The Immune System and How Sugar Can  Affect It

 Oh  Sugar!

Many people turn to sugar for their “go to” for a pick me up in their energy level. For others, sugar laden junk food is their first choice when it comes to comfort food.  When you eat sweets it releases a substance called “endorphins”, a morphine like chemical. Unfortunately this feel good food comes with a price, one I am not willing to pay.  When it comes to sugar and the immune system there are some things that you need to know.   Most people don’t even give a second thought about what that slab of cake and bowl of ice cream is going to do to their immune system.  I am amazed at the look on people’s faces when I turn down Aunt Ethel’s fruit cake because I am fighting a cold or when I pass on the bag of peanut butter cups because I am trying to avoid the stomach flu that is going around.

 What Does Sugar  Do That Is Not So Sweet?

Did you know that sugar competes with vitamin C in your body?! That’s right, in fact, the more sugar you ingest= less vitamin C available to get into those white blood cells, the phagocytes. We need those white blood cells to be happy little campers so they are able to destroy bacteria and viruses. Sugar dismantles your immune system leaving you with a poor defense to fend off infections.  When you eat large amounts of sugar, your white blood cells are significantly less effective at killing off the bad guys reducing your body’s defense by a WHOPPING 75% or more which can affect your immune system for up to 5 hours! One of the worst things that a person with cancer can do is to ingest sugar. It’s like pouring kerosene on a fire. I believe that if a person was diagnosed with cancer, that just avoiding sugar would be very instrumental is keeping the cancer from spreading .  Next start assaulting your body with nutrition and I believe you will see some remarkable things.  That’s a whole other blog  🙂

Hold the Sugar  Please!

It’s time to take back your health and start giving your body the tools it needs to bolster your immune system!  Did you know that cancer or any disease can’t exist in a person with a healthy immune system?  If you are consuming your fair share of sugar, it’s time to stop.  If you are fighting cancer, or in remission from cancer, do yourself a favor and cut out the sugar.   Sugar and the immune system is something you really must take a good look  at if you are going to improve your health.

Immune boosting foods and supplements

Garlic– contains immune boosting antioxidant allicin.  Garlic is also anti-parasitical and anti-bacterial.

Ginger– Has been found to activate T-cells which are white blood cells that go after infected cells.  If you are on blood thinners you may not want to use this because it will thin the blood.

Curcumin– Very anti-inflammatory and is known to modulate the immune system.  Curcumin also has the ability to fight off cancer and help prevent it from spreading.  Learn more about curcumin here.

Probiotics–  Your gut is the heart of your immune system.  if you want a strong immune system then you must have a healthy gut. The good flora (colonies of GI bacteria) in probiotics will help keep the bad flora at bay thus enhancing your immune system.  Learn more about probiotics here.    Want to save big money and make your own?  Click here.

Beta Glucan–  An immune modulator that raises your immune system’s response.  Being an immune modulator it will not over stimulate the immune system.  this is key for safety for those with an auto immune disease such as lupus, ms, rheumatoid arthritis, allergies, etc….. You don’t want to over stimulate the immune system when an auto-immune disease is present.  Not all beta- glucan is created equal.   The Transfer Point brand is the only one that offers a Beta glucan with a minimum of 83% Beta-1,3D Glucan content, with no harmful contaminants.  Every batch is independently tested and a Certificate of Analysis is provided and available upon request.  This is the one I use personally and I can attest to it’s immune power first hand.  Other beta-glucan supplements don’t even come close to the potency of this product.  This is the very one that is recommended on the Cancer Tutor website.

Rebounding–  Now, I know rebounding is not a food or a supplement but I want to squeeze this one in here because I can’t tell you about ways to enhance the immune system without mentioning rebounding.  I can and probably will dedicate an entire future blog to this one subject alone.  Rebounding is a powerful adjunct to an immune system enhancing protocol.  Just by doing what is called the “Health Bounce” you can quickly and efficiently flush out your lymphatic system.  If you know anything about the lymph system you will know why this is very important to enhancing your health.  Your lymph helps “take out the trash”.  It is a system designed to remove unwanted nasties from your body like metabolic waste, toxins, abnormal cells, viruses, bacteria, etc….Bouncing up and down in a vertical direction is what opens and closes the one way valves that are part of  the lymph system.  Get this, just a few minutes several times a day will fully flush your lymphatic system!  There’s more, after health bouncing for a few minutes the white blood cell count is tripled.  Wow!  I have a rebounder and have used it for many years.  It has served me well and helped me avoid a lot of colds and the flu multiple times.  The one that I have used that has been tried and true is the  Needak Rebounder.  It has never even needed one replacement part since I have been using it for  about 10 years.  It has no harsh impact on the joints and the springs are extremely durable as well as the pad and frame.  I love that it folds easily in half and comes with a carry bag, this makes it very portable. It was well worth the money and will last for years to come.  It has served me well. For those with poor balance it has the option of coming with a stabilizer bar that is easy to use.  It is my favorite way to enhance my immune system.  After the initial price, it hasn’t cost me a thing when I need to tweak my immune system all these years just by spending 3-5 minutes several times a day bouncing when I felt like I was coming down with something.  For me it also doubles as a de stresser.  There is just something about the gentle bouncing that is very relaxing.  Please don’t waste your time buying the cheap models at retail stores.  With a rebounder or “mini trampoline”  you will get what you pay for, trust me on this one.  The springs, pads, and frame just won’t hold up.  It’s better to get one that you will feel safe on. For more information on rebounding and the amazing things it can do for your health, CLICK HERE.   Literally bounce your way to better health!

 Can I still have my cake and eat it?

There are still  ways to enjoy that “once in a while” treat.  There are two sweeteners I absolutely love to use.  They more than suffice when you have a sweet tooth calling your name  🙂  One is Stevia.  Stevia comes from the leaves of a plant species called Stevia Rebudiana.  It can be up to 300 times sweeter than sugar yet with zero calories.  Now we’re talking!  It gets better yet.  It is safe for people with blood sugar issues including diabetics. It is 100% natural.  Stevia has been used for more than 1,500 years all over the world but is native to South America.  Be careful, because when buying other popular products out there that claim to have stevia you also get some other compounds and fillers that are not so health friendly. Look for products that contain ONLY stevia.

The other is Monk Fruit sweetener.  Monk Fruit Sweetener  also known as Lo Han Guo is grown in South East Asia and is a round fruit about 150-200 times sweeter than sugar.  Again , this sweetener has zero calories and is 100 % natural .  It has a good safety record as well.  It has been used for hundreds of years in Eastern medicine for digestion and colds.  Can you imagine using a sweetener for a cold?!  I’m ok with that!  The sweetener is made as the fruits juice is extracted by first removing the seeds and skin and crushing the flesh of the fruit.  It is safe for diabetics, pregnant women and the general population. Monk Fruit is also known as a superfood too, isn’t that awesome 🙂   Both of these sweeteners can easily replace sugar in recipes with very satisfying results.

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