Immune System Support During the Flu and Cold Season

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Immune System Support

During the Flu/Cold Season

By Michelle McCaslin, APRN NP-C

As the colder weather approaches our fear of of catching colds or the flu increases. Advertisements for flu shots in nearly every grocery and drug store remind us of the danger of “flu season”. It seems to be more common during this time of the year that people all around us are getting sick. Along with the drop in temperature also come a series of holidays, friend/family get-togethers and an overindulgence of foods we don’t normally eat regularly or shouldn’t.

The culmination of being indoors around people, a diet higher in sugars and carbohydrates and the stress of the holidays seem to be the stage for a weakened immune system which puts us at a higher risk for obtaining bacteria and viruses that replicate without much fight from the immune system. The lack of immune system response sends us into a slew of symptoms that can range from sore throat, cough, achy muscles, headaches and nasal congestion.

So how do we help prevent the cascade of events that lead us to the unwelcome symptoms of cold and flu?

Preventing the stage from setting is done by getting enough sleep, drinking lots of water and eating foods dense in nutrients.  All those things we think we know and all the things our very mothers ingrained into our minds as children. While they are all very good common sense things to do it is sometimes necessary to seriously evaluate our lives and make sure we are doing these basic things and implement changes if needed before we are well into the symptoms of a cold or flu.  

5 simple steps for Flu and Cold prevention:

1.     Stay off of sugars. A study enrolled healthy individuals to consume 100g of carbohydrates from glucose, fructose, sucrose, honey, or orange juice. Each of the subjects had a decrease in phagocytosis (White blood cells action of engulfing bacteria) that lasted 1-5 hours after ingestion of the simple sugars (Sanches, et al., 1973).

2.     Eat Healthy. Eat vegetables, protein, good fats and some fruit (Boynton, et. al., 2007) and stay away from sugars.

3.     Get enough sleep. Rest and sleep 7- 8 hours. Adequate sleep supports the immune system (Bryant, Trinder & Nigel, 2004).

4.     Drink more water.  The human body is comprised of more than 60 percent water. Our blood is 92 percent water, while the brain and muscles are made up of 75 percent water and our bones are about 22 percent water. In order for cells to take in nutrients, make energy and maintain their shape they need an adequate amount of water to perform the necessary functions. Our organs utilize our blood to transport nutrients and eliminate toxins. The immune system activators like white blood cells are transported in our blood so keeping the blood flowing with proper intake of fluids or water is necessary to assist the immune system response. When it’s cold outside, enjoy a simple cup of warm water with lemon.

5.     Coconut oil and good fats: Cooking with coconut oil decreases inflammation and has anti-viral and anti-fungal properties (Abdelrahman, Muhammad, Shuid & Soelaiman, 2012).

Incorporating the above preventative steps should become part of daily life to establish a healthy immune system in the event exposure to bacteria or viruses occurs. If the preventative measures are taken and symptoms of cold or flu occur we recommend taking these supplements:

1.     Oscillococcinum Homeopathic medicine (most effective if taken immediately when symptoms manifest)

2.     Vitamin D3: take 50,000 IU/day for up to 3 days only (no more)

3.     A Mushroom Complex like Immunity Take Care by New Chapter

4.     Olive Leaf Extract

5.     Choose one of the following anti-viral supplements:

a.     Sambucus (Black Elderberry Extract)

b.     Colloidal Silver

c.     Viraclear

Supplements can also be taken along with the preventative measures if you want to boost the effects of the immune system during times where colds and or flu are common in the population or when under stress.

1.     Vitamin C- Take 1,000mg every other hour or two to “bowel tolerance”.  Once stools become loose you know you have had enough so stop taking for that day then back down the dose the next day by one or two pills and divide dose by 3 or 4 times/day.

2.     Zinc- 100mg per day for one week while ill only.

3.     Thymates- Multivitamin that boosts the immune system and can help with fatigue. Take 12 per day in divided dose while sick in place of your regular multivitamin.

Further suggestion to help aid immune system function and obtaining optimal care can be done by scheduling an appointment for a more individualized guide to better health with Dr. Ryan or Michelle McCaslin, APRN NP-C here at Alternatives.

References:

Abujazia, M., Muhammad, N., Shuid, A. &  Soelaiman, I. (2012). The Effects of Virgin Coconut Oil on Bone Oxidative Status in Ovariectomised Rat.  Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, (2012: 52507)

Boynton, A., Chen-Levy, Z., Kirk, E., LaCroix, K., McTiernan A.,  Neuhouser, M., Sorensen, B., Ulrich, C., Wener, M., Wood, B., Yasui, Y. (2007). Associations between healthy eating patterns and immune function or inflammation in overweight or obese postmenopausal women. Am J Clin Nutr. 86: 5 1445-1455

Bryant, P., Trinder, J. & Nigel, C. (2004). Sick and tired: does sleep have a vital role in the immune system? Nature Reviews Immunology, 4, 457-467.

Horswill, C., & Janas, L. (2011). Hydration and Health. American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine.  5: 304-315.

Intahphuak, S., Khonsung, P., & Panthong, A. (2010). Antiinflammatory, analgesic, and antipyretic activities of virgin coconut oil. Pharmaceutical Biology. (48:2). 151–157.

C. S. Dayrit, “Coconut oil in health and disease: its and monolaurin potential as cure for HIV/AIDS,” in Proceedings of the 37th Cocotech Meeting/ICC, pp. 110–112, Chennai, India.

Sanchez A, et al. (1973). Role of sugars in human neutrophilic phagocytosis. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 26, 1180-1184.