Supportuning Your Immune System

How do you support your immune system toward the end of the year? No one likes to get a cold or flu. Recent research confirms many ways we can stay healthy. For example, studies have shown that people with vitamin D deficiency are 11 times more likely to get a cold or flu, while supplementing with vitamin D can reduce colds and flu by 42 percent.

 Below are some suggestions for staying healthy. There are many simple things you can do and some extra supplements you can take.

First let’s review the controversy over the flu vaccine and then I will share exactly what you can do and what to take. The guiding principle of functional medicine is personalized care, not the one-size fits all belief that everyone should have the same treatment. This applies equally to vaccines. There is risk and benefit to every medical treatment or procedure.

Here are the 2 important facts to consider when it comes to flu vaccination:

1. The Center for Disease Control recommends vaccination for high-risk groups, not necessarily everyone. The key groups that would benefit most from the vaccine are health workers with direct patient contact, pregnant women, care givers of children younger than 6 months, children and adults under age 24 and adults who have underlying medical conditions, such as asthma, heart disease, or diabetes. If that doesn’t describe you, you should think twice about having the vaccine.
2. The multi-dose vials of the vaccine contain mercury as a preservative. This is the majority of vaccines. If you are a pregnant or nursing woman you should insist on the single dose vial which does not contain mercury. Unfortunately there are a limited number of the mercury-free vaccines.

That is vaccination is only recommended for high-risk individuals. But whether you get vaccinated or not, it is critical to support your immune system through natural means to help you prevent the flu.

Remember; Let Food Be Your Medicine!

• Drink plenty of fluids, especially warmer fluids. With the dryer air inside and out, winter can be a particularly challenging time to stay hydrated! Consuming adequate fluids supports all your bodies’ functions including the immune system. Make soups and broths (with fresh vegetables is always best) and have them throughout the week. Drink herbal teas like ginger and echinacea daily. Keep a bottle of filtered water with you at all times. Avoid concentrated fruit juices and sweetened beverages, as the sugar content is harmful for the immune system. If you do drink juice, dilute it with 2/3 water!
• Try a daily saline flush. Along with staying hydrated, flushing your sinuses with mild salt water helps to keep mucous membranes moist which protects you from microbes. You can use a neti pot, or easy to carry plastic bottles that come with saline packets to take with you when traveling or even at the office! Be sure to rinse them well with warm water and soap and air dry between uses. Studies have also indicated that flushing one to two times daily is appropriate and you should not go over this.
• Avoid simple sugars as much as possible! This includes those sweet treats and desserts but also the white flour and refined grain products that turn into sugar quickly. Studies have shown that refined sugars can suppress your immune system for hours after ingested.
• Have protein with each meal. Proteins are the building blocks of the body. This includes your immune and detoxification systems. Organic, clean and lean animal protein as well as plant-based (legumes, nuts/seeds) proteins are important to get with each meal and snack.
• Add garlic, onions, ginger, and lots of spices (oregano, turmeric) to your meals! Add these to your soups and vegetable dishes, as well as bean dips and sauces. Garlic and onions offer wide spectrum antimicrobial properties.
• Eat multiple servings of colorful fruits and vegetables high in vitamins C, A, and phytonutrients that supports the immune system. Choose more leafy greens, cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, brussel sprouts, and cauliflower), peppers, sweet potatoes and squashes. Aim for three to four servings of fruits and four or more servings of vegetables!
• Get sufficient sleep! We all know sleep restores and heals the body. Without adequate sleep, optimal immune function is next to impossible! Get in a better rhythm and head to bed earlier on those dark winter nights. Aim for seven to eight hours a night. Incorporating various relaxation and breathing techniques throughout the day to help with stress and allow the mind to rest is also very helpful!
• Get regular exercise. Mild to moderate exercise (for approximately 30-45 minutes) helps boost immune system. Avoid overexertion such as training for endurance events when you are feeling run down. This will lower your immune defenses.

It is critical to support your immune system through natural means to help you prevent the flu.

Supplements for Adult Immune Support

Here is overview of the vitamins, minerals, and herbs you need and why they are important.

• Multivitamin/Mineral: This is the foundation for any health support regimen. It’s a good way to cover the basic vitamins and minerals your body needs for day-to-day function. If you aren’t on a good multivitamin you should get and stay on one. Look for a high-quality, broad-spectrum multivitamin and mineral.

• Vitamin D3: Adequate vitamin D status is critical for optimal immune function and this cannot be achieved without supplementation during the winter months. It is best to get your levels of 25 OH vitamins D checked for accurate dosing. Blood levels should be above30 ng/dl. However, optimal levels are probably closer to 50ng/dl for most. Many need 5,000 IU or more of vitamin D3 a day in the winter. Start with 2,000 IU for adults, 1,000 IU for children.

• Buffered Vitamin C: The role of vitamin C in supporting the immune system has long been known. Take 500-1,000 mg throughout the day with meals and snacks.

• Zinc citrate: You can take an additional supplement or consume more foods high in this powerful immune supporting nutrient. Seafood—especially oysters—red meat, and pumpkin seeds are the best food sources. Take 30 mg per day.

• Probiotics: A healthy gut flora supports a healthy gut, a major barrier against pathogens and integral to the immune system. Look for brands that offer several species of good bacteria and contain at least 5-10 billion organisms per capsule.

• Fish Oil (Artic Cod Liver Oil): This old time remedy for good health and robust immunity still stands true! In addition to the good fats, cod liver oil contains additional vitamin A and D for added immune protection.

• 1-3, 1-6 Beta Glucans: Research has shown that these compounds up-regulate the function of the innate immune system. This part of your immune system is the first line of defense against viruses and bacteria. It helps your white blood cells bind to and kill viruses and bacteria.

Note: Patients with autoimmune diseases should not take this.

• Natural Anti-viral/Anti-bacterial Herbs: Many herbs have broad-spectrum antimicrobial effects or immune-enhancing effects. Formulas contain different immune boosters such as astragalus, echinacea, green tea extract, elderberry, andrographis, goldenseal, monolaurin, various immune-enhancing mushrooms, and beta 1, 3 glucan.

• Cordyceps and Mushrooms Extracts: These provide immune supporting properties. Cooking with medicinal mushrooms like shitake is also helpful.

Strategies to Sleeping Well

Five Basic Strategies

1. Never oversleep

Never oversleep because of a poor night's sleep. This is the most crucial rule. Get up at about the same time every day, especially on the morning after you've lost sleep. Sleeping late for just a couple of days can reset your body clock to a different cycle -- you'll be getting sleepy later and waking up later.

2. Set your body clock

Light helps restart your body clock to its active daytime phase.  Get up, go outside and get some sunlight. Or if that's difficult, turn on all the lights in your room.  Then walk around for a few minutes. The calves of your legs act as pumps and get blood circulating, carrying more oxygen to your brain to help get you going.

3. Exercise

Keep physically active during the day. This is especially important the day after a bad night's sleep. When you sleep less, you should be more active during the day. Being less active is one of the worst things an insomniac can do. Strenuous exercise (brisk walking, swimming, jogging, squash, etc.) in late afternoon seems to promote more restful sleep. Also, insomniacs tend to be too inactive a couple of hours before bed. Engage in some gentle exercise.  A stretching routine has helped many people.

4. Don't nap

Do not take any naps the day after you've loss sleep. When you feel sleepy, get up and do something. Walk, make the bed, or do your errands.  While studying, get up regularly (every 30 minutes, or more often if necessary) to walk around your room. Do a gentle stretch. That will increase the flow of oxygen to your brain and help you to be more alert.

5. Set a bedtime schedule using these two steps:

First, try to go to bed at about the same time every night. Be regular. Most people get hungry at 7 a.m., noon, and 6 p.m. because they've eaten at those times for years. Going to bed at about the same time every night can make sleep as regular as hunger.

Second, go to bed later when you are having trouble sleeping. If you're only getting five hours of sleep a night during your insomnia period, don't go to bed until just five hours before your wake-up time. For instance, if you've been waking up at 7 a.m., don't go to bed until 2 a.m. No naps! Make the time you spend in bed sleep time. 

Still have a case of insomnia? Go to bed proportionately later. Then, as your time in bed becomes good sleep time, move your going-to-bed time back 15 to 30 minutes a night and do that for a week or so. This is the opposite of what we want to do: we want to go to bed earlier to make up the lost sleep. Learn to do what many sleep laboratories teach -- go to bed later the night after losing sleep.

Develop a Bedtime Routine

Stop studying and don't get into any stimulating discussions or activities a half hour or hour before bed. Do something that's relaxing -- read "light" material, play your guitar, listen to music that is quiet, catch a mindless TV show. Some people sleep better in a clean and neat environment, so they like to straighten and clean their room just before going to bed. Find your own sleep-promoting routine.

Warm bath, yes; shower, no

Take a long, hot bath before going to bed. This helps relax and soothe your muscles. Showers, on the other hand, tend to wake you up. Insomniacs should avoid showers in the evening.

List "gotta do's"

Keep a pad and pencil handy. If you think of something you want to remember, jot it down. Then let the thought go. There will be no need to lie awake worrying about remembering it.

Stretch and relaxation

Some people find that a gentle stretching routine for several minutes just before getting into bed helps induce sleep. Others practice relaxation techniques. Libraries or bookstores have books on developing stretching or relaxation routines. The University Counseling Services has some material on both: try

To eat or not to eat

Some sleep centers recommend a light breakfast and lunch to help you stay alert during the day. They advise you to make the evening meal the major meal of the day. Schedule it at least four hours before bedtime so your digestive system will be reasonably quiet by the time you're ready to sleep.

Warm milk?

It helps some people to have a glass at bedtime. Milk has an essential amino acid, tryptophan, which stimulates the brain chemical serotonin, believed to play a key role in inducing sleep. A piece of whole wheat bread, or another carbohydrate, enhances the effect. Or try taking tryptophan, beginning with about two grams about an hour before bedtime. A piece of wheat bread will help the tryptophan to be absorbed.

Avoid caffeine and tyrosine-rich foods from late afternoon on

Caffeine, a chemical in coffee, colas, tea, chocolate, etc., causes hyperactivity and wakefulness. Some sleep laboratories encourage people to avoid such tyrosine-laden foods as fermented cheeses (cheddar is about the worst; cottage cheese and yogurt are OK), ripe avocados, some imported beers, and fermented meats 

(bologna, pepperoni, salami). Also avoid red wines, especially chianti.

Cut down on alcohol

Alcohol might help you get to sleep, but it results in shallow and disturbed sleep, abnormal dream periods, and frequent early morning awakening.

Sleeping pills

Reasons to avoid sleeping pills include disturbed sleep patterns, short-term amnesia, and impaired motor skills. Research shows that benzodiazepine hypnotics, the most commonly prescribed sleeping pills, impair short-term memory, reaction time, thinking, and visual-motor coordination (such as driving).

 Is Your Environment Conducive To Sleep?

Room temperature     

Sleep in a cool room (60 degrees or so). Pile on another blanket or add one under the mattress pad rather than turn up the heat. A physician I know used this principle while in medical school; he kept an air conditioner on in his room all year. He said it helped him sleep better so that he needed less sleep. You don't need to go to such extremes, but do keep it cool.

Humidity

Even a little thing like a dry throat may make sleeping more difficult. Most heating systems dry the air in your bedroom, so borrow a humidifier to see if it will help. Keeping heat down and having a window open can also keep humidity up.

Noise

Some people seem to sleep better if there is a white noise -- a fan running, for example -- in the background. For others, noise can interrupt sleep.  In addition to the fan strategy, try particular kinds of music to blot out the noise. Play a recording of music that has no words, no definite melody, and not a lot of change in the volume. Baroque music is a good choice. There are many tapes of sounds that aid sleep by quieting the mind, emotions, and body. Check at the counseling center, at a mental health center, or holistic health center.

If desperate, you might try ear plugs that workers use on noisy jobs. If you use cotton, be sure to use balls large enough that they won't work down into your ear canal and have to be removed by a physician.

Worrying About Insomnia?

Focusing on insomnia might make it worse. After all, you won't die from it! It is frequently a symptom of something else excessive worry or anxiety about grades, money, relationships, etc. If you think a particular worry might be keeping you awake, get up, find paper and a pencil, and jot down something you can do about that worry tomorrow. Put the note where you'll see it when you wake up. You can set aside your worry and use the remainder of the night for restful sleep. If necessary, use the strategies already described to get back into a regular sleep pattern.

In bed and unable to sleep

If you are in bed and unable to sleep, many experts suggest getting completely out of bed, sitting in a chair, and reading, writing letters, or doing some quiet activity. As you get sleepy, go back to bed and use a relaxation technique to fall asleep. Make your bed a place to sleep, not a place to get other things done.
Don't get mad at yourself! Try not to worry about not sleeping. Your body's wisdom will take over and you'll begin sleeping regularly as long as you use the five basic strategies described earlier.

Exercising?

The role of exercise cannot be stressed enough! Adding regular exercise -- brisk walking, riding an exercycle (perhaps while watching TV), swimming -- has helped many people sleep better. The more active your body is during the day, the more likely it is that you'll be able to go to sleep when it's time for your body to be quiet. Quiet time for sleep needs to be a contrast to a more active day.

Waking Up at Night?

What should you do when you're awake after just two, three, or four hours of sleep? Do not drink, eat, or smoke when you wake up. If you do, you'll find yourself waking up for them after just three or four nights of such treats. Do get out of bed, read, write letters, or do some quiet activity. Reactions to the stresses of everyday life can result in a level of sleep that is easily interrupted. A good stress-management program can help. Contact your counseling service for such a program.

Awake 4 or 5 a.m? Now what?

Get up and begin the day. If you're rested, you've probably had enough sleep and have a head start on most people. If you're still tired, get up anyway and go through the day, avoiding naps. Start the routines suggested in the basic strategies. Build an exercise program and stress-management training into your life. By learning to be less stressed during the day, you also learn to sleep better at night.

Not managing stress very well?

Difficulty in effectively managing normal, everyday stress in life is a common problem. A frequent reaction to daily stresses is insomnia, either sleep-onset insomnia or sleep-interrupting insomnia. A good stress-management program helps you learn how to manage those frequent stressors and go more easily through each day. Find about stress-management programs from your local guidance and mental health centers, extension agencies, and family physicians. More and more hospitals are offering such programs to help people develop healthier lifestyles.

How Much Sleep Do You Need?

Sleep needs vary from person to person. Some need only four hours per night, but others seem to need 10. Some people complain because they sleep "only" five or six hours each night. Yet many of these people awake rested in the morning and function well during the day. Five or six hours of sleep is all they need most of the time. They don't have insomnia. Other people feel tired after eight hours of sleep. They need more than the "normal" seven to eight hour average. Just one more hour of sleep often gives these people the rest they need.

Experiment to find the amount of sleep you need.

Remember, too, that the amount of sleep you need will vary. Your need for sleep may decrease and your ability to go to sleep may improve when you are exercising regularly and doing things you enjoy and do easily. You may need more sleep and experience more sleeplessness if you are under more stress or as you become less active (e.g., move from an active to a sedentary job, return to the more sedentary role of student after an active summer).