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| Enhancing Your Immune System the Natural Way ... With Food By Gary Rosard |
| The Bad Guys Sugar: There is strong evidence that sugar has a negative effect on the function of the immune system. When white blood cells are exposed to high levels of sugar in the bloodstream, they have a decreased ability to engulf bacteria and have weakened systemic resistance to all infections. What is a high level of sugar? The normal sugar level in the bloodstream is approximately one teaspoon. A single can of soda or a bowl of ice cream has 12 teaspoons of sugar. The digestive system is overtaxed trying to prevent all that sugar from entering the bloodstream all at once, and the pancreas is also working hard to produce enough insulin to process the sugar. This is a lot of stress on your body. Refined carbohydrates, such as most breads and baked goods act pretty much like sugar in the body. These refined foods also lack the beneficial nutrients and fiber that are present in whole grains, and actually cause a depletion of minerals in your body. Try finding foods that are more gently sweetened with fruit juice, rice syrup or barley malt. Coffee: Caffeine is a diuretic that contributes to the body's loss of important nutrients, such as calcium, magnesium, and potassium. Caffeine places stress on the adrenal glands (already stressed out from our hectic lifestyles) and adversely affects the nervous system, resulting in anxiety, hyperactivity, and insomnia. Healing occurs when the body is relaxed and its energy can be channeled inward. Regular consumption of caffeine deprives the body of this relaxed state. The acid in coffee eats away the villi of the small intestine, reducing their effectiveness in supporting nutrient assimilation. Thus the acids in coffee may cause as much problem as the caffeine. Try milder forms of caffeine such as green tea, or try the various caffeine-free coffee substitutes. Mix them with your coffee to gradually reduce your caffeine dependence. Alcohol: When consumed in excess, alcohol is a poison to every system of your body. It depresses the nervous system, inhibits the bone marrow's ability to regenerate blood cells, is toxic to the liver, depletes B-vitamins, and is dehydrating. If you are taking protease inhibitors, which place significant stress on the liver, alcohol intake must be very moderate. Anyone with chronic hepatitis B or C should pay particular attention to this added stress to the liver, and try to avoid alcohol as much as possible. Raw foods: Foods such as clams, oysters, sushi, very rare meats, and undercooked eggs contain infectious bacteria and intestinal parasites. Infections that would not bother most people can be life-threatening for those with compromised immune systems. Even alfalfa and bean sprouts, which are usually associated with "health food," contain a natural toxin that can harm the immune system. They really should be cooked before eating. Raw fruits and vegetables should be well washed before eating. Rancid fats and oils: These create free radicals, which are highly reactive molecules that can initiate chain reactions of chemical disruption, injuring cell membranes, enzymes, and DNA. They have a negative impact on a wide range of conditions such as aging, cancer, inflammation, degenerative disease, viral infections, and AIDS. Common sources of rancid fats and oils are nuts, chips, baked goods, and fried foods. At higher temperatures and exposure to light, oils and fats turn rancid more quickly. When foods are deep-fried, the fats used reach very high temperatures, and if the oil is re-used, as is invariably the case, the oxidative effect is magnified. Most polyunsaturated vegetable oils, unless cold-pressed, are heated to high temperatures during processing. Hydrogenated vegetable oils, including shortenings and margarine, are also heat processed. These are all sources of free radicals. In addition, nitrates have been shown to cause cancer and should be avoided; they are found in hot dogs, sausages, salami and smoked meats. Food allergies: Many people are sensitive to certain foods, which can result in symptoms including intestinal distress, fatigue, and even weight gain. Common foods that create such problems are dairy, eggs, gluten (the protein in wheat), soy, corn, and food additives. Individuals that experience any of the above symptoms should experiment with eliminating these foods from their diets for a few weeks to see what changes occur. Then, reintroducing one at a time will give a good indication of which foods may be causing the problems. Eating for a strong immune system starts with focusing on whole rather than refined foods. Eating organic foods as much as possible will make a big difference. You really don't want to be adding the burden of pesticides, chemical fertilizers and feed, antibiotics and growth hormones to your system. |
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