Preparing For Cold And Flu Season

September is an important time of the year to prepare for cold and flu season. Traditional Chinese doctors warn that the changes in seasons are times when people are especially vulnerable to illness. This is so evident when one considers the number of children and adults that begin getting sick in September and October.

Every year when school starts in September, cold and flu season is never far behind. If it is not enough worrying about the old viruses, this time around we have to worry about the swine flu virus as well. We are hearing and reading so much about the coming swine flu pandemic in the media that it is hard not to get swept up in the fear that is generated by these stories. To give you some perspective, every year around 4,500 people die from influenza. So, even though swine flu seems to be quite contagious, it has yet to be seen if it is any more deadly than the “run of the mill” viruses we encounter each year.

My advice is to be careful with hygiene, especially hand washing after being in public where you might be shaking hands or handling objects that other people may have handled. More importantly, begin this month to bolster your immune system. While this might not guarantee that you will not get sick, you are certainly improving your odds of preventing illness and likely to decrease the intensity and duration of a potential illness.

To build your immune system, begin by improving your diet. Many of the vitamins, mineral, and phytonutrients found in fruits, vegetables, herbs, and spices are important immune boosters. Aim to eat a wide variety of these foods, especially garlic, onions, ginger, shitake mushrooms, hot peppers, yams, squash, tumeric, rosemary, thyme, oregano, and astralagus root.

Besides focusing on adding certain foods, cut down on sweeteners and high amounts of starchy foods (these break down into glucose when digested). When there is a lot of sugar in the blood, this weakens the activity of the white blood cells. They will not be as vigilant in doing their job, which is to protect you against bacteria, viruses, fungal organisms, cancerous cells, and so on.

Also, identify and avoid your food sensitivities as these can have a weakening affect on your immunity as well. A number of years ago, a young boy was brought in by his mother to see me. The mother reported that her son was constantly getting sick and had missed so many days of school she was worried that he might fail. When we tested for food sensitivities and removed them from his diet, he stopped getting sick because we had taken a huge load off his immune system.

One enemy of our immune function that seems endemic these days is stress. When high levels of stress hormones, adrenaline and cortisol are circulating in the blood stream, the activity of the white blood cells is compromised and the thymus gland, which activates certain immune cells, can atrophy. Find ways to manage your stress using meditation, visualization, chi gong, and so on. My favourite nutrients for bolstering immunity are vitamins A and C and the minerals selenium and zinc. A, C, and zinc also are anti-viral and strengthen the integrity of the mucous membranes, making it more difficult for bacteria and viruses to infect you.

A vitamin that has gotten so much press in the last 2 years is vitamin D. A recent report in the Globe and Mail suggests there is a direct correlation between influenza rates and the intake of vitamin D. The article reported that in the 1940’s, researchers experimented with mice and found that those receiving diets low in vitamin D were more susceptible to an experimental swine flu infection than those that received adequate amounts of D. This is another nutrient to add to your immune arsenal.

Consider using an immune boosting product that contains thymus extract or taking thymus separately. The better the thymus gland is working, the better the immunity.

When it comes to herbs, echinacea has to be the most well known when it comes to fighting viruses. It has immune boosting and anti-viral properties. However, two Chinese herbs that are often used in combination to build the immunity are astragalus and ginseng. In China, astragalus is even used in treating cancer. Ginseng is well known for improving all functions of the body including immune function and it has the added effect of helping the body adapt to the effects of stress.

Finally, my wife would never forgive me if I did not mention her favourite cold and flu fighter. That would be none other than oil of oregano. She takes it and doses the family with it as a preventative if any of us has been around someone sick or at the first signs of a cold or flu.

This fall, rather that living in fear of the swine flu, bird flu, or whatever “flavour of the month” flu, be proactive and take measures to build up your immunity. This is your best insurance for having a healthy cold and flu season.