The complementary therapy team at leading North West clinic, Cheshire Natural Health, looks at ways to stay healthy during the swine flu pandemic.

The importance of boosting your immune system to fight off the simplest of winter colds to the life-threatening swine flu, must not be underestimated, says Cheshire Natural Health Clinic Director, Tracey Turton.

Clinical Reflexologist Tracey advises us to:

• Don’t panic – fear and stress can be major factors in weakening the immune system and making us more susceptible to infection.
• Look after yourself – eat Super Foods to keep your body strong.  If you do catch swine flu you will be more likely to recover more quickly.

Medical herbalist Natalia Kerkham says prevention is better than cure and recommends we:

• Eat plenty of fresh garlic to help fight off infections. Swallowing whole fresh garlic cloves is unpalatable but very effective.

• Use lots of other fresh herbs such as mint, oregano and thyme in salads and in your cooking. They are packed with vitamins and minerals and easy to grow in the garden or on a windowsill. 
• Make sure you’re getting enough Vitamin C.  Use a supplement if you don’t usually manage to get your five-a-day.
• Take the herb Echinacea herb (drops or tablets) daily to prime your immune system.

Other immune-boosting herbs, such as the Chinese herb Andrographis, are worth trying if you have underlying health problems such as heart disease, or if you get bronchitis every winter.  A professional herbalist will be able to help with a selection of herbs tailored to your particular needs.

If you do get ill, there’s still plenty you can do.  The usual advice is still the best – plenty of bed rest and take plenty of fluids to make sure you don’t get dehydrated.  Try cinnamon and/or ginger teas: just put a couple of cinnamon sticks/slices of fresh root ginger into a cupful of boiling water, and drink as soon as it is cool enough.  Carry on taking your Echinacea, and add a high dose of Vitamin C (up to 4 g per day) and a zinc supplement. 

A professional herbalist can prescribe anti-flu herbs that you won’t find in your kitchen cupboards or in the local pharmacy.  Peppermint, elderflower and yarrow tea is good for feverishness and is much safer than paracetamol-containing remedies. 

The herb boneset is a powerful flu treatment that should only be used on professional advice, but which relieves the aches and pains of flu and speeds recovery.  St John’s Wort, better known as an anti-depressant, has proven anti-viral properties.  However, if you take prescription drugs, you will need to check with a herbalist or your doctor before taking it for flu.

Cheshire Natural Health’s nutritional therapist Angela Bailey says it is normal for the average adult to catch a couple of colds a year, but more than that indicates a sluggish immune system.  Fatigue, listlessness, allergic reactions, slow wound healing, chronic diarrhoea and susceptibility to a variety of infections are also signs of an impaired immune system.

As well as considering ways to boost your immune system, it is important to take stock of factors which may be compromising your ability to fight infections effectively.  Two of the most common immune-suppressors are stress and an incorrect diet, especially one high in fat and refined, processed foods.  Food allergies, an under active thyroid or the presence toxic metals in the body may also have a debilitating impact.  

Angela recommends a number of simple dietary changes to help the fight against swine flu:

• Make sure you are getting a good daily dose of the antioxidant vitamins A, C and E, and minerals such as zinc and selenium, which can be found in a wide range of foods such as wholegrains, fruit, vegetables and nuts and seeds. 
• Aim for at least six to seven portions of fruit and vegetables per day.  Making vegetable soups and fruit smoothies can be a useful way of increasing your daily intake, without having to munch your way through a huge pile of vegetables! 
• Add a few nuts and seeds to your salad, cereal or smoothie, to supply you with a wide range of beneficial nutrients including zinc and selenium and the essential omega 3 and 6 fatty acids to support your immune system. 
• Keep foods high in saturated fat to a minimum;
• Reduce your intake of sugary refined foods which supply you with very little in the way of good nutrition.  Try Manuka honey instead of sugar as this may help boost the immune system.

Sensible sun exposure (as little as 20 minutes per day on the hands and face) can also help the immune system by encouraging the body to make its own vitamin D via the skin.  Vitamin D is now considered to be an important player in the immune boosting team.  Good food sources are egg yolks, oily fish, dairy products and oatmeal.

Deal with the stresses in your life.  Remember that food sensitivities are a stressor so it is important to identify and eliminate these.  Don't forget though if you cut a food out of your diet, you will need to find alternatives that provide you with the same nutrients. 

Lack of sleep is also a stressor so getting a good night's sleep can help the immune system to function more effectively.  Nutrients such as calcium and magnesium can be useful here, but again, lack of sleep can have a variety of causes so getting professional help is always the best way to approach this problem.

As different factors affect different people, it is important to seek advice from a nutritional therapist who will be able to help pinpoint the exact causes of immune weakness and suggest specific ways to help support the body systems as a whole.

ENDS

Media enquiries: Denise Wales
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