How To Improve Your Immunity

By W. Gifford-Jones, MD and Diana Gifford-Jones —— Bio and Archives November 18, 2007

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A reader asks “Please write about natural ways to strengthen the immune system. I want to avoid taking the flu vaccine”. This is a good question because every year 40,000 North Americans die during the flu season and thousands more hospitalized. So what steps will strengthen your immunity and insure you’ll be around another day? And what has an accidental discovery by an insurance company to do with immunity?

Boosting the immune system is more complicated than lowering blood cholesterol or building muscles. After all, germs are everywhere and it’s hard to escape them. Besides, they’re not all on the toilet seat. Dr. Charles Gerber, a leading microbiologist at the University of Arizona, says the toilet seat contains a mere 49 germs per square inch. The telephone receiver has 25,000 and the desktop 21,000 over the same area. And when someone infects these areas, germs can linger on them for up to 72 hours. But don’t forget an even greater exposure, the sneeze. A single sneeze projects up to 4,500 droplets that travel at speeds up to 100 miles an hour and you’re in the target-zone if you’re just four feet away. And it’s these common sneezes that spread the most infection. There are many ways to develop a strong immunity. The first step is to follow a healthy lifestyle. This means a well balanced diet that includes fruits and vegetables. Don’t forget whole grains and meat that contain zinc to boost the immune system. And be sure to decrease the amount of sugar as viruses feast on it. We know that malnourished people are more prone to infection. So are the elderly who are often deficient in B vitamins and C. A multivitamin pill is a good insurance policy to correct this vulnerability. Moderate activity is healthier than excessive exercise. A report from the University of California says that highly trained athletes, after intense training and competition, are often more susceptible to colds. As is true in so many things, moderation is often the best policy. If you’re still a smoker, make a concerted effort to stop. Studies show that when people break this habit, immune activity starts to improve within 30 days. But what has an insurance company to do with immunity? We all know how insurance companies prefer holding onto their money rather than paying out claims. In 2004 insurance adjusters made an interesting and strange discovery, much to their delight. They were surprised to find that employees of a major company were seldom sick compared to other employees of similar sized companies. But they had no idea why this was the case. Further investigation revealed that the company manufactured a yeast culture to keep animals healthy. They wondered whether this was in some way enhancing the employee’s immune system and they funded a research study to find out. This study revealed that the blood of employees that worked directly with the yeast culture did have an increased immunity and higher antioxidant levels. This prompted researchers to develop a human version of the yeast culture called EpiCor, the result of a sophisticated fermentation process. How does EpiCor work? Dr. Ronald Klatz, President of the American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine, is co-author of a book called “Infection Protection; Pandemic”. He says that EpiCor helps to protect mucous membranes of the nose and mouth from bacteria and viruses. And that the best defense against infection is an offense. Humans don’t have an anti-missile defense system to protect us from thousands of infected droplets. But taking one pill of EpiCor daily helps to nourish the body’s immune system and activates the body’s natural killer cells. It’s these highly specialized white blood cells that go on the offense and destroy abnormal cells and those infected with viruses. I believe it’s prudent for people to take the flu vaccine. But it also makes sense to use every means possible to boost immunity to infection. And what makes sense for an insurance company may make equal sense for us. For more information on EpiCor see the web site [url=http://www.vrp.com]http://www.vrp.com[/url] or call the toll free # 1-800-877-2447. See my web site at [url=http://www.mydoctor.ca/gifford-jones]http://www.mydoctor.ca/gifford-jones[/url].