A healthier diet helps immune system

A healthier diet helps immune system

8 January 2014

CANCER is the second biggest cause of death in Northern Ireland at present — heart disease is first — and 300 people go through chemotherapy each day in Northern Ireland.

At least 60 per cent of cancers are preventable by diet and lifestyle habits, such as eating a healthy diet, exercising, getting fresh air, drinking alcohol moderately and not smoking.

The good news is you are not powerless if you or someone close to you has been diagnosed as there are things you can do to boost your immune system naturally which can help your treatment work better, whether it is chemotherapy or radiotherapy.

I am not saying that the following foods and supplements cure cancer, but they do boost your immune system which can only help your health.

Firstly, you want to filter your water because chlorine is a chemical that is not good for your immune system. Even a basic water filter like the Brita is better than nothing, but it is worth getting one that takes out chlorine, bacteria and heavy metals like the “Wellness filter” (it is available at  www.highernature.co.uk  and costs about £50). You can get even better water filters and distillers, which are more expensive, but very effective.

It is very important to eat lots of vegetables to boost your immune system, especially the cruciferous ones like broccoli, cauliflower, kale and Brussels sprouts. Try steaming them and adding some flaxseed or olive oil after they are cooked.

The number one way to boost your immune system is by drinking raw vegetable juice as this gives your body the most nutrition in a highly absorbable form. Even if your digestion is poor you will be able to digest the vegetable juice as it requires hardly any effort from the digestive system such as chewing and the body taking out the fibre.

The green vegetables are the healthiest to juice — like cucumber, celery and kale — and you can add some lemon juice to cut through the ‘green’ taste or a little carrot juice which makes it taste sweeter.

It is better not to drink too much sweet vegetable juice like carrot and beetroot juice but to eat these instead and it is healthier to eat fruit or make a smoothie than to drink fruit juice which has too much sugar. A glass or two of green vegetable juice a day will massively boost your immune system and the best time to drink them is in the morning before breakfast.

If you have a digestive challenge — anything to do with the bowel or stomach — its a very good idea to take a probiotic supplement containing l. acidophillus. This contains good bacteria that populates the colon and boosts immunity as many people have the wrong bacteria living in their bowel due to antibiotic use and/or a high sugar and low fibre diet.

It is important to go to the bathroom every day, ideally twice a day as this keeps the bacteria balance in the colon correct. You can take probiotic supplements with any medication and they are suitable for all ages. Just avoid probiotic drinks containing dairy and sugar as these lower the immune system.

Another way to boost your immune system is to avoid dairy foods, such as milk, butter and cheese, as they lower the immune system in adults because only children up to the age of about eight are able to digest milk.

If you are worried about calcium try eating green, leafy vegetables, tahini and sea vegetables which are very high in calcium. For children, goat milk is a good source of calcium and easier to digest, making it less likely than cow milk to cause allergies, ear infections and constipation.

The PH of the human body is meant to be slightly alkaline for good health and one of the best ways to achieve this is to take a ‘green superfood supplement’, such as wheatgrass, barleygrass, spirulina or chlorella.

‘Synergy supergreens’ and ‘Powergreens’ both contain all four of these superfoods and are available in capsules or tablets as they do taste a bit like grass.

Chlorella is useful for someone who is undergoing, or has undergone, chemotherapy or radiotherapy as it protects the body from radiation and boosts the immune system.

To boost your immune system it is important to balance the blood sugar by eating plenty of raw and steamed vegetables, wholegrains like oats, brown rice and wholegrain breads and avoiding white rice, white pasta and white bread as well as sweets and chocolate.

Try reducing your caffeine intake to one coffee a day or two cups of tea and make them organic and avoid adding milk as this will boost your immune system. Ingesting pesticides and herbicides is strongly linked with cancers, particularly of the reproductive area as these chemicals mimic hormones in the body like oestrogen.

As for supplements aloe vera contains compounds that boost the immune system, help restore balance to the body and drinking aloe vera juice regularly can help improve digestion. Taking an omega 3 supplement regularly can significantly boost your immune system and it is anti-inflammatory which means it can reduce pain.

Flaxseed oil, Udos oil and krill oil are all great choices, but avoid cod liver oil as studies have found it to contain toxins. If you suffer from nausea try grating some ginger into warm water or juicing some with your vegetable juice and it is good for digestion also. You can make yourself a vegetable curry with coconut milk and tumeric as it is also great for boosting the immune system.

Lastly, there is a new supplement that help boost the immune system called ASEA which helps the body make new healthy cells and get rid of toxic cells and improving the absorption of vitamins and minerals in the body.

ASEA contains radox signalling molecules which are found in every cell in the body. We have lots of them when we are born but they diminish with age which is why a child’s body heals quickly after a fall but an elderly persons body takes longer.

To be healthy your cells need enough oxygen, water, vitamins and minerals to do their job and they need to expel their wastes. Keeping the body hydrated is vital as it helps all your organs and glands function properly and it also helps your digestive system to work, so aim to drink plenty of water and herbal teas in the winter.

It also boosts your immune system to heat up the body by using the sauna every so often and this is also beneficial for arthritis sufferers.

If you need any additional information about boosting your immune system you can e-mail Kim at kimmccreery@live.co.uk.

Foods and supplements mentioned can be found in good health shops such as THS at Jacksons, Main Street, Saintfield, and THS, St. Patrick’s Avenue, Downpatrick