Foods That Can Boost Your Immune System

Maintaining a healthy immune system is one of the best ways to avoid picking up illnesses that might be floating around.

One especially effective way to do this is through nutrition, so here are some suggestions on what to eat and drink.

Green Tea -- As this tea contains antioxidants, it's a good choice to fight a variety of ailments.  It also contains theophylline, which opens your airways to help you breathe easier if mucus has taken hold.

This tea has also been proven to increase metabolism, reduce your risk of heart disease and reactivate dying skin cells.

General wisdom is 2-3 cups a day, although some people prefer capsules.

Sweet Potatoes – It’s the beta- carotene in this food that turns in to Vitamin A that in turn fights against bacteria and viruses.

Other sources of beta-carotene include carrots, squash, pumpkin and cantaloupe.

Oats and Barley -- According to a study out of Norway, the beta-glucan, which is a type of fiber with antimicrobial and antioxidant capabilities, is more potent than echinacea.   Echinacea of course is the model herb for enhancing the immune system.

(To attest to how popular it is, I recently saw some 20-year-olds handing each other echinacea capsules before a flight. While I have done that for years, it was nice to see another generation doing that.)

Yogurt - The live active cultures contained in yogurt promote a healthy digestive system.  Prevention magazine cites a Swedish study of factory employees who drank a daily supplement of Lactobacillus reuteri—a specific probiotic that appears to stimulate white blood cells and consequently took 33% fewer sick days than those given a placebo.

While that particular strain is found only in some yogurts, the cultures of all yogurts are helpful. 

Foods to Prevent Dry Skin

As food is always the preferred way to treat common ailments from a natural health perspective, here are some vitamins and nutritional supplement suggestions for a winter ailment – dry skin.

Niacin, or its other name B3, is a vitamin that helps prevent skin rashes and inflammation. The best sources are eggs, shitake mushrooms, chicken, tuna, beef, halibut, lamb, salmon, spelt, sardines. 

Riboflavin, B2, helps the body metabolize amino acids, fatty acids, and carbohydrates and is essential for healthy skin. Food sources include eggs, green leafy vegetable, yogurt, soybeans, calf’s liver, mushrooms, spinach and almonds.

Vitamin A, which helps cells reproduce, can turn old, dry skin into new skin.  Foods include fruits and vegetables, such as cantaloupe, passion fruit, tomatoes, sweet potato, carrots and spinach.

Omega-3 fatty acids can keep the top outer layer of the skin strong and intact so that external toxins and pollutants are kept out. Sources include wild salmon, sardines, fortified eggs, and walnuts.

Common Household Chemical Linked to Heart Disease

While I try to stay very positive in this blog, I feel that it is sometimes necessary to present information that can adversely impact health.

And in this case it's a chemical that all of us have in our homes. 

Turns out that not only is this chemical in our nonstick cookware, food packaging, carpets and paints.. it's in us as well. 

PFOA ( perfluorooctanoic acid) is present in up to 98% of Americans, according to an article on CNN.

A new study reported in the Archives of Internal Medicine,  reveals that those with the highest levels of PFOA in their blood had double the odds of having a history of heart disease, heart attack, or stroke. 

While the researches want to look into the connection further, Dr. Debabrata Mukherjee, chief of cardiovascular medicine at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in El Paso, recommends minimizing exposure. She suggests that if drinking water is contaminated by nearby factories people should use bottled or filtered water. 

And avoiding nonstick cookware and other products that contain the chemical would be wise. 

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I've Got 4 More Years -- Thanks to Exercise

Aside from what you eat, exercise is the other key to good health according to my holistic MD, Dr. David Brownstein.

As reported in the Journal of Aging Research,  a number of studies revealed that there was a wide range of extra years found for active versus nonactive people, from less than half a year in one study to close to seven years in another.  Combining the studies, the median increase of life expectancy of men and women amounted to 3.7 years each.

And it turns out your intention when exercising matters. So if you are choosing to exercise, instead of sitting in front of your computer, as opposed to exercising as part of your normal physical routine, it will increase life expectancy more effectively.

If you are a runner or an endurance athlete you get an extra 2.8 to 8 years compared to non-runners. 

Plus you get points for other healthy behavior. If you eat well, don't smoke, and are generally physically active you can have 11.1 more years than those who don't have those healthy habits. That's a lot of extra years.

It's Too Hot for Meat So Where Do I Find Protein?

As I sit in Cleveland, Ohio on this beautiful holiday weekend, I am trying very hard not to complain about the 90 plus heat. And I as prepare to go to a holiday celebration  -- that will have grills all fired up-- I find that for me it's just too hot for meat. Trying to eat protein at every meal, I realized I didn't know exactly which non-meat sources contain the most protein.

Given that an average person needs to eat  55 to 68 grams of protein a day, or about 20 grams of protein per meal, here are some ideas. (Source is sparkpeople.)

Nuts

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Nuts, 1/4 cup	Protein	Calories	Fat
Peanuts, raw	9 g	207	18 g
Almonds, dry roasted	8 g	206	18 g
Pistachios	6 g	171	14 g
Hazelnuts	5 g	212	21 g
Pine nuts	5 g	229	23 g
Cashews, raw	5 g	197	16 g
Walnuts	4 g	164	16 g

Seeds

Seeds (1/4 cup)	Protein	Calories	Fat
Hemp seeds	15 g	232	18 g
Pumpkin seeds, roasted	9 g	187	16 g
Flaxseed	8 g	191	13 g
Sunflower seeds, roasted	8 g	205	18 g
Sesame seeds, roasted	6 g	206	18 g

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Legumes

Grains	Protein	Calories	Fiber
Amaranth, 1 cup cooked	9 g	238	9 g
Quinoa, 1 cup cooked	9 g	254	4 g
Whole wheat pasta, 1 cup cooked	8 g	174	6 g
Barley, 1 cup cooked	7 g	270	14 g
Spelt, 4 oz cooked	6 g	144	4 g
Oats, 1 cup cooked	6 g	147	4 g
Bulgur, 1 cup cooked	6 g	151	8 g
Buckwheat, 1 cup cooked	6 g	155	5 g
Brown rice, 1 cup cooked	5 g	216	4 g
Whole wheat bread, 1 slice	4 g	128	3 g
Sprouted grain bread, 1 slice	4 g	80	3 g

Can Vitamin C Lower Blood Pressure?

Yes, in high doses, according to a new study. Findings published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, were that Vitamin C can cause a moderate decrease in blood pressure. It's the dosage that is important since someone would need take 500 milligrams per day for eight weeks to see the positive effect.

While that is higher than the National Institutes of Health's recommended daily intake for adults of 90 mg per day for men and 75mg for women, it's below Dr. Weil recommendation. He suggest taking 250 mg of vitamin C each day, or higher doses - greater than 1,000 mg per day – for additional protection against the oxidative effects of air pollution and smoke. (Many of us take that amount as a maintenance dosage.) The reason Vitamin C is effective is that it is able to maintain or protect the body's levels of nitric oxide. Nitric oxide's function is specifically to help maintain healthy blood pressure.

Other research has shown that Vitamin C is a diuretic and therefore it can help rid the body of excess sodium and water which can lower blood pressure. Other natural remedies for lower blood pressure ( per Dr. Weil) include:
--Eat 8 to 10 servings of fruit and vegetables per day.
--Limit animal protein to 6 oz per day, emphasizing lean sources.
--Say no to salt. Those with salt sensitivity or a family history or hypertension may benefit from reducing salt to about one teaspoon a day (2,400 mg).
 --Use garlic, which has a modest effect on lowering blood pressure and may help relax blood vessels. Consume 4 to 5 servings of nuts, seeds and dry beans per week (2 Tbsp nuts or seeds, or 1/2 cup cooked dried beans).
 --Eat plenty of fish. Include at least three servings of fish a week, emphasizing cold-water fish like wild Alaskan salmon and sardines, which are rich in omega-3 fatty acids. Take fish-oil supplements if you cannot get enough omega-3-rich foods.
 --Take calcium and magnesium. Inadequate intake of both of these minerals has been associated with high blood pressure. Women should get between 1,000 and 1,200 mg of calcium a day from all sources, while men may want to get no more than 500-600 mg daily from all sources.

Natural Remedies for Allergies

With allergy season in full bloom, here are some ideas for natural ways to treat them.


Quercetin
Found in the skin of onions and apples, quercetin is a natural antihistamine. Numerous studies have demonstrated that quercetin reduces allergic immune response by modulating inflammatory signals at the gene level. A new animal study demonstrates that a single dose of quercetin can have a potent bronchodilator effect, offering a potential strategy for people with asthma looking for natural ways to help assist them.

Stinging Nettle Leaf
One preliminary human study suggested that nettle capsules helped reduce sneezing and itching in people with hay fever, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center. Researchers think that may be due to nettle's ability to reduce the amount of histamine the body produces in response to an allergen. Some doctors recommend taking a freeze dried preparation of stinging nettle well before hay fever season starts.

Probiotics
Probiotics, also known as the "good" bacteria help keep the immune system balanced. It can be found in plain yogurt that has live active culture, sauerkraut, or fermented soy (known as miso).