Originally published November 29 2014
Did you cut loose on Thanksgiving? How to keep your immune system strong through the holidays
by Kali Sinclair
(NaturalNews) So you've eaten your fill and then some. Maybe you had about 7 too many glasses of wine or beers? Between the cranberry sauce, the sweet potato casserole, the eggnog, the pies, the cookies, the candy, the punch, and the alcohol, you've ingested more sugar in one day than you usually eat in a month. Did you know that eating refined sugar, even small amounts of any refined sugar (but especially conventional sugar), will cripple your immune system for 48-72 hours? In addition, bad bacteria, viruses, and Candida love sugar. It feeds them! So while you're binging on sweets, they're having their own little party and mass multiplying. Not only are your defenses down for the pathogens already in your body, it's flu and cold season and you are being bombarded with pathogens every single day. Here are a few things you can do to help your immune system bounce back faster.
Repopulate your gut with healthy bacteria
The first and most important action you can take is to eat nutrient dense, prebiotic foods to aid your gut in its efforts to regain proper balance. Eat lots of whole, fresh, raw vegetables and fruits (more vegetables than fruits). The healthiest diet consists of 80% fresh, raw, organic produce each day. The fiber helps to cleanse the gut and it provides the best environment for healthy, beneficial bacteria to thrive.
You may need to be eat probiotic foods as well, fermented foods that will help repopulate the beneficial bacteria. Consider probiotic supplements, too. Supplements that kill Candida, like Undecylenic Acid, will be beneficial as well.
Support your immune system with the right food and supplements
In addition to prebiotic and probiotic foods, there are several foods that will aid your immune system in fighting pathogens.
Garlic is antibacterial, antifungal, and antiviral, without harming beneficial bacteria. Add raw garlic to your salads or your salad dressing to get the most benefit.
Oranges, grapefruit, lemons, limes, kiwis, mangos, papayas, strawberries, pineapple, red peppers, green peppers, chili peppers, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, broccoli, and kale are all great sources of vitamin C. If you would like to supplement with vitamin C, try saving your organic citrus peels! Simply dehydrate them and grind them up. Organic red peppers are also a great source of vitamin C.
Echinacea and vitamin D also strengthen the immune system.
Get enough sleep, exercise, and water
Of course, you should always make sure to get enough sleep and exercise. Too often during the holidays we push ourselves too far, too fast, trying to please everyone, and ignoring our own needs. The one thing a four-day holiday weekend gives us is the time to relax and the time to catch up on sleep.
Go for walks, dance, tumble with the kids or grandkids, use a rebounder, or jump rope. Do something to get your lymph moving. And squat! Do bodyweight squats. They not only build total body strength; squats also benefit internal organs, and they cause the body to produce large amounts of beneficial hormones.
This is also a good time to drink lots of water. Or, even better, try the cranberry stevia lemonade recipe (see the first source link below).
Step by step
We have a tendency to ignore our health around the holidays, putting it off for our New Year's Resolution. If you take really good care of yourself for the next few days or the next week, you may find you like the added benefit of more energy, fewer aches and pains, and a happier digestive system. Maybe you might just roll on into the next holiday right through to New Year's with a resolution to make this change permanent instead of temporary.
Sources:
http://www.organiclifestylemagazine.com
http://www.organiclifestylemagazine.com
http://www.naturalnews.com
http://www.organiclifestylemagazine.com
http://truthwiki.org/Garlic
http://truthwiki.org/Vitamin_D
About the author:
Allene Edwards first became interested in alternative medicine and holistic treatment modalities when she successfully used diet therapy to manage her children�s ADHD. Later when she became chronically ill with an auto-immune disease that multiple doctors could not identify, much less cure, she successfully treated both the symptoms and the cause through naturopathic treatment and nutrition. She is the Managing Editor of Organic Lifestyle Magzine and a regular contributor.
Allene Edwards first became interested in alternative medicine and holistic treatment modalities when she successfully used diet therapy to manage her children�s ADHD. Later when she became chronically ill with an auto-immune disease that multiple doctors could not identify, much less cure, she successfully treated both the symptoms and the cause through naturopathic treatment and nutrition. She is the Managing Editor of Organic Lifestyle Magzine and a regular contributor.
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