Eat to Build Your Immune System, Reach Your Ideal Weight

debbie (22)Eat Healthy, and weight loss is a side effect – I swear!  In my last post, I wrote about what destroys immune function.  This is important as we’re heading into the typical cold and flu season.  The germs are all around us; some people will get sick, some people won’t.  It’s not a matter of whether you take medicine or not, that’s just suppressing symptoms after the fact.  It’s a matter of the strength of your Immune System.  Live to boost your immune system, and it’s the same as living to be at your best weight. (I get too many emails and questions about Weight Loss – I know it’s always an underlying concern for most people).

The most important thing to remember? Don’t suppress your immune system with excess carbs/sugars: 56% reduction of white blood cell activity within ONE hour; inhibits Vit C function; uses minerals and vitamins to metabolize that should be used to build immune system; inhibits fatty acids from properly building cells wells to keep virus and bacteria out; feeds pathogenic bacteria and virus.  ( that’s the short list, there’s more)

What can you do?? Eat foods that both feed the good bacteria in your digestive system (which house 80% of your Immune System), and nurture your bodies ability to keep building immune cells (think of them as soldiers, and our body uses the nutrients from the food we eat to build them).

Here’s a list:

Beef, Chicken, Pork, and cold water Fish:  if you get grass-fed (wild-caught for fish), they’re loaded with Omega 3s, (immune boosting, inflammation suppressing); all meats contain anti-viral/ anti-bacterial properties in their fats (check out this post).  The vitamins and minerals are COMPLIMENTARY , this means that all the co-factors to absorb them (such as  Zinc and the Bs) are PRESENT, as opposed to isolating them individually in supplements.

Coconut meats and oils are loaded with anti-viral/anti-bacterial properties.  Egg yolks are food:medicinenutritional powerhouses.  Grass-fed dairy is LOADED with Vitamin A, D, and K2, along with all the cofactors for absorption.

Remember, all those “fat-soluble” vitamins (A,D,E, and K)   NEED FAT TO BE ABSORBED AND USED.  Fat-free dairy??  Don’t eat it!  Not only are people who consume that stuff heavier than people who consume whole dairy, but the vitamins and minerals in dairy need fat to be utilized.  Period. There’s no getting around that because that’s how God designed it.

Butter (get Kerry Gold, it’s grass-fed and sold just about everywhere now): contains Butyric Acid, which is one of the favorite foods of the GOOD bacteria in your colon.

Cholesterol is hugely important for our immune system (remember, cholesterol is GOOD for you) as it’s a vital component of Vit D.   No/Low cholesterol, equals No/Low Vitamin D levels.  Get yours checked at your next appointment.

Herbs are incredibly powerful in boosting immune function:  Garlic (it needs to sit, crushed/chopped/raw/exposed to air, for about 10 minutes so that the necessary compounds can become activated);  Turmeric (OMG – powerhouse.  If you don’t like it in your food, take it in supplement form);  oregano oil (super anti-viral/anti-bacterial), olive leaf (immune building); cinnamon, and cloves.

Pro-biotics are always a good idea, but get them from a GOOD source.  Commercial, sweetened yogurts are NOT a good source.  SUGAR FEEDS BACTERIA.  Eat super sugary yogurts and you’re defeating the purpose.  Buy plain, and add fruit.  Teach your kids togerms appreciate “less sweet” – that’s a taste that will serve them well their whole lives.  Keifer (a pourable yogurt, that also has cultured yeasts along with the bacteria) is another wonderful food. (Full-Fat, and as little sugar as possible!!).

Kombucha’s being sold everywhere, that’s a fermented tea.  Cultured vegetables are becoming more available, like Bubbies Saurkraut and pickles.  IMPORTANT:  most pickles are just “pickled”, which means sitting in vinegar.  Culturing/fermenting means there’s been a bacterial agent added, which develops that kind of sour taste.

Probiotic supplements are ALWAYS good, but if you’re on antibiotics, you should probably wait til you’re finished with them.  If you don’t want to wait, make sure there’s HOURS between your antibiotic and your probiotic, or you’re just wasting your probiotic money.

Fruits and Vegetables??  A big YES.  Eat as many as you can, ESPECIALLY vegetables, so your carbs stay low. (too many carbs suppress them immune system)

Sleep and Water are HUGE for your immune system – both for it’s strength, and for recovery if you catch something.

Do you see what I mean about eating to build your immune system is the same as eating to be at your optimal weight?  It’s all about avoiding crappy poisons: sugars, flours, bad fats, and chemicals, and eating Real Whole Foods.

Hope to see you at the Metabolism Class.  Going from Sugar Burning to Fat Burning will also boost your immune system! Switch Your Metabolism Class: set for Mondays: Oct 7,14,21, 6 – 7:30pm;  and Wednesdays: Oct 9,16,23, 1 – 2:30.  The goal: to teach you how to be a Fat Burner and not a Sugar Burner.  We’ll cover the Paleo Diet, Digestion, Blood Sugar (you HAVE to understand your biology to lose weight and get healthy), Ketosis, Power Cooking, Compliance Strategies and much more.  The class will be held at the Marshall Community Center (4133A Rectortown Rd, Marshall Va), which is right off Rt 17 and Rt 66 – it’s easy to get to.  The total cost: $100.  My goal:  to help you understand that your weight and your health are a matter of your Biology, not a low cal/low fat diet that never works, ever; and that you have the Power to change yourself.  Email me if you can attend, or just show up at the door.  Phone and Skype sessions are available if you’re long distance.

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