Top 4 Steps to Take to Decrease Your Risk of Contracting a Viral Infection
1. Turn off the news and scroll past negative, scary posts.
Fear and anger cause you to be stressed and stress decreases your immunity.
Stress occurs when life events surpass your abilities to cope. It causes your body to produce greater levels of the stress hormone cortisol. Cortisol can decrease your immune function.
Stress decreases the body’s lymphocytes — the white blood cells that help fight off infection. The lower your lymphocyte level, the more at risk you are for viruses.
A study has shown how long-term stress plays havoc with the immune system, raising the odds of catching a cold or flu.
Scientists in the U.S. questioned 176 men and women about difficult experiences they had been through in the past 12 months. Drops of the common cold virus were then dripped into their nose and scientists checked if they caught the germ.
Those who had been under stress were twice as likely to develop a cold. A second experiment confirmed that the inflammatory response feeds off stress.
Breathing exercises or vagus nerve stimulators can help to decrease cortisol and help with stress.
2. Stop Eating Sugar
Sugar has direct and severe effects on immune system i.e. on WBCs. By drinking 1 Liter bottle of soda or by eating 100 gram sugar, the reactivity of WBCs reduces 40%.
This can make our immune system disable for 4 or 5 hours. WBCs perform the function of immune by killing bacteria and virus through phagocytosis.
Vitamin C is very vital for proper functioning of WBCs.
Sugar and vitamin C has the same chemical structure.
When we eat sugar it directly competes with vitamin C, as a result less vitamin C enters into WBCs.
Sugar does not help WBCs to fight against pathogens and hence weakens their reactivity.
High glucose level in blood weakens the immune system by decreasing WBCs reactivity.
In order to maintain the normal reactivity of WBCs we should take fresh fruits and vegetables.
Ullah H, Akhtar M, Hussain F. Effects of Sugar, Salt and Distilled Water on White Blood Cells and Platelet Cells. Journal of Tumor 2015; 4(1): 354-358 Available from: URL: http://www.ghrnet.org/index.php/jt/article/view/1340
3. Eat healthy foods
Choose whole, natural foods, such as fruits, vegetables, non GMO, organic, gluten free whole grains, beans, seeds, nuts, pastured meats, wild caught fish.
Two good rules of thumb are:
Eat a rainbow – in other words include fruits and vegetables of all colours to maximise nutritional value e.g. dark greens; yellow and orange squash, carrots, and sweet potatoes; and red peppersand tomatoes.
Also important for proper immune function, is the inclusion of the brassica family (broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbages, cauliflower, kale, and greens from mustard, radish and turnip), flavonoid rich berries and garlic.
4. Take Immune Boosting Supplements
Vitamin A
10,000 – 20,000 IU /day
Vitamin C
2000-4000mg 2x/day
Vitamin D
5,000 – 10,000 IU /day in winter months
Vitamin E
400 IU /day
Zinc
30-50mg /day
Mushroom formula containing shiitake, mistake, reishi, and turkey tail.
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