How to Build Up Your Immune System

The time to best fight an infection is before you have been exposed. In strengthening your immune system it is important to:

GET THE RIGHT AMOUNT OF SLEEP. Too much or too little sleep weakens your resistance. We do, however, need more sleep in the winter than in the summer. Whenever possible we should do as Benjamin Franklin stated “early to bed, and early to rise.”

EAT PROPERLY. Sugar and artificial coloring, flavorings and preservatives have been blamed for weakening the immune system. Sugar, it is said, actually feeds bacteria and infections. In the winter it is also important to eat more protein. For those who eat meat, deer meat is the most unadulterated meat available to most of us. It is said that 4-6 oz of protein a day, helps against the cold. Local Raw Honey often has some antibodies of the upcoming flu and colds.

INCREASE YOUR VITAMIN C INTAKE. Vitamin C makes the mucus in the respiratory system thin and antiseptic, so it can do its job of cleaning foreign matter, such as germs, bacteria, and virus out of the respiratory track, and into the bowel to be expelled. If the bowel is slow moving (less than 3 times a day and 18 hours after ingested), viruses will have more time to attack the body. It is best to take several small doses of Vitamin C during the day, rather than one large mega-dose. Make sure that it is a natural vitamin C and not a synthetic.

CUT DOWN OR CUT OUT MILK PRODUCTS. Scientists say that milk does not thicken or produce mucus. I believe differently as does just about every mother whose child has had a cold. There are many herbal and dietary sources of calcium.

WHEN POSSIBLE AVOID ANTIBIOTICS. Antibiotics work for the immune system which unfortunately, weakens it. Antibiotics work only on bacteria and DO NOT affect colds or flu because they are caused by a virus. So taking an antibiotic to get rid of a cold or flu is a waste of time and money.

AVOID COLD SUPPRESSANTS. Cold suppressants DO NOT get rid of mucus; they just dry it up some and prevent it from cleansing the respiratory system. When you’re stuffy, it is better to thin the mucus so that it can do its job properly.

KEEP THE HOUSE COOLER AND THE AIR MOIST. Hot dry air works against respiratory system. The ideal temperature is between 58-62 F (very small children, the weakened and the elderly may need higher temps. to avoid hypothermia). When keeping the air moist using a vaporizer, change the water frequently and clean thoroughly to prevent airborne bacteria or mold.

It is absolutely amazing what our immune system is capable of if given the proper elements.