Immunity Boosting Ideas?

[LJFH]

I've been sick an extraordinary amount in the last year or so and I'm at a loss as to what else I can do to boost my immunity.

I eat well, exercise and don't go TOO hard at the boozing/partying all the time (although I have done my fair share in recent times).

anyone got any tricks that seem to work for them?

[Biggest Fan]

Sleep- Stress reduction.

[LJFH]

I do get lots of sleep, although, yes my stress level has been high in the past few months.

[badams]

Quit smoking?

[CyberHippie]

Daily fruit smoothie with lots of berries and other 'super-food' antioxidents like blue berries. I swear this has been a miracle drink for us. Not only do we feel better in general, but almost never get sick anymore. We definitely notice when we didn't get our smoothie that day.

Also there are many great herbal teas out there that have imunoboosting properties. I like green/ginsing/lemon myself.

Medicate through nature. It really works.

Edited February 1, 2008 by Guest

[DevO]

Try this GINGER INFUSION TEA recipe:

1/4 cup ginger, grated or chopped really fine

5 cups water

--- bring the water to a boil, toss in the ginger and simmer on low for 30 min.

-- strain through a fine strainer.. press on the ginger to get all the juice out

add:

3 tbsp honey

1 tbsp lemon juice

a pinch of cayenne (optional)

mix it up and chug 'er back!!

ANOTHER good thing to ingest is oil of oregano. It burns like hell but clears out a lot of bacteria. 5 drops into a glass of water, grin and bear it.

[Hux]

anyone got any tricks that seem to work for them?

[phorbesie]

holiday? seriously, can you take a week off?

i've been musing how i wish i lived in the time when they would send people to jamaica to recover from illness or rest their nerves. i'd be all over that

seriously though, i was having stomachaches and yuckies ALL THE TIME last fall/winter. after spending one week in mexico in the sun and eating heaps of fresh fruit and fish (especially papaya) i feel fantastic ever since, no issues or tummyaches since then. i think the rest and fresh diet really re-balanced my system.

if you can't get away, maybe pro-biotics will help you to re-balance. have you tried kombucha before?

[Blane]

i've been taking natural-sourced stress reducing vitamins for a few weeks now, a few weeks that would normally be SUPER F'N stressful, and they've been really good at keeping me energized, calm and intact. I've got a cold now, but it's so much milder than I think I normally would have gotten after a move overseas, jetlag, and a sudden massive workload increase. Anyhow, not too sure what the brand was, but there are probably a few to choose from. I'm not usually a big believer in such things but it has worked for me this time.

[LJFH]

That was a good one Huxy, I laughed out loud at that one.

hehe.

[AdamH]

I'm on the smoothie train and it's made all the difference. Mine is yogurt, banana, Apple juice or apple cider and a teaspoon of spirulina. I have this every morning along with a bowl of bran flakes and it keeps me going until lunchtime. Even on days where I haven't slept well (4-5 hours in a night) this drink gives me enough energy to make it through the day, and I also don't drink caffeine at all while at work. That's helping me keep the sweats and the stress levels down.

[c-towns]

I'd start by changing your avatar.

[bouche]

Quit smoking?

That's a guaranteed winner. I can confirm that after I quit smoking I rarely got sick.

Sharon's makes us the greatest morning smoothie concoction every morning that everyone should be drinking.

soy milk

pomegranate

blueberries

wheat germ

licithin

goji berries

other various things that I may be forgetting.

This is one helluva power drink.

[Ms.Huxtable]

The recipe (makes two)

5 Tbsn Raspberries

5 Tspn Blueberries

1 Banana (I keep a whack of them in the freezer)

1 cup soy milk

1/4 cup pomegranate juice

2 Tbsn Lecithin Granules

1/4 cup dried Goji Berries

2 Tbsp Wheat Bran

1 Tbsn ground Salba

1/4 Tspn cinnamon

I should also mention that these supplements go well with the smoothie, the ingredients work together (Lecithin helps absorb omega 3 fatty acids found in flax seed oil and the like)

Multi vitamin

B 50

Glucosamine

Flax Seed Oil capsules (or just add 1 Tbsn oil to the smoothie)

We try to have this every morning and just like NaturalMystik, we sure miss it on the days we don't have it.

[Hux]

Similarly, I bought a juicer back in August and we start the day with a glass of organic ginger, carrot, chard, collard, kale, beet, cabbage.

Great way to start the day - I lost weight and have tons of energy (and believe it or not - it tastes great).

[slavetothegroove]

Lot and lots of garlic has always been good for the immune system as far as I'm concerned. Echinachea and probiotics are always good. Check out a natural food store, I'm sure they can give you loads of suggestions too.

[MoMack]

Similarly, I bought a juicer back in August and we start the day with a glass of organic ginger, carrot, chard, collard, kale, beet, cabbage.

Great way to start the day - I lost weight and have tons of energy (and believe it or not - it tastes great).

What brand of juicer did you buy and how spendy are they?

I've been wanting to get one, but figure to do it right you need the super-industrial jobby. Tell me I'm wrong please!

[bouche]

i've been interested in finding out more about juicers....but I must say the stuff that you can blend is pretty incredible.

I think hux bought the cadillac of juicers as an investment since he was blowing wads at the juicer bars.

[Tricky]

Eat a tonne of fresh vegetables, lots of water, anything containing B vitamins or a complex B, exercise and proper sleep, stress reduction techniques that are suited to your lifestyle ie. meditation, music, yoga, going for a nightly walk etc. That's really all the body needs. Smoothies and shakes are a temporary way to boost the immune system too, but if you want to get to the core of the matter--eat better...your entire body is built upon what goes into it.

Edited February 2, 2008 by Guest

[bouche]

don't forget getting lotsa natural fiber. When you can look at your shit and be proud of a floating log, you know you're healthy.

[hamilton]

Gin. Lots of it.

[SolarGarlic]

I think the juicer issue came up when Hux was buying his a while back but I'll toss in my bit..

I bought a Champion Juicer off of Craigslist. These have pretty much been one of THE companies making juicers for YEARS. You don't see too many used ones kicking around but you should be able to get one for less than 200 bucks used. You can check out the specs here but basically it is big and heavy with very few moving parts. The motor is key and they are built like tanks.

As well, we use it for grinding nuts and making soups. You can also get an attachment for grinding your own grains. Basically these things have been pleasing hippies for decades.

[ollie]

Smoke a lot of weed.

[CyberHippie]

Mine is yogurt, banana, Apple juice or apple cider and a teaspoon of spirulina.

Someone else mentioned this spirulina to me as being a super food, and that it goes great in smoothies. Haven't tried it yet, but I just picked up some vinagrette salad dressing that has spirulina in it. To be honest, I'm a bit afraid of it. Supposed to be good for the body though...

I agree though, a smoothie will help, but it's not a magic bullet, it's really about eating healthy. And that's what smoothies do they give you a good dose of healthy food. If everything else you eat it crap, they probably won't help that much.

You'd be surprised how much better you would feel if you cut out all processed foods. This is probably a bit extreme, but I've cut out all foods that have added white sugar or corn syrup. Everything I eat that must be sweetened, I make sure is with fruit, maple syrup or honey. I've never felt better and it's great to see the pounds melt away.

Meditation can't hurt either. Don't wish to not get sick, instead imagine yourself healthy.

[Ms Zimmy]

vegetarian diet