Immune Vitamins

Strengthening the immune system can keep us healthier.  We know this.  It has taken many years, lots of research dollars, clinical studies, and life experiences among the general population to confirm that we know how to build better health.  So why do we still get sick?

First, let’s admit that we all get sick.  However some of us get sick far less than others, and some of us recover much quicker than others.  A host of factors are responsible for how well our immune systems work.  Poor daily diets, stress, lack of restful sleep, lack of exercise are some considerations.  Immune vitamins have been proven to work, and some of us need more of them than others on a daily basis.

Immune cells have very high requirements.  Their job is to react quickly when there are threats to our good health, and because they are high-activity cells they reproduce more frequently.  We can help these new cells be stronger and healthier by giving our bodies the right immune nutrition that they require.

What we eat, drink, and breathe affects our immune system.  Good food (and natural supplements), healthy liquids (especially good, pure water), and clean environments (including indoor) build healthy immune cells.  Alcohol, white sugar and flour, second-hand smoke, and toxins, chemicals and fumes in the air we breathe, can all depress our immune function.

We can try to control lifestyle factors that challenge our immune system, but there are many and they are constant.  For better ways to increase our body’s defenses, we can feed our bodies immune nutrition and the immune vitamins that have been proven to work.

Protein is essential to healthy cells and repairs cells as well.  Plant based protein like soy protein is natural, low fat and completely balanced protein.  That means it has all nine of the essential amino acids that are required to maintain your cells (many proteins are not complete proteins since they do not contain all of the amino acids).

Natural interferon supplements help the body to stimulate the immune system so that it can fight environmental irritants and airborne substances.  That is the simple explanation.  In reality there are some intense processes happening.  When there are optimal levels of natural interferon in the body, more killer cells are present to effectively fight invaders.

A multivitamin nutrition product that is natural and contains optimal amounts of all vitamins and minerals, even the expensive ingredients, is a baseline supplement that everyone should use to help increase immune function and give the body the nutrients it doesn’t get from the food we eat every day.

Garlic, with its anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, anti-viral, and anti-inflammatory properties can help many of the symptoms we get from immune related health challenges.  A natural garlic supplement can help symptoms of chronic asthma, allergies, the flu, colds, ear infections, sinus infections, and yeast infections.  Other nutrients can be added to the garlic to help it work even better in the body.

Vitamin C is one of the most highly regarded nutrients associated with fighting common illnesses.  It can help fight infections and protect us from free radical damage that we are constantly exposed to.  Doctors are recommending Vitamin C for healing and to prevent bruising.  When we are under stress or have anxiety, don’t get enough good sleep, are sick or have surgery, and are exposed to pollution and other environmental challenges, the Vitamin C in our body is decreased.  That’s all the more reason to take a Vitamin C natural vitamin.

Alfalfa is a natural antihistamine and decongestant.  The roots of the alfalfa plant go deep into the ground and can provide us with trace minerals that we do not get in our foods.  Last year my daughter got sick with congestion and a cough and was in a panic because basketball season had started and she did not want to miss practice or games.  We all know how a cough can wear you down and it’s hard to go hard in a sport when you have one. I remembered hearing testimonials where people took large amounts of alfalfa (I believed the brand we use would be very safe) to kick out these kinds of symptoms very quickly.  She was willing and filled up on Alfalfa for two days.  I can’t say that I was amazed at how well it worked because I believed it would.  This is testament to alfalfa’s antihistamine and decongestant properties.

Probiotics are beneficial to the immune system because they feed microflora (our friendly bacteria) to the colon where much of our immune system is located.  Allergens, viral threats and bacterial attacks all respond to the increase of this friendly bacteria that is delivered via a probiotic supplement.

Echinacea is an herb that you take when you feel like you are getting sick, or you are exposed to an illness that a person you are in close contact with is experiencing.  You take Echinacea for five to seven days and it helps stimulate the immune system by increasing white blood cells to fight getting sick in the first place, or at worst case help you fight it by lessening your symptoms and speeding up your recovery.  Echinacea is anti-inflammatory as well and is great to have in your medicine cabinet so you are ready for immediate use when needed.  It works best if you start right away, no delays.  Brand quality makes a huge difference with this supplement.

We have the power to prevent most viral illnesses when we utilize the recommendations that science is telling us will work.  Immune nutrition will help us be healthier and give us better quality of life because we will feel better, enjoy life, get what we want accomplished every day, and be building good health for our future when the diseases of aging become more significant challenges.

I always feel the need to mention one important consideration when discussing vitamins and natural supplements.  It is imperative that you do your homework and research the brand that you will use.  Not all brands are created equal, and nobody is regulating the products.  This causes a wide range of quality and efficacy issues.  Bottom line, you want results and deserve results.  Quality ingredients, delivery systems that help your body absorb the nutrients best, the company doing its own research and clinical studies, and testing their ingredients for safety purposes should be expected in order to experience success.

To learn more, visit our immune vitamins page that also links to additional information on individual nutrients.