PUMP UP YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEM

 
STEP ONE: BUILD AN IMMUNE BASE

No food source on the market can equal the phytonutrients, vitamins, antioxidants and minerals obtainable in fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains and legumes. Eat at least nine servings of fruits and vegetables daily. Some of the better choices are winter squash, melons, kiwi fruit, papaya, mangoes, carrots, apricots, strawberries, broccoli, citrus fruits, potatoes, and dark green and green leafy vegetables. Tomatoes, pink grapefruit, guava and watermelon are rich in lycopene -- a red carotenoid pigment -- and have additional immune boosting properties. Not all my personal favourite but what the heck I hate the green stuff anyway.

One whole fruit or vegetable is one serving. A half to full cup of diced, chopped, pureed or extracted juice equals one serving. They say: ”The more natural (whole) of a form the fruit or vegetable is consumed in, the greater the health benefits.” I won’t argue with that.

And the downfall for all our rugged SA “boertjies” Control your intake of livestock meats and dairy products. Avoid fatty acid rich processed foods and devour more of your fat from cold water fish, nuts, seeds, avocados and healthy oils like Canola, olive and flaxseed. Don't forget to stay hydrated with good, ol' water.

The food you consistently eat will ultimately keep you sick free or bed ridden over the winter.

STEP TWO: KILL EXTRA GERMS

In moderation most of the bacteria, parasites, fungi, yeast and viruses in our world are not only necessary for life, they strengthen the same immune system you're trying to pump up. But that doesn't mean you should make it easy for germs to attack and overtake the body. Wash your hands before and after eating, visiting the restroom, cleaning your Race Jacket's or blowing your nose. Lather up with soap, use warm water and rub those fingers until the hands are sudsy. Dry your hands thoroughly -- preferably with a paper towel. Germs are killed by friction, not soap or even heat (unless it's over 212 degrees Fahrenheit). Warm water is just more comfortable and opens pores, cracks and crevices in the skin to make contact with more germs. The only thing soap does is reduce surface tension so you can apply more germ-killing friction.

Sit down and keep your cool for now some unpleasant things: Close the lid before flushing so the mushroom cloud of toilet spray stays where it belongs. Also frequently brush your teeth. (The latter is a great way to curb hunger pangs. And there is no such thing as losing too much weight over the winter.)

STEP THREE: PUBLIC ETIQUETTE

If you are in a public facility, wash your hands, dry them with a paper towel, and then turn the faucet off with the paper towel. The less contact you have with door knobs, rails, sign-up pens and money, the fewer germs you will come in contact with.

STEP FOUR: AVOID THE SICK WARD

While your pumped up immune system has no trouble dealing with the germs in and around a normal life, it will be overwhelmed in a room full of whooping, coughing and sneezing people. Avoid people with a runny nose, a chronic cough and sneeze. That doesn't mean you should become a hothouse flower. Staying indoors for 24 hours on end actually suppresses the immune system.

STEP FIVE: THE RIGHT HAND RULE

Use your right hand for salutations, to handle public facilities and to pick up all other objects. Only touch near and around your face with your left hand. Better yet, avoid touching your face altogether until you have thoroughly washed your hands.

STEP SIX: TAKE IT EASY

A race-intensity effort will depress the immune system. That means it's going to have a harder time to produce the antibodies necessary to fight off the constant barrage of new germs. For six hours following a race or breakthrough workout it is best to avoid sick people and public facilities as much as possible.

STEP SEVEN: HERB UPDATE

Garlic, shiitake mushrooms, ginseng, astragalus and Echinacea have been old-school immune boosters since ancient times. Garlic and shiitake mushrooms are said to have anti-bacterial and immune-boosting properties. Health-gurus say ginseng improves the body's ability to adapt to stress and Echinacea and astragalus are herbs that keep the immune system healthy. Do they work? Well, let's just say that for every study you can find supporting one of these herbs, you can find just as many studies showing that they failed miserably in double-blind tests.

Regardless, MTBSA consistently includes garlic in our diet and cycles Echinacea throughout the year. Like they ay and apple a day keeps the doctor away, but a garlic a day keeps everyone away!!The immune boosting qualities in garlic come from allicin, an ingredient that is in such a diluted quantity in pills and powders, it's best to stick to the real thing. It takes at least five cloves a day to reap any immune strengthening benefit. Try pickled garlic cloves and you won't reek as pungently. Garlic in high dosages has been shown to thin the blood, so beware if you are on medication. Follow a two weeks on and two weeks off regimen with the Echinacea supplement.

STEP EIGHT: CHECK THE TRACE MINERALS

Iron, zinc and copper are all essential for a healthy immune system. If you eat a variety of foods including fruits and vegetables, whole grains, nuts, seeds, legumes, lean meats, poultry and seafood, it's unfathomable that you aren't receiving more than a sufficient supply. Still get an annual blood test to check for deficiencies, especially with iron. Do the test during the off-season.

Zinc is toxic to the cold virus. Some studies show that zinc lozenges haven't lived up to their promise as a cold treatment. We still take the lozenges or a Zink pill supplement every day. Take it with food because it upsets the stomach. We've had great results with the zinc nasal spray. It sprays the mineral directly into the upper respiratory tract and immediately into your system. Follow the recommend usage upon the immediate unset of any cold- or fly-like symptoms. The zinc nose spray knocks out cold symptoms in less than two days.

STEP NINE: WHAT ABOUT THOSE VITAMINS?

Recent research shows that vitamin supplementation can interfere with the syntheses of vitamins derived from organic food sources. This is no good! Natural vitamins are much more complete and potent than the synthetic counterfeits.

Here's our regimen: Receive the bulk of your vitamins throughout the day by including up to nine servings of fruits and vegetables with meals. Your body will be processing vitamins from the most natural source throughout the day and when metabolism is most active. When things have slowed down at night and before you go to bed is the time to take your vitamin supplements--in moderation. All you need is one multi-vitamin. Then if there happens to be an overabundance of a certain organic supplement, it will be the synthetic vitamin or mineral that is excreted.

STEP TEN: ESSENTIAL FATTY ACIDS

Your body cannot manufacture the linoleic acid and alpha-linoleic fatty acids that support the immune system. Lineoleic acid is an omega-6 fat that you might not be getting enough of if you're eating those nine-plus servings of fruits and vegetables. (The average American gets more than enough of omega-6 fat in their diet. Unfortunately it comes from hydrogenated food sources like margarine and commercially baked goods.) It's best to get omega-6 fats from moderate amounts of safflower, sunflower and corn oils.

Alpha-linoleic, or omega-3 fatty acid, is a big-hit immune booster. Flaxseed and Canola oil, walnuts and cold-water fish are great sources of this good fat. Good news for all those of you who like  Include them in your daily diet.

THE FINAL WORD

A diet consisting mostly of a good variety of whole foods will do the most to supercharge the immune system. Eat nine servings of fruits and vegetables each day. Increase your intake of the omega-3 fats, supplement with a multi-vitamin and drink lots of water. Most importantly, wash those hands frequently, avoid touching your face and steer clear of sneezers and coughers.

And we'll catch a healthy you at the races.