Archive for the ‘Immune System’ Category
Will Tart Cherry Juice Make Exercise Easier?
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One of the pillars supporting healthy living is exercise for seniors, but many seniors find difficulty practicing the rule of frequent exercise. When folks were younger they found that they could exercise regularly without unpleasant consequences such as aching muscles. Muscles that are still aching from the last period of exercise tend to weaken the will to initiate a new round of needed exercise. A report this year from a meeting on sports medicine provides some very encouraging information for seniors in terms of a means to take the edge off aching muscles after exercising.
In two different tests folks who exercised by running and others that engaged in arm exercises were given tart cherry juice or a placebo for several weeks before their event. The exercisers who received the tart cherry juice reported significantly less pain following their long distance running event. The other group that engaged in arm exercises suffered from fibromyalgia showed better muscle strength and less pain after their exercise. The pain reduction due to consuming tart cherry juice could well be due to the well known anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects of tart cherries. Seniors who consume tart cherry juice before exercising may find that it reduces their muscle pain after exercising. Taking the edge off post exercise muscle pain will foster regular exercise and promote senior health.
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Enhance Your Immune System
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Our first defense against diseases and infections is our immune system. For seniors concerned about their health finding a way to boost their immune systems naturally would be very beneficial. A number of foods supply a compound that provides a natural immune system boost. Cereal grains such as barley, rye, oats, and wheat contain this compound as does baker’s yeast and shiitake mushrooms. The compound is beta glucans and we have to get it from outside sources, because our body does not make it. Extensive research has shown that beta glucans make the immune system more efficient. The beta glucans stimulate the two important defenders of the immune system including the immune cells called macrophages that attack invading pathogens and the lethal white blood cells the destroy tumors and viruses.
In one study the beta glucans from oats was used to test the efficacy of lowering cholesterol. The study showed significant reductions in total cholesterol and low density lipoprotein. The folks who had received the higher amount of beta glucans achieved greater reductions in the total cholesterol and low density lipoprotein. In several other studies the beta glucans were used successfully to prevent or mitigate the duration of upper respiratory infections. Finally, beta glucans have been used in Japan to reduce tumor activity in cancer. The particular beta glucan was found in shiitake mushrooms has been used as an immune system stimulant against cancer in Japan since the 1980s.
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Better Than a Face Mask Flu Protection!
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A few years ago a physician on the West Coast made an unexpected discovery. All the patients that he was treating in a closed environment escaped contracting the flu during the 2005 flu season. The rest of the patients in the other open wards suffered such a high rate of infection by the flu that they had to be quarantined. He treated his patients with high doses of vitamin D, because he knew that they would not be exposed to the amount of sunlight required for their bodies to synthesize vitamin D on their own. He was aware that vitamin D plays a critical role in helping the optimal functioning of the multiple systems in our bodies. The immune system is one of those systems; it is the one that prevents our bodies from becoming infected with the flu.
More recently in the Midwest, similar results were observed during H1N1 flu outbreak in June of 2009 when most of the folks who had adequate levels of vitamin D avoided the flu. This successful result was repeated in September 2009 during a widespread H1N1 outbreak in the Southeastern US. It is very likely that these folks were protected from infection by the H1N1 flu, because vitamin D supports that part of the innate immune system that is active in the tissues that line our air passages. This is good news for seniors, because they can avoid contracting the H1N1 flu, provided they get an immune system boost by increasing their intake of vitamin D.
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Can Vitamin B6 Lower Heart Attack Risk for Women?
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In a recent ongoing study of woman’s health the effect of vitamin B6 or the lack of it in the blood stream was found to correlate with heart attacks or myocardial infarctions. The study took into consideration age, smoking status and other factors. The blood tests of the women in the study revealed higher levels of the form of vitamin B6 found in circulation for those that did not have heart attacks. A quarter of all the women in the study that high the highest level had their risk of suffering a heart attack reduced by more than 75%. In the case of women over 60 years of age with the highest level their risk was reduced by more than 60% which is very encouraging for promoting cardiovascular health for senior women.
The researchers who conducted the study noted that their findings are consistent with previous studies that showed that vitamin B6 was a cofactor in converting homocysteine to cysteine. Reducing levels of homocysteine is known to be critical in reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease. This study is apparently the first to research the relationship of vitamin B6 levels with the risk of heart attack in postmenopausal women.
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Try Foods Before Moisturizers
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Every day we are bombarded with ads that promise to remove the wrinkles that typically accompany aging. These ads show the before and after pictures of folks who improved their skin’s appearance by using the vendor’s anti-aging moisturizer product. Unfortunately the same folks who pay top dollar for the moisturizing products typically sabotage their plan for younger looking skin by consuming foods that contribute heavily to causing the wrinkling of their skin. For example consuming products with refined sugar very often causes a sudden jump in blood sugar levels. These sudden increases in blood sugar levels induce inflammation and aging of skin. Simple carbohydrates convert easily to sugar and contribute their share of skin aging which includes adding deeper wrinkles and sagging skin to the detriment of senior health. Limiting consumption of simple carbohydrates and refined sugar must be the first step in promoting younger looking skin.
On the positive side folks can select from over seven different groups of tasty foods that promote healthy, younger looking skin by providing antioxidants. At the head of the list is the berry family whose members are loaded with antioxidants. They include blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, blackberries, pomegranate, cherries, and acai berries. Next is the yellow and orange root vegetable family that includes sweet potatoes, carrots, squash, and pumpkins. Joining the healthy skin team are the red vegetables which include tomatoes, red and pink grapefruit, and watermelon that supply lycopene which provides the antioxidants to fight the free radicals. These vegetables inhibit sun-induced skin aging. The green vegetables spinach and kale provide antioxidants and enhance skin hydration. Onions, garlic, and scallions are good for your skin and they provide an immune system boost. The list would not be complete without including salmon that provides excellent protein and omega-3 oils. The texture of your skin will show the positive result of consuming salmon on a regular basis. Rounding out the healthy skin team remember to drink lots of green tea and water, but limit drinks with caffeine, because it tends to dehydrate skin. The water hydrates your skin and the green tea provides special antioxidants.
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Can Vitamin D Bind the H1N1 Flu?
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By all indications the H1N1 Flu is already beginning to pay a return visit to the Northern Hemisphere. In the USA the Government is promising that a vaccine will be ready in time to head off the H1N1 and protect us from the consequences of this disease this fall of 2009. Due to the short time required to prepare the new, H1N1 vaccine we do not know how well it will work in the general public. The second issue that has been raised concerns the availability of and accessibility to the vaccine by the general public. Putting all our hope on this new, H1N1 vaccine to provide protection from the H1N1 flu is like putting all our health protection in one basket. Common sense says that we should have a layered defense in place that will preempt the H1N1 flu. The key to such a layered defense will be to take steps that will strengthen a weakened immune system.
Taking the path to boost immune system has strong support from diverse groups that are concerned about preventing the spread of the H1N1 flu. An agency of the Canadian Government is studying the role of vitamin D in preventing the onset or mitigating the severity of the flu infection. 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.
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Avoiding Malnutrition the Healthy Way
Many of today’s older Americans are malnourished, and the reasons are rather obvious upon closer inspection. The same medications that so many elderly people take to live healthy lives have a detrimental side effect: they limit appetite. That means that the older generation is trying to function without all of the vitamins and minerals recommended by doctors and nutritionists.
We also need vitamins to boost immune system function. In order to create effective antibodies that fight off germs and disease, we need a full complement of Vitamin D and calcium. These vitamins work in tandem to strengthen the immune system. Vitamin D is especially important for those senior citizens with mobility issues who might not get all of the sunlight they need.
Coenzyme Q10 – A Two-Fold Ally
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Just what is this compound called coenzyme Q10? There are numerous articles and reports about it in the health literature often abbreviating it to CoQ10. CoQ10 is a compound that is made by our own bodies. Our bodies use coenzyme Q10 to produce the energy that our cells need to grow. This function illustrates the first way that CoQ10 is an ally of our bodies. Besides helping our cells grow, CoQ10 enables our cells to stay healthy after they grow. CoQ10 performs a second function as an antioxidant, which is another way that it is an ally of our bodies. As we age the amount of CoQ10 in our bodies decreases. Many cancers make their appearance in our bodies as we age due to a weakened immune system. Interest in CoQ10 as a treatment for cancer started back in the 1960′s, because folks with low levels of it were afflicted with breast, prostate, pancreatic cancer, etc.
Current studies suggest that CoQ10 may work in treating cancer, because it boosts the immune system. It may also be the case that CoQ10′s antioxidant activity may prevent cancer from developing. At this time research is ongoing to understand how CoQ10 might work with conventional cancer therapies. The National Cancer Institute has reported both on the theoretical basis for using CoQ10 to treat cancer and on some preclinical studies and some small clinical studies that have been performed. Based on those studies the National Cancer Institute concluded that CoQ10 helps in the treatment of cancer in the following ways. As an antioxidant it may prevent cancer from starting and CoQ10 analogs may block the growth of cancer cells that are already present.
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Build Immunity Against Flu Viruses.
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The H1N1 flu virus did not infect many people on its first visit this year, but it may cause many more infections this autumn if it returns. This was exactly the pattern that played out during the Influenza Pandemic in 1918. The current H1N1 virus is a member of the same flu family as the 1918 flu. In the Southern Hemisphere where people are experiencing their winter weather the H1N1 is currently causing havoc. We have time to make the necessary preparations that will build up our immunity before the onset of our flu season beginning in autumn.
In addition to some well known natural substances that have been proven to boost immunity, such as the vitamins C and D, a number of new arrivals have entered the immunity field. When coupled with the old standbys vitamin C and D, these new arrivals can form a strong, synergistic immunity team to fight the H1N1 flu virus and any other virus. Several new arrivals on our immunity team are resveratrol and Green Tea extract. Substances in the Green Tea extract act in a way similar to the substance in the flu drugs Relenza and Tamiflu that fight the flu. Complementing the Green Tea extract, resveratrol interfers with the path the flu infection follows in the cells of our body. Using all the members of the immunity team will provide an immune system boost.
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Grant Yourself Immunity
It’s hard to believe summer has already begun to wane and that cold and flu seasons are waiting in the wings. Sick people spend piles of money on doctor’s visits and prescriptions medications every year. Others cut illness off at the pass through the use of preemptive measures. A strong immune system is better at coping with an influx of viruses.
A few simple dietary adjustments can improve your chances of successfully fighting off infections during the colder months. White blood cells work as your body’s primary protectors against illness, so any food that can strengthen them will benefit you in the long run. Mushrooms and green tea are just two examples. Foods and drinks rich in vitamin C are similarly beneficial to help boost immune system.