Optimize Your Immune System for Winter
by Dr. Thomas Francescott, N.D.

Do you have a migraine? It really is not due to an aspirin deficiency, you know. Are your sinuses stuffed up? It is not because your mucous membranes are not producing enough decongestant. Are you feeling anxious and having sleep difficulties? It is also not due to a dietary lack of valium or valerian (for that matter). If there is something wrong with your health, it probably is not due to a lack of the latest or newest pill, antibiotic, or your need for surgery or chemotherapy. The likely problem is a lack of certain vitamins and minerals or nutritious foods that your body naturally uses for proper functioning in all its metabolic processes. These nutrients become depleted and "used up" in today's world of stress, toxins, and suppressed emotions. Germs do not cause disease by themselves. They can become opportunistic when our bodies are weakened by nutrient-poor and toxic food, stress, lack of exercise, or a lack of spiritual pursuits.

One of the tenets of Naturopathic Medicine is the "healing power of nature." We must learn to view the signs and symptoms of disease, not as simple annoyances that must be eliminated as soon as possible, but as important messages teaching us to alter our behavior and habits. With winter here, we are continually exposed to many microorganisms, and our immune system is working all the time to help us stay in balance. While the symptoms vary from person to person, the underlying cause may be the same: an overworked, improperly fed immune system. Have you noticed friends or co-workers who never to seem to get sick while all those around them are?

There are many factors in our modern lifestyle that damage or impede our immune systems but I believe that if people look at the underlying causes of many of their complaints, they can keep themselves healthy, reduce the need for antibiotics and doctors' visits, and fully enjoy the splendid coldness of winter. Without such attention , all the wonderful and effective natural remedies, herbal formulas, and homeopathic medicines will have only short-lasting or mild affects.

Sugar Is Depressing
During the winter I hear a lot of, "Doctor, can you recommend something natural to keep my immune system strong? I hear Echinacea is great for the immune system." My first response is always to look at my clients' dietary intake of sugar and/or sweeteners, and to advise them that ten cups of Echinacea tea a day won't do much if they continue drinking two large glasses of juice and a soda as well.

Too much sweetener in any form can have a negative effect on our health; this applies not only to refined sugar (sucrose, fructose, dextrose, malt or corn syrup), but also to honey, fruit juices, and artificial sweeteners. The average person consumes about 150 pounds of sugar and sweeteners yearly. Sugary foods tend to satisfy our hunger so they often replace more nutritious foods and weaken our health and disease resistance. Studies have shown that a single intake of sugar can depress the bacteria-fighting capabilities of white blood cells for up to five hours. In addition, sugar is associated with hypoglycemia, nutritional deficiencies, menstrual irregularities, hyperactivity, anxiety and depression to name a few. The key is to avoid sweet foods and include a diet rich in whole grains, vegetables, and protein in order to stabilize blood sugar and minimize cravings. Stevia is an herb much sweeter than fructose that can be added to foods or used in recipes without the health consequences of sugar. In Europe, Stevia is safely used in many diabetes protocols.

Food Allergies
As a Naturopathic Doctor, I consider steering clear of food allergies to be one of the most important factors in keeping our immune systems strong. Some of the more common ones are those to wheat, dairy, eggs, soy, corn, peanuts, and citrus.

Recently, I saw a young boy in my office. His mother indicated that he had had a cough all winter long and swollen lymph nodes in his neck, that he was always lacking energy. Also, although he was normally an active, happy, and healthy kid, recently he had become more aggressive in school and at home. Meanwhile, I noticed that the boy had dark circles under his eyes. The only thing that seemed suspect to me after some time listening to their story was that the mother had been giving her son two glasses of orange juice a day because of its vitamin C content. I asked if this was his usual intake of orange juice. No, she said; actually he had rarely drunk it before this winter. So I instructed her to conduct a trial of avoiding orange juice before starting any more complicated treatment. Three weeks later I got a call saying that all the symptoms had gone away.

Much research is being conducted currently on foods and their interactions in the body. In a recent study of 104 children with chronic ear infections, 81 were found to have food allergies — typically to milk and wheat. Food allergies have been shown not only to cause digestive disturbances and immune impairment, but to be linked to emotional, neurological, and many other systems in the body.

Stress
The causes of stress arise from many sources: school; sleep deprivation; intensive care-giving; marital dispute; chronic pain, to name only a few. Essentially, stress stimulates the sympathetic nervous system involved in the fight-or-flight response. In doing so, it suppresses the parasympathetic nervous system, involved in digestion and other functions while the body is at rest. The over-stimulated sympathetic nervous system secretes additional adrenal hormones that inhibit white blood cell function and have been shown to cause the immune system's master gland, the thymus, to shrink. The result is a significant drop in immune response.

Recently, a gentleman with HIV scheduled an appointment. His chief concern was his inability to fall asleep. When I asked him when this sleep problem started he began crying and told me it had begun three months ago when his partner died. This was a story of someone with an already compromised immune system due to the HIV infection. Not sleeping further stressed his immune system, since his body had no time to repair itself. He also reported in the visit, that in the last month, his viral load (blood measurement of HIV particles) had gone from undetectable to significant numbers, indicating a rise in activity of the virus.

To me, improving the man's sleep was top priority; otherwise, I felt that the increased stress on his body would seriously damage him. With the help of a high quality B complex, calcium and magnesium, hawthorn berry, adrenal support in the form of licorice, and regular grief therapy, he was able to return to a normal sleep pattern within two weeks. He then had a follow up with his other physician, and his viral load had gone undetectable again, without any direct change in his HIV treatment.

Optimize Your Immune System
A well functioning immune system is absolutely essential to optimal health. People without an active immune system suffer from frequent and chronic infections. Fortunately, there is so much you can do to strengthen your immune system. By following a hypoallergenic and whole foods diet high in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, quality protein and pursuing stress reducing activities like yoga, exercise, meditation, and counseling, you can gain some control over your own health and well-being.