Immune system woes

perri winkles

Hi guys,

I have a really bad immune system, I tend to get sick every two months or so, and it's usually quite bad. As in, I'm be stuck in bed for a day or two.

Is there anything in particular that is good for the immune system? Any vitamins or certain food?

It's really getting me down at this point

EileenG

I know I sound like I'm always singing the same song, but try to eat as much fresh food as possible, and cut out the junk. In particular, cut out sugar. It's a huge stress on the immune system.

Base your diet on fresh whole food, eggs, oily fish, fresh meat and chicken, lots and lots of green vegetables, fresh whole fruit (not juice), olive oil, nuts and seeds and wholegrains (and I don't mean Cheerios)

Nothing which lists sugar as one of the first five ingredients, nothing with transfats, nothing deep fried, nothing with long lists of ingredients that belong in a chemical lab, nothing processed, nothing with a best-by date six years in the future. Nothing with artificial sweeteners or colours. No fizzy drinks except mineral water. Try to reduce coffee and alcohol.

All those things are hard on the immune system. A bit now and again should be no problem but if you eat a lot, it's not surprizing you have regular bedrests.

Supplements: A good multi-vitamin is a good idea, any of the regular ones should be fine. A bit of extra vitamin C would be good. Very few Irish people get enough Vitamin D. A fish oil supplement is good, and will often include vitamin D. And I reckon most women would benefit from a cal/mag as well.

You should be able to get all those from a good diet, but you need to be eating the stuff in the second paragraph, not the third.

perri winkles

Thanks for the reply Eileen! THe thing is, I have changed my diet. I've cut out all the sugar I used to have, don'd drink anything but water really, and I drink quite alot of it every day. Eat plenty of fresh food, and don't eat much junk. Have started eating generally better, so I don't think its my diet.

I think its because my mum used to always resort to anti biotics when I was younger, so my immune system can't stand on its own two feet! That's the only thing I can think of anyway.
I get tired and run down quite easily too it's a pain!
I'll try taking a vitamin, I have been taking cod liver oil, but it doesn't seem to be doing much.

I would get checked out by the doc if I was you.

--Kaiser--

Make sure you got enough sleep (not too much) and plenty of rest and relaxation.

Sapsorrow

Plenty of fresh fruit and veg and eat unprocesses foods in general, try and eat a good bit of your fruit and veg raw to preserve the vitamin C. Definately get a good vitamin D supplement as well as a multivit you might be slightly deficienct in something thats making you run down. Maybe go to the doctor for a full set of bloods, but bear in mind unless you're overtly deficient in something they'll tell you you'e fine so get a print out of the results and consider seeing a dietician to discuss them in more detail. Try a course of pre/probiotic combo to sort out your gut microflora if you've used antibiotics in the past (I think solgar do a good one) and eat live natural yoghurt unsweetened with added fresh fruit for sweetness if you need it. Rachels has a good probiotics profile as far as I remember. Drink plenty of fresh water or herbal tea all the time to keep your system well rinsed and go easy on the booze if you drink. Get plenty of sleep and try and keep stress under check, I always get really run down when I'm under pressure in college. I'd say the pre/probiotics as well as the vitamin D is probably you're best bet if your diet is already good though.

Sapsorrow

perri winkles wrote: »

I'll try taking a vitamin, I have been taking cod liver oil, but it doesn't seem to be doing much.

Ditch the cod liver oil it stops you from absorbing vitamin D (and vitamin A too I seem to remember) so it's redundant as a supplement in that regard. Krill oil is much better.

El_Dangeroso

Sapsorrow wrote: »

Ditch the cod liver oil it stops you from absorbing vitamin D (and vitamin A too I seem to remember) so it's redundant as a supplement in that regard. Krill oil is much better.

I've actually being doing a bit of research on cod liver oil. Turns out that nearly all cod liver oil is heat-treated to preserve it, this destroys the vitamin A which is then added back in synthetically and it's the synthetic A that is especially harmful even in doses much lower than RDA and is responsible for blocking the action of D. Natural retinol has a very synergistic relationship with D.

If indulging in cod liver oil, which I definitely think is worth it as it's a wholefood rather than an isolated supplement, get natural fermented CLO such as the Green Pastures brand, and take it by the teaspoonful, not capsules. It taste bloody awful too so no danger of overdoing it.

Krill oil is brilliant and seems to have a clinical advantage over normal fish oil. Be sure to get a brand that contains vitamin E or some anti-oxidant though, I didn't and spent €30 on decidedly fishy smelling rancid fish oil capsules.

EileenG

Pour cod liver oil over tinned tuna and you won't notice the taste. Keep it very cold too.

lionela

My O/H was poorly a couple of years ago and went to see Jan De Vries in his clinic in Drumcondra. He put her on a course of ...Essential Fatty Acids..to build up her immune system. She is tops again now

El_Dangeroso

EileenG wrote: »

Pour cod liver oil over tinned tuna and you won't notice the taste. Keep it very cold too.

That is a fantastic idea thanks! I've just been necking it back and then jumping around shouting 'bleugggghhhhh' for about a 1/2 hour.