Immune system

[Berv007]

I am a 22 year old female who cannot fight off any kind of virus.  I have been sick threet times in the last month.  Could my birth control pills be compromising my immune system?  Could a multivitamin help ?

[Paxiled]

Have no idea about the birth control pills, but a multi-vitamin will provide you a floor of nutrients, so it's not a bad idea.  But you also probably need to work on your immune system directly.  There are many good supplements out there.  You might try one by Gaia based on astragalus, and you might also look to your diet to see if something might be missing or whether you're suffering from undue stress, which can make one more prone to illness.  If it's the same virus returning over and over, Herb Pharm makes a lomatium hypericum formula that can be effective for recurring viruses.

[gymdandee]

Just one teaspoon of sugar impairs your immune system by 50 percent!
Sugar It has to go,It's absolutely essential. Researchers have found that sugar, even just 1 teaspoon, impairs your immune system by 50 percent for up to a few hours after consumption. And if you eat a little bit of sugar now and then throughout the day, your immune system will be impaired by 50 percent ALL DAY LONG!
At lectures given back in the ‘70s and ‘80s, pioneering University of Alabama nutrition researcher Professor Emanuel Cheraskin, M.D., first explained sugar’s hold on the immune system. Remember, as little as 1 teaspoonful can cut your body’s germ-fighting
capabilities for up to four to five hours!

In the study, the researchers found that even orange juice (one of the “best” juices) interfered with the body’s ability to fight germs. Unfortunately, most commercial
fruit juices (even the “no sugar added” ones) are nothing but naturally fruit-flavored sugar solutions. So if you have to have your morning OJ, you’ll have to juice your own and use the whole fruit—including the fiber. Whole fruit juices don’t cause nearly as much of a sugar problem.
Try to stick with foods that are whole-grain, low in fat, and high in nutrients.
try an herbal sweetener. Stevia and Lo Han Kuo are two intensely sweet (but quite different tasting) liquid herbal concentrates that can be added to coffee, tea, or other drinks.
                                     Effective immune boosters
Eat mushrooms, Aloe vera,( a dosage of 50 to 100 milligrams daily of aloe-leaf concentrate containing 1 percent or more acemannan is significant)
Beta-glucan,50 to 100 milligram daily supplement for adults
Eat more Garlic, multivitamin every day You may want to supplement your multivitamin
with more of the following Vitamin A. For most adults (except pregnant mothers), 15,000 to 25,000 IU is a safe level. Before using more it’s wisest to consult a physician skilled and knowledgeable in nutritional medicine. Zinc 30 milligrams of zinc (picolinate or citrate) daily; Zinc supplements should usually be offset by a small amount of copper, 1-2 milligrams daily. Vitamin E 400 IU (as “mixed tocopherols”) daily.
Vitamin C. One gram (1,000 milligrams) two or three times daily.
Echinacea For daily use, 300 to 600 milligrams daily of an echinacea preparation containing 3.5 percent echinacoside is a useful and safe quantity.
Astragalus, Andrographus, and Picrorrhiza. If used as individual herbs, 2 to 6 grams of dried Astragalus root or dried Andrographus daily is appropriate and safe. For Picrorrhiza, daily amounts are 500 milligrams to 2 grams; higher doses can cause gas,diarrhea, and a skin rash.
References by DR. Wright