are good for "wounds". Arnica works well on battle bruises.

MAY THE BEST ORGANISM WIN!