Cold & Flu Prevention – Show Your Body You Care!

December 2, 2012 By Dr. Rahim Kanji 

It’s amazing to see how many people are open to start building a true bond with themselves. The love you can have for yourself is like no other, and just like any relationship, it takes time and effort. But, you can’t truly love yourself without respecting your body. I find as I respect my body more and more, I feel a truer love for myself resonating automatically.
With the upcoming winter season, there is no better time to start respecting your body. Here are some tips on how to take care of your body to prevent cold and flus this season, which can truly make you feel loved inside and out:
1. Vitamin D. Now is the time to be increasing your daily dose of vitamin D. This vitamin is critical in your immune system’s effectiveness but you can’t expect to take it at the onset of a sore throat and have your infection disappear. That’s like only giving your car gas when the tank runs empty and it stalls on the highway.
2. Sugar. Limit your refined sugar consumption, especially when the temperature drastically drops (the sudden cold temperature suppresses your immune system, and thus increases the chance of an infection). Sugar also suppresses your immune system. In fact one study found that 100 grams of sugar reduced immune function by 50% for 5 hours. Isn’t that amazing?
Think of it this way: most people are stressed, overworked, and tired, which is already SIGNIFICANTLY reducing immune function. Then, the cold weather comes and further inhibits proper immune function. Finally, on top of that you are eating sugar and what little immune function you have going is further suppressed by 50%. No wonder so many people get sick in the fall and winter seasons!
3. Sleep. We all know sleep is important for restoring/repairing the body, but it really plays a huge role in proper immune function. Lack of sleep can make your immune system weak to invaders like the rhinovirus (the common cold), and conversely can contribute to predisposing your immune system to react to things inappropriately (allergies/food sensitivities). Remember the length of sleep and QUALITY of sleep is important. Seven to eight hours of sleep is not enough when you are waking up five times per night.
4. Start your day with a serving of protein. Protein is an essential part of any meal and most people start their day with cereal and milk! Cereal is not nutritious because it contains processed carbs (sugar) and refined sugar (more sugar), and then its served with milk (more sugar, and inadequate amounts of protein). Our immune system produces things called antibodies which are essential to killing off bugs, and these antibodies are made out of protein. If you’re not eating enough protein, your immune system can’t make enough antibodies. (For the record: When I say to eat more protein, it means healthy protein like natural protein powder for shakes, beans, split peas, lentils, lean turkey, chicken, etc., NOT red meat and processed meats/cuts because they increase inflammation in the body.)
5. Immune-boosting herbs. Taking Echinacea by itself when you’re already under the weather isn’t going to do much. Research has found that it takes two to three weeks for the compounds in Echinacea to be detectable in the bloodstream. It needs to be taken THROUGHOUT the fall/winter season in the right dose, form and frequency. Most people take a couple doses when they’re sick and conclude that herbal medicine doesn’t work. If I took a recipe and only followed Step 1 out of 20 steps, of course the finished product would not be what I expected. Similarly, if you want to take natural medicine, do it properly and give it a fair shot!
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Dr. Rahim Kanji is a Naturopathic Doctor practicing in Toronto, Canada. He has a passion for evidence-based natural medicine, specifically empowering his patients to make nutritional changes which create dramatic impacts to their health. For more information, visit his website at www.rahimkanjind.com.