Boost Your Defences Against the ’Flu – Top 10 Immune Boosting Supplements

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Vitamin C – 1,000 mg or more daily has anti-viral and immune enhancing effects when taken orally

No doubt you’ve heard and read all the propaganda for and against the use of conventional vaccines and perhaps have decided to refuse vaccinations. I haven’t done a survey, but I would bet that the majority of Vitality readers would opt for more natural ways of preventing and treating influenza.

Perhaps you have decided this because of the reports of deaths and serious side effects (seizures, paralysis, Guillain-Barre Syndrome, brain damage, autism, autoimmune diseases, diabetes, cancer, and sudden death) that were linked to various vaccines.[3] Or maybe you heard that people sometimes contract the ’flu from the ’flu vaccine.

The Canadian Centers for Disease Control (CDC) announced in 2016 that the conventional ’flu vaccine is only 50% effective.[1] Meanwhile, an article published in Psychology Today claimed that placebo works up to 72% of the time.[2][6] So, if the ’flu vaccine works only 50% of the time, isn’t placebo better? At the very least, placebo shots do not cause the ‘flu. We might then be able to inject sterile water and theoretically get somewhat the same result.

Vaccines contain glyphosate (thank you Monsanto), mercury, aluminum, formaldehyde, foreign genetic material, antibiotics, and cells from aborted fetal tissues. [4] Very few people would knowingly want to inject any of these into their bodies. Whatever the reasons you refuse vaccines, and you have every legal right to do so, you need to take alternative steps to protect your loved ones from common viral and bacterial infections.

Frequent hand washing is always promoted as a good strategy for preventing the spread of infection. Avoid “antibacterial” soaps containing triclosan and triclocarban, two ingredients recently reported by the U.S. FDA to be neither safe or effective for prevention of ’flu and other infections.[5] Instead, use natural soaps, tea tree oil cleansers, or those containing neem, aloe or oregano oil.

It is also good to lay the foundation for a healthy immune system by following a high protein, sugar-free, gluten-free, and dairy-free organic diet. Add to this the benefits of regular exercise and lots of sleep, and you are building a healthy fortress.

What Else Can You Do To Boost Immunity Against Common Bugs?

FOOD ALLERGY/SENSITIVITY TESTING

Food allergies, intolerances or hypersensitivities are unsuspected factors in the development of many worldwide killer diseases such as recurrent infections, cancer, heart disease, diabetes, asthma, and just about every autoimmune disease (e.g. rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, fibromyalgia, etc.).

The most accepted method of identifying these non-classical food reactions is by an elimination diet. This is accomplished by following a hypoallergenic diet for three weeks – eliminating the most commonly allergenic foods (wheat, milk, eggs, yeast, corn, soy, citrus, and other foods eaten on a daily basis) and then challenging the body by returning the eliminated food to the diet, one by one, noting the reactions. Another type of testing is by blood tests like IgG RAST, but this is fairly costly. Recently published studies have concluded that eliminating reactive foods is at least 80% effective in optimizing immunity.

TOP 10 IMMUNE BOOSTING SUPPLEMENTS

There are also many natural supplements that boost immunity. My top 10 are:

1) Vitamin D – 5,000 to 10,000 IU daily for most adults is safe and effective for prevention of ’flus, colds, cancer, and approximately 200 different diseases. Vitamin D stimulates the production of cathelicidin, a protein with natural antibiotic properties. Cathelicidin kills viruses, bacteria, fungi and parasites. If you are unfortunate enough to get influenza, Dr. John Cannell of the Vitamin D Council recommends taking 50,000 IU daily of vitamin D at the first sign of the’flu for 5 days, then dropping the level down to 5,000-10,000 IU daily for the winter season. This strategy can also be employed if you get influenza right after the’flu shot.

2) Omega-3 Fatty Acids (from fish oils) – 4,000 mg daily for most adults works to powerfully boost the immune system. Omega-3 is needed to help vitamin D work in an optimal manner and, in effect, helps prevent vitamin D deficiency. Omega-3 increases the activity of white cells that gobble up dangerous bacteria.

3) Probiotics (lactobacilli and bifidobacteria) are friendly bacteria that usually inhabit the gut and are very well documented optimizers of the immune system. If the population of friendly bacteria in the gut has been compromised by GM foods, allergenic foods, antibiotics and other drugs, or environmental pollution, then it’s important to re-colonize the gut microbiome by taking daily doses of friendly bacteria. If the gut is severely depleted, it can take a few weeks for the probiotic supplements to get a foothold in the intestinal tract. Signs that the friendly bacteria have become established in the gut include: increased regularity of bowel movements, reduced bloating after meals, and a happy feeling in the belly.

4) Astragalus – 1,000 mg or more daily of this well-known Chinese herb stimulates white blood cells to both prevent and fight infections.

5) Zinc – 50 mg daily is an effective preventive for all kinds of infections. (According to my research, the best absorbed form is zinc picolinate, followed by zinc citrate, then zinc gluconate. I have never recommended either zinc oxide or zinc acetate.)[6]

6) Selenium – 200 mcg daily reduces the risk of cancers of the bladder, breast, bowel, lung, and prostate.

7) Vitamin A – 10,000 IU daily – This is another component of fish oil that plays a major role in preventing infections by influencing the activity of T and B lymphocytes (white cells).

8) Colostrum is the first mammary secretion nourishment that any mammal, including humans, provides for its newborn for the first 24 to 48 hours of life. Polio vaccine developer, Dr. Albert Sabin, discovered in 1950 that colostrum contained antibodies against polio and recommended it for children susceptible to catching the disease. Well known colostrum components like interferon, gamma globulin, growth hormone (GH), IgF-1 and protease inhibitors are all used by conventional medical specialists in the treatment of cancer as well as chronic viral infections including HIV and autoimmune diseases.

Dr. Jeffrey Dach’s latest article provides evidence that oral colostrum, various brands of which are found in most health food stores, is three times more effective at preventing influenza than the’flu shot. Further down in his article you will find a link to a previous article explaining how vitamin D prevents the ’flu. (The evidence is there but the sheep will keep getting their placebo ’flu shots anyway.)

9) Vitamin C – 1,000 mg or more daily has anti-viral and immune enhancing effects when taken orally. Megadoses above and beyond bowel tolerance (dose that produces diarrhea) are given intravenously to fight serious infections like Lyme disease as well as cancer.

10) Echinacea – 1,000 mg or more daily is well documented as an immune system booster used to both prevent and treat a long list of infections.

Other Good Immune Boosters and Infection Fighters

  •  Sambucus spp. (blue or black elderberry).
  •  Eupatorium perfoliatum (common boneset).
  •  Andrographis paniculat    – Curcumin
  •  Sterols and sterolins
  •  Berberine
  •  B complex vitamins
  •  Beta glucan
  •  Garlic (raw)
  •  Ginseng root
  •  Licorice root
  •  Goldenseal
  •  Pau d’arco
  •  Oregano oil
  •  Medicinal mushrooms (reishi, maitake, shiitake,    agaricus blazei)
  •  St. John’s Wort (tincture made from fresh plant)
  •  Small particle size (0.8 nm) colloidal silver (hydrosol)
  •  Coconut oil
  •  Olive leaf extract

A natural health care provider can recommend what might work best for you.


References

[1]  CDC Admits Flu Shots Fail Half the Time. https://www.thevaccinereaction.org/2016/10/cdc-admits-flu-shots-fail-half-the-time/

[2] Placebo: https://www.wrf.org/alternative-therapies/power-of-mind-placebo.php

[3] Vaccine risks: https://www.nvic.org/vaccines-and-diseases/Vaccinations–Know-the-risks-and-failures-.aspx

[4] Glyphosate in vaccines: https://www.greenmedinfo.com/blog/glyphosate-found-childhood-vaccines

[5] Antibacterial soaps dangers: https://www.cbc.ca/beta/news/health/fda-antibacterial-soaps-1.3746164

[6] Types of zinc: https://www.globalhealingcenter.com/natural-health/types-of-zinc/

[7] Psychology Today: Placebo Effect: https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/brain-sense/201201/the-placebo-effect-how-it-works?collection=84141

Resources

Enhancement of immunity in the elderly by dietary supplementation with the probiotic Bifidobacterium lactis HN019.

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Zoltan P. Rona, MD, MSc, offers consultations on nutrition and natural remedies in Thornhill. He has recently retired from medical practice as a Complementary and Alternative medical practitioner and now strictly offers nutritional consultations. He is the medical editor of The Encyclopedia of Natural Healing and has also published several Canadian bestselling books, including Vitamin D, The Sunshine Vitamin. To see more of Dr. Rona’s articles, visit: www.highlevelwellness.ca and for appointments, please call (905) 764-8700; office located at: 390 Steeles Ave. W., Unit 19, Thornhill, Ontario

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