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How
To Avoid The Flu With Bacteria - By Peter
Murphy
 Bacteria
are present naturally in your body and sometimes found in food could
keep cold and flu viruses at bay.
According
to a study, young children who drank a mixture of such bacteria,
known as probiotics, had fewer colds, needed fewer antibiotics,
and missed fewer days of school. Researchers have already shown
that probiotics can benefit those who are ill, and the bacteria
are known to boost the immune system's response to invaders.
For
most of you reading this, cold and flu season is now upon us, and
with it will come the yearly push urging you to get a flu vaccine
to stay healthy. This year the push will be even more magnified
with the exaggerated swine flu risks with the
dangerous vaccine solution that are being heavily promoted.
If
you take nothing else away from this article, let it be this: You
have at your disposal tools to boost your immune system and drastically
reduce your risk of colds and the flu. You do not need a vaccine
to do this. In fact, a vaccine could easily make your health worse.
And one of these “tools” that I urge you to look into right away
is good bacteria, or probiotics.
Eighty
three percent of your immune system is located in your digestive
system, so it makes perfect sense that probiotics would be very
effective at warding off cold and flu viruses Remember, a robust
immune system is your number one defence system against ALL disease,
and in order to keep your immune system in top working order you
must have a healthy balance of good to bad bacteria in your gut
(the optimal balance is about 85 percent “good bacteria” and 15
percent “bad”).
A
new study actually found quite significant benefits among 3- to
5-year-old children who received either a single strain or combination
of probiotics twice a day for six months. Compared to the placebo
group, the single and combination probiotic groups had reduced fever
by 53 percent and 73 percent respectively, decreased coughing by
41 percent and 62 percent, and reduced runny noses by 28 percent
and 59 percent. Antibiotic use was also 68 percent and 84 percent
lower, respectively, which is a major gain in and of itself because
antibiotics are vastly overused in children and have a devastating
effect on beneficial bacteria not only in the gut but in other organs
and tissues as well. It takes between 4 to 8 weeks depending on
the species of beneficial bacteria to re-establish in the gut. This
gives a window of opportunity for the bad bacteria to take hold.
Antibiotics also contribute to the spread of antibiotic-resistant
bacteria.
Why
are Probiotics so Important?
In many cultures, probiotic-rich food and drinks, such as the fermented
super foods natto, kefir, lassi (an Indian yogurt drink) and sauerkraut,
are an integral part of the daily diet. If you eat a diet rich in
fermented foods like these that have NOT been pasteurized (pasteurization
will kill the probiotics), then you will likely enjoy great digestive,
and immune system, health. However, if you find yourself strongly
drawn to processed foods or rely on mostly cooked foods, as is commonplace
in our western culture, the balance of bacteria in your digestive
tract will have a hard time staying optimal. This is most unfortunate
because this ratio between the "good" bacteria and the other bacteria
is one of the critical factors determining your optimal health,
as the good bacteria are essential for:
-
The proper development of your immune system
- Protection
against over-growth of other microorganisms that cause disease
- Digestion
of food and absorption of nutrients
The
probiotics in your gut also play a role in helping numerous bodily
functions, such as:
- Digesting
and absorbing certain carbohydrates.
- Producing
vitamins, absorbing minerals and eliminating toxins.
- Keeping
bad bacteria under control.
- Preventing
allergies. Friendly bacteria train your immune system to distinguish
between pathogens and non-harmful antigens, and to respond appropriately.
- Providing
vital support to your immune system. Beneficial bacteria have
a lifelong, powerful effect on your gut’s immune system and your
systemic immune system as well.
Sugar
is also an incredibly efficient fertilizer for growing bad bacteria
and yeast in your gut, so if you indulge in a lot of it you’re fuelling
the bad bacteria rather than the good.
Stress,
pollution, and taking antibiotics further upset the balance in a
negative way. Since helpful bacteria are increasingly absent in
most people’s diets, it is important to purposely include foods
that contain live probiotic bacteria in your diet, or take a probiotic
supplement -- especially since flu season is now upon us.
Here’s What You Need to Know to Avoid the
Flu This Year
Now
is the time to start making healthy changes that will keep you virtually
immune to cold and flu viruses. If you follow the tips I recommend,
you can easily sail through each and every winter without so much
as a case of the sniffles.
Follow
these simple guidelines.
- Optimize
your vitamin D levels. Vitamin D deficiency is also a likely
cause of seasonal flu viruses. Getting an optimal level of vitamin
D will help you fight infections of all kinds. In fact, recent
studies between vitamin D and respiratory infections found people
with the lowest blood vitamin D levels reported having significantly
more recent colds or cases of the flu.
- Eat
plenty of probiotic-rich fermented foods, or take a high-quality
probiotic supplement to support your digestive and immune system
health.
- Eat
plenty of fresh organic fruits and vegetables, try to avoid
or limit processed foods, these foods hold little or no nutritional
values. Foods are best prepared from scratch. Supplement your
diet with liquid minerals as 99 percent of us are deficient in
minerals, and by being deficient in any one or more of the important
minerals actually results in disease.
- Avoid
or Limit Sugar. Sugar decreases the function of your immune
system almost immediately and a strong immune system is key to
fighting off viruses and other illness.
- Get
Enough Rest. Just like it becomes harder for you to get your
daily tasks done if you're tired, if your body is overly fatigued
it will be harder for it to fight off cold and flu viruses.
- Have
Tools to Address Stress. We all face some stress every day,
but if stress becomes overwhelming then your body will be less
able to fight off the flu and other illness.
- Exercise.
When you exercise, you increase your circulation and your blood
flow throughout your body. The components of your immune system
are also better circulated, which means your immune system has
a better chance of finding an illness before it spreads. Take
a good source of animal based omega-3 fats like fish oil, which
is crucial for maintaining health.
- Wash
Your Hands. Washing your hands will decrease your likelihood
of spreading a virus to your nose, mouth, eyes or other people.
Be sure you don't use antibacterial soap for this -- antibacterial
soaps are completely unnecessary, and they cause far more harm
than good. Instead, identify a simple chemical-free soap that
you can switch your family to. Also, be careful not to overdo
it. Washing your hands too much can actually remove much of the
protective layer on your skin and increase your chances of acquiring
an infection.
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