Archive for the ‘Immune System’ Category
Seniors Need Vitamin D in the Winter
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During the winter months the Sun is low in the sky in the Northern Hemisphere which means that we receive very little sunlight and almost none of the UV that we need to synthesize vitamin D in our skin. For folks who do not move to sunny southern locations during the winter there is a solution to raising their level of vitamin D, the ‘sunshine vitamin’. The sunshine vitamin is currently available in supplement form in doses of 1,000 IU to 5,000 IU. To give folks an idea of suitable level of the vitamin D supplement, just 20 minutes spent in the summer sun will typically generate about 10,000 IU of vitamin D. The technical name for the sunshine vitamin is cholecalciferol which is also designated vitamin D3. It is no surprise that folks typically do not come down with the flu in the summertime, but when winter arrives the flu comes right along and infects those whose immune systems are weak. By supplementing with vitamin D3 in during the winter seniors can take a preemptive aging step to strengthen their immune system against the winter flu.
Drinking Green Tea Builds Immunity to the Flu
We are are in the middle of October this autumn, but it is an excellent idea to begin to build up our senior immune systems against the coming flu season. Beside the well known natural substances that have been proven to boost immunity, such as the vitamins C and D, a new arrival has entered the immunity field. When coupled with the old standbys vitamin C and D, this new arrival can form a strong, synergistic immunity team to fight the winter flu viruses. The new arrival on our immunity team is Green Tea taken daily. Substances in the Green Tea appear to act in a way similar to the substance in the flu drugs Relenza and Tamiflu that fight the flu. A recent study conducted in Asia reported that folks who consumed green tea at least six days a week reduced their risk of contracting flu by more that 45%. Using all the members of the immunity team will provide an immune system boost for seniors.
Cinnamon Can Help Seniors Stay Healthy
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According to a recent health report from London, cinnamon may provide health benefits for seniors, because we typically suffer from increasing blood sugar levels despite making the recommended changes in our daily diet. The London study reported dramatic positive results when patients with type 2 diabetes took cinnamon. The researchers concluded that supplementing with cinnamon should be considered as an added dietary supplement, in order to regulate blood glucose and blood pressure levels in parallel with conventional medications for the treatment of type 2 diabetes. Additional information about taking cinnamon for controlling blood glucose specifies that one should take the water-soluble extract and avoid the fat-soluble portion of cinnamon for optimum results. It turns out that type 2 diabetes is one of several diseases that are triggered by inflammation in our bodies. Recent research has shown that water soluble cinnamon extract lessens a type of intestinal inflammation. In addition to lessening inflammation, cinnamon has been shown to mimic the effects of insulin, manage blood-sugar metabolism, help regulate fatty acids, help reduce blood sugar and cholesterol levels, and act synergistically with insulin. Working together with insulin cinnamon reduces the type of inflammation that is known to the increase the risk for cardiovascular disease.
Strenghten Immune system
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During the cold winter months seniors need to strengthen their immune systems, because a weakened immune system can render seniors susceptible to coming down with simple colds that can progress to more serious illnesses such as full-blown pneumonia. For example, pneumonia and influenza continue to be one of the leading causes of death among Americans 65 years of age and older, because as seniors age the strength of their immune systems begin to decline from a number of causes including chronic stress, poor nutrition, and previous illnesses.
The good news for seniors is that there are ways to achieve an immune system boost against colds, flu and cold facilitated pneumonia. Unlike the flu vaccines that target specific flu viruses, other means are available for building the immune system that can defend against any cold or flu virus. A polysaccharide called beta-glucan that is derived from yeast can provide a powerful immune system boost. Similarly vitamin C is one of the vitamins that boost the immune system, because it replaces the vitamin C typically lost during infections. Citrus fruits are very good sources of vitamin C.
Healthy Senior Hearts – From Fish to Nuts!
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Most health conscious seniors are well aware of he many benefits of the omega-3s fats from fish which are the richest source of the omega-3s. The omega-3s were discovered in the 1970’s when researchers figured out that the Eskimos in Greenland ate a high fat fish based diet, but very seldom developed heart disease. Many additional studies have been conducted by both the FDA and the American Heart Association that have confirmed the benefits of eating oily fish or consuming fish oil. It turns out that in addition to fish there are plant sources of omega-3s. The plant sources include flaxseeds, flax oil, and chia seeds. They provide alpha-lineolic acid (ALA) which our bodies convert to the EPA and DHA forms that are found in fish. Other good foods sources of ALA are pumpkin seeds and walnuts. The list of benefits is long and impressive. Here are some of the highlights. The omega-3s are known to improve cardiovascular health, to provide relief from inflammatory diseases, to raise the levels of the ‘good’ HDL cholesterol, and to lower the levels of the ‘bad’ LDL cholesterol. This is good news for seniors who are looking for preemptive aging information that they can implement to enhance their senior health.
Seniors Need Vitamin D In Darker Winter Days
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When we head into the winter the hours of daylight shorten. The amount of sunlight decreases and our senior bodies do not synthesize as much vitamin D as we did during the sunny summer months. The flu and cold viruses that our senior immune systems easily resisted during the summer months become more difficult to resist. Before the winter arrives is the time for seniors who are concerned about taking preemptive aging steps to safeguard their senior health to take action to increase the vitamin D in their senior bodies. Increasing the amount of vitamin D is critically important for seniors who want to build up their immune system against the flu viruses during the dark, gray winter months. The good news for seniors is that they can supplement with vitamin D in the form of vitamin D3 which is the type that our bodies synthesize when our skin is irradiated by the ultraviolet light from the Sun. It turns out that vitamin D3 is easier for our bodies to absorb than the D2 type which is often found in multivitamins and fortified milk.
Seniors Need Immune Defense Against the Return of the H1N1 Virus
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Last winter we were fortunate that the H1N1 virus did not claim as many lives as it might have claimed had it blossomed into a pandemic such as the 1918-19 flu virus. Back in 1918-19 the H1N1 flu virus killed at least 50 million worldwide. What needs to be noted is the sequence of the assaults on the human population in those two flu seasons. During the first year not many people died of the virus, but the next year it returned with a vengeance and killed most of the folks included in the 50 million deaths due to the flu. The second round was deadlier, because it had mutated. Similarly last year saw fewer deaths due to the H1N1 flu virus than had been expected, so this winter if the H1N1 flu virus returns it may mutate and result in the large number of deaths that occur when a flu pandemic strikes. Fortunately there is good news for seniors who want to take preemptive aging steps to protect their senior health against winter flu viruses such as the H1N1 virus by building up their immune system. Numerous studies have shown that a deficiency of vitamin D is linked to influenza infections. The Harvard Medical School, that normally recommends getting vitamins through food, makes an exception for supplementing with vitamin D. The good news is that the vitamin D supplements that duplicate the form D3 made by our bodies in sunlight are very inexpensive. The D3 form that is more readily absorbed by our bodies is preferred over the less potent form D2. Together with eating a healthy diet and getting enough sleep, supplementing with vitamin D3 will support a layered defense against infection by the H1N1 flu.
Seniors Need This DNA Friendly, Anti-Aging Compound
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This super anti-aging compound is found in every cell in our bodies. Maintaining high levels of this compound is required in order to maintain excellent health and genuine longevity. The name of this compound which was discovered back in 1888 is glutathione, but its importance for senior health was not appreciated for nearly a hundred years. The earliest studies in the 1920′s and 1930′s focused on its role in protecting the eyes of seniors from cataracts, macular degeneration, and a host of other eye diseases. Later in the 1980′s research in the United States established the link between high levels of glutathione in the blood and tissue with folks who experienced robust health and extreme longevity.
The following items provide very good news for seniors who are concerned about taking preemptive aging steps to foster their senior health. In terms of aging, damage to DNA is one of the causes of accelerated aging, but glutathione assists strongly in DNA repair. When it comes to cardiovascular health, one of the major causes of cardiovascular disease is oxidation of fats in the blood which can be greatly reduced by glutathione. The damage to DNA strands has been linked to cancer; glutathione has the ability to prevent DNA damage and repair damage after it has occurred which makes it one of the most powerful cancer preventers known to modern medicine.
Seniors can increase their intake of glutathione by consuming cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage. In addition they can take the supplement N-acetylcysteine (NAC) which is broken down in our bodies into glutathione.
Why Colorful Foods Are Healthy For Seniors!
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Vegetables and fruits come in a broad spectrum of colors including all the colors of the rainbow starting from purple through blue, green, yellow, orange, and red. They come in additional colors including white, tan, and brown. Bright colorful fruits and vegetables are loaded with health promoting phytochemicals. The colors that include red, white, and blue are most appropriate now, because they are the colors of the upcoming 4th of July celebration. For example tomatoes, cherries, watermelon, red apples, red peppers, and cranberries all contain the phytochemicals lycopene and anthocyanin that help reduce the risk of heart disease and certain cancers such as prostate cancer. This is good news for seniors who are concerned about taking preemptive aging steps against cancers and for cardiovascular health. Alternatively white vegetables including garlic, onions, and cauliflower which contain the phytochemical allicin which lowers cholesterol and blood pressure and increases the body’s immune system’s resistance to infections.
Finally the blue fruits including blueberries, blackberries, purple grapes, and plums contain the phytochemicals anthocyanin and phenolics that reduce the risk of cancer and cardiovascular disease.
Seniors Can Get an Immune System Boost1
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Seniors who are concerned about taking preemptive aging measures to improve their senior health can get an immune system boost by implementing some simple changes in their diet. This year in May an article appeared in a leading publication dedicated to immunity that reported on the benefits for the immune system due to adding fiber to the diet. The fiber used in the lab tests included both soluble and insoluble fiber that was added to the diet in the form of citrus pectin over a period of six weeks. In the tests the subjects that had received the added fiber were 50% less susceptible to an induced bacterial infection and recovered about 50% faster than those that lacked the added fiber in their diet.
The researchers traced these benefits for the added fiber to changes in the response of immunity cells to the challenge of a bacterial infection. Without the added fiber the immunity cells tended to be pro-inflammatory, but by adding the fiber the immunity cells became more anti-inflammatory. The immunity cells that were more anti-inflammatory were better able to fight the bacterial infection. This is good news for seniors who want to get an immune system boost, in order to improve their senior health, because they can add a number of popular foods to their diets to increase the fiber in their diet. Foods containing soluble fiber include apples, nuts, seeds, oats, barley, citrus fruits, strawberries, and carrots. Supplements in the form of powders are also available.
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