How to Boost Your Immune System In One Step!

If you are looking for ways to boost your immunity, there is just ONE thing you need to do to get started! 

Reduce your sugar intake!

That's all there is to it. It may not sound like a big feat but it's all you need to do to see an immense positive change in the way your body works.

I'm sure that has got you wondering how just removing a little bit of sugar from your diet can make such a big difference in your health. The reason is that just that little bit of sugar can wreak such havoc with your immune system, and reducing or even completely eliminating excess sugar from your diet may be the only change you need to make to improve your health. That is especially true if you have tried all kinds of immune boosters and supplements and nothing seems to work, you still keep falling sick at the slightest instance. 

If you are still reading this, you would definitely like to know how sugar drastically damages your system and makes it prone to sickness. Here's how:

When you eat something sweet, the sugar is the first to get digested and is instantly absorbed into your system. This sugar is carried on a fast track to all your cells because it is instant fuel. Your body does not need to break it down to access it for fuel, like it needs to break down other nutrients like proteins or complex carbohydrates. 

Your cells are then loaded with sugar and remain so for hours until all this sugar is used up either during regular body functioning or for extra energy. Your blood sugar level rises, giving you a false state of alertness and making you hyperactive. (Sugar that is not used up is converted into fat and stored.)

While your cells are loaded with sugar, your immune system remains suspended because it is weakened by all the sugar-high activity. Sugar competes with vitamin C for space within your cells. Vitamin C is required by the body to fight infections and heal tissues. 

A healthy diet contains not more than 120-130 calories from sugar obtained from natural sources like fruits, vegetables, dairy products, and grains. Sugar found in processed foods made from refined flours, or in desserts or other processed foods should be avoided.

A high sugar diet reduces the absorption of vitamin C which is so important to the immune system. So it is the one thing that you need to change to improve your immunity!

NIH-funded Study: Infants Exposed to Dirt and Germs Have Lesser Risk of Asthma and Allergy

A recent study funded by National Institutes of Health in Maryland, USA, shows that infants who were exposed to household bacteria or allergens early in life (within the first year of birth) showed lesser risk of developing asthma and allergies later in life. 

I have already explained how this works in my previous post on The Rapidly Increasing Immune System Disorders and also in this post about How to Improve Your Immunity.

Asthma and allergies are both very common immune system disorders. They are becoming more and more prevalent at a rapid rate.

It is commonly thought that newborns need to be kept in 100% germ-free environments and anti-bacterial products are used extensively to maintain this. The recent results of the NIH study just show us how badly our war against bacteria is affecting our future generations. 

A reasonable level of sanitation is required to prevent the proliferation of bad bacteria; however, wiping out all bacteria from our surrounding environment will have negative consequences for our health and that of our future generations. Maintaining a bacterially sterile environment should remain in the domain of healthcare facilities like hospitals and the offices of medical providers, not in our homes where we eat and sleep and spend most of our time. While medical science still does not fully understand how immune system disorders are caused, we now know that some exposure to household germs is definitely good for our health.

An excerpt from the published study report:

A report on the study, published on June 6 in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, reveals that early exposure to bacteria and certain allergens may have a protective effect by shaping children’s immune responses — a finding that researchers say may help inform preventive strategies for allergies and wheezing, both precursors to asthma.

“What this tells us is that not only are many of our immune responses shaped in the first year of life, but also that certain bacteria and allergens play an important role in stimulating and training the immune system to behave a certain way.”

Asthma is one of the most common pediatric illnesses, affecting some 7 million children in the United States, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. By the time they turn 3, up to half of all children develop wheezing, which in many cases evolves into full-blown asthma.

You can read the full report on the Johns Hopkins website by clicking on this link.

Monday Health Tip - Garlic & Flax seed Chutney powder

It's time again to talk about staying healthy with nutritious food! As the season changes to cold and we acclimatize our bodies, it is important to include in our diet foods that help us to stay healthy. Garlic has historically been used in medicine as an antimicrobial for preventing infections, treating digestive disorders, and lowering blood pressure. The fact that it is found around the world shows its popularity. Garlic is such a powerful herb that everyone should use it all through the year. In this post, I'm sharing a very nutritious recipe that uses garlic and flax seeds - garlic and flax seed chutney powder.

Chutney powders are a convenient side dish used in South India as an accompaniment for breakfast dishes like dosa and idli. Most chutney powders contain split white urad dal (black gram or matpe bean), coconut, dry tamarind, and dry red chillies, in varying proportions. These ingredients form the base of the chutney powder and the main ingredient may be any kind of dal or seed. Every household has its own traditional recipe for chutney powder. Some recipes use garlic, some don't. Some use additional ingredients like peanuts or curry leaves. 

Chutney powders are a simple way to include extra protein or essential nutrients in the diet. Flax seeds are an excellent source of omega-3 fatty acids, especially in plant-based diets. I have already written about the importance of omega-3 fatty acids in this post. Now let's look at the recipe!

Ingredients:

Flax seeds, whole - 1/2 cup
Dry coconut, grated - 1/2 cup
Sesame seeds - 1/4 cup
Dry red chillies - 3-4
Garlic, crushed - 15-20 cloves
Dry tamarind - 2 teaspoon
Oil - 1 teaspoon
Salt - to taste

Method:

Heat a pan and roast the flax seeds lightly, stir frequently and take care that they do not burn. Remove the flax seeds into a dish and then do the same with the sesame seeds, dry red chillies, and dry coconut. Let the coconut turn light brown. After the first 4 ingredients are done, take 1 tsp of oil in the same pan and fry the garlic until it turns light brown. The other ingredients should have cooled enough by now. Take everything in a coffee grinder or a small Indian grinder with salt and pulse a few times to get a coarse mixture. This should not be ground to a fine powder. Once cool, store it in a glass jar in the fridge for up to a month. Chutney powder is typically served with Indian breakfast dishes or with rice. You could also sprinkle this on yogurt or use as a garnish over other side dishes. Mix it with a little yogurt to make a spicy dip. There are lots of ways to enjoy this chutney powder!

Tips:

1. Chutney powders are typically coarse and have some texture. However, they can be ground fine if you prefer. 

2. Adding peanuts will give this powder a different taste. If you like peanuts and would like to experiment with them in this recipe, dry roast the peanuts and grind along with the other ingredients. Do not grind them too fine as
peanuts release oil and can make the dish pasty.

Homeopathy for Flu - An update

It's that time of the year again... the weather is getting colder and we're preparing ourselves for the winter.

Here's an old post that I wrote about how to tackle the flu with homeopathic remedies. Homeopathy for flu

Homeopathic remedies work very well for flu, but the list of remedies in the linked article is just an illustration of how homeopathy can be used when you have the flu. It is always a good idea to consult a homeopathic practitioner for advice on what remedy would suit you the best and how to take it.

Stay warm! And stay healthy, with homeopathy!

You Can Change Your Genes!

DNA double helix

"It's in your genes." Everyone has heard this phrase before. Would you believe me if I told you that even though it's in your genes, you can change how your genes act? Although this concept is nothing new to mind-body medicine and holistic healing systems, it was not analyzed by evidence-based medicine until the turn of the century. When some scientific studies came to light around 2003-2004, they brought about a major transition in the scientific circles regarding genetics. The popular belief that you are born with a set of genes that is your karma is now being challenged by a new science called epigenetics. As promised in this post about the high incidence of immune system disorders, I'm here today with some basic facts about genetics, and lots more food for thought! Read on because this is important!

What is a gene? 

A gene is the basic physical and functional unit of heredity.¹  Genes are the set of instructions for the characteristics of an organism, which are passed on from parents to the child. 

Genes contain DNA which make up the code that contains these instructions.

If you need a detailed refresher in genetics, please see this link explaining the Basics of genetics.


What is heredity? 

To acquire a set of traits from your parents is known as heredity. 

Even though a child receives the same genetic material from paternal and maternal genes, only some traits of each parent are seen in the child; that is when we say that a child looks more like the father or the mother. When a child looks more like the mother, it is because her set of genes is expressed in the child's genetic code.


What is genetic expression?^2,3,4

Genes are like switches in our body. They can be turned on or off. Some genes always remain 'on', but some genes can be turned on or off. This alteration in gene activity is called gene expression.

For example, take the case of the genes that control hair color. As a man or woman ages, their hair will turn grey and then turn white. This happens because with aging, the gene for dark hair turns off and the gene for white hair is turned on. Further, premature greying of hair is also possible because of factors like stress. Now, how is that possible when all genes are coded to produce the trait of dark hair in young age? It is possible because of epigenetic changes. Normal changes of aging are also understood to be caused by epigenetics, which may explain why some people age faster than others.

 

Diagram 1 - Epigenetic mechanisms

What is epigenetics?^5,6,7

It is defined as the study of changes in gene expression that do not involve alteration of the genetic code but can be passed on to the successive generation(s) through heredity. If genes are switches, epigenetic causes are the tape over that switch that can keep them turned on or off. These epigenetic causes are environmental - diet, chemicals and toxins, nature - sun rays, exercise, stress, behavior, pollution - all of these are able to alter the way our genes act.

Diagram2 - Epigenetic causes of cancer

How can epigenetic changes affect our health during our lifetime?

We now know that environmental factors⁸ can change our genetic activity, but exactly how that happens is still not clear. Science has always believed that genes cannot be altered, but the study of epigenetic changes has brought about a completely different outlook to the Darwinian theory of evolution and natural selection. 

With the discovery of epigenetic changes, scientists are on the way to explaining how cancer^9,10 develops, the causes of developmental disorders^11,12,13 in children, Alzheimer's disease, autoimmune disorders like systemic lupus erythematosus and rheumatoid arthritis, and also depression. If you think about the many diagnoses that are attributed to 'genetic' or 'unknown' causes today, you will be able to comprehend the importance of understanding epigenetics.


What can we do to prevent epigenetic changes?

Epigenetic changes can start at the developmental stages of a fetus, and accumulate throughout one's lifetime. This has been studied by examining the changes in monozygotic twins¹⁴, who are genetically identical. 

To prevent negative epigenetic changes, do what you have always been told to do for good health. Maintain a healthy lifestyle. Eat wholesome and nutritious food, drink chemical-free water, reduce your body's exposure to toxins in every way possible (think unnecessary medical drugs and treatments, GMOs), exercise, and stay stress free.

Can epigenetic changes be reversed?

Yes. Epigenetic changes are reversible because they do not alter the DNA.

How can we reverse epigenetic changes?¹⁵

There is a lot of research going on around this subject and we will know the definite answer to this question in the near future. However, since we know that environmental changes like stress, improper nutrition,  toxins and chemicals are all responsible for causing negative epigenetic effects on our cells at the level of the DNA, it is extremely important that we avoid these causes and practice a healthy lifestyle.

The most important lesson to learn from epigenetics is that our genes are not our destiny. Your genes can change during your lifetime, and you have the power to change them - both positively and negatively - as well as pass on these changes to your children¹⁶, so choose wisely!

I have attempted a very concise explanation of how an age-old thought is now being scientifically explained. For better understanding, please read all the information provided in the references and watch the short video (link in number 7).
 

References

1. What is a gene?

2. Gene Expression and Regulation - An explanation at Nature.com

3. The Mechanism of Gene Expression - The Human Genome by Wellcome Trust 

4. Environmental Influences on Gene Expression - Nature.com

5. Epigenetic - Definition at National Institutes of Health

6. What is the Epigenome? - The National Institutes of Health

7. A 13:25 minute PBS video on Epigenetics - Watch it!

8. Epigenetics and Environmental Diseases - An explanation of epigenetic mechanisms and environmental factors that cause epigenetic changes 

9. Epigenetics and Cancer - A study summarizing epigenetic mechanisms involved in the development of cancer, published in the Journal of Applied Physiology in 2010. The study concludes:

"The importance of epigenetics in cancer has been recognized and interest in the field has grown dramatically over the last few years...An understanding of the link between epigenetic deregulation and cancer will help in designing better treatment strategies. Additionally, the intrinsic reversibility of epigenetic alterations represents an exciting opportunity for the development of novel strategies for cancer prevention."

10. Epigenetic Factors in Understanding Cancer - National Cancer Institute

11. Modern Views on the Genetics of Autism - Johns Hopkins McKusick-Nathans Institute of Genetic Medicine  

"Genes, by themselves, probably don’t cause autism, Goldstein says, and wouldn’t make good targets for therapy. Most likely, it’s a combination of genetic variants—deletions, duplications and/or insertions—spread across the genome that makes an individual susceptible to some provocateur: an epigenetic, environmental or immunological factor that tips the balance and causes a disorder on the very wide spectrum defined as autism."

12. Autism Researchers Discover Epigenetic Changes - Autism Speaks

13. Autism Spectrum Disorders and Epigenetics - A study summarizing epigenetic modifications to genes possibly involved in the causation of ASD, published in 2010 in the Journal of American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. The study concludes: 

"Data reviewed in this article highlight a variety of situations in which epigenetic dysregulation is associated with the development of ASD, thereby supporting a role for epigenetics in the multifactorial etiologies of ASD."

14. The Epigenetic Profiles of Monozygotic (Identical) Twins - From Epigenome.eu, supporting the communication of high calibre science in the rapidly expanding field of epigenetics across Europe

15. Nutritional changes can reverse epigenetic effects - A study published in 2010 in an international review journal - Advances in Nutrition

16. Epigenetics now explains Attachment Parenting - The ground-breaking results of a study by Dr. Michael Meaney at McGill University, Montreal.

17. An excellent article explaining genotype, phenotype, mutations, and trans-generational epigenetic influences on inherited mutations:

Burga, A. and Lehner, B. (2012), Beyond genotype to phenotype: why the phenotype of an individual cannot always be predicted from their genome sequence and the environment that they experience. FEBS Journal, 279: 3765–3775. doi: 10.1111/j.1742-4658.2012.08810.x

News articles on epigenetics:


18. Epigenetics - An article on Nature.com

19. Epigenetics - 100 reasons to change the way we think about genetics - An article on Sciencedaily.com

20. DNA is not destiny - A Nov. 2006 article in Discover Magazine

21. Why your DNA is not your destiny - The Times article that introduced me to epigenetics

22. You can change your DNA - Institute of HeartMath




DNA double helix image by ghutchis/Flickr CC

Diagram1 By National Institutes of Health (http://commonfund.nih.gov/epigenomics/figure.aspx) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Diagram2 By Bernstein0275 (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0  (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0 )], via Wikimedia Commons

How to improve your immunity

The immune system is a complex network. In spite of the many medical and technological advances of modern medicine, researchers have still not completely understood how the immune system works. However, to prove the existence or efficiency of something, scientific evidence from a laboratory is not really necessary. If you follow my blog, you must know by now that homeopathy emphasizes that health is a harmonious balance of vital energy.

Here are some things you can do to maintain the vital force in a balance and keep your immunity high.
  

• Ditch the antibacterials! Old fashioned hand-washing 3-4 times a day with regular soap and warm water is good enough to keep harmful germs at bay. The small population of bacteria that survives the onslaught of antibacterial products morphs into antibiotic-resistant bacteria, which is extremely difficult to overcome. This is a major problem in the sterile environments of today's hospitals and laboratories, and even in schools and child care centers that are frequently sterilized with antibacterial products. At least keep these out of your own home.

• Get dirty! Go outdoors, enjoy nature, hike, bike, have a picnic, plant a few trees, make some sand castles and mud pies. Let the kids play in the dirt as soon as they can, and take them to farms or petting zoos to play with the animals. Frequent exposure to germs for small periods of time is good for their developing bodies. All these activities expose our bodies to small amounts of germs that stimulate our immune systems to work better. 

• Eat whole foods! We all know the importance of a healthy balanced diet. Additionally, considering the present agricultural and environmental circumstances, it is equally important to reduce the consumption of highly refined and processed foods, as well as pesticides and genetically modified foods as far as possible. I have already explained the effects of food dyes and additives in a previous post.

• Go fragrance-free! What is life without stopping to smell the roses? Roses are fine, but artificial fragrances are not. Artificial fragrances today are made from chemicals which are known to cause hormonal changes, allergies, asthma, eczema, and even cancer. We cannot avoid exposure to some artificial fragrances in the forms of daily use products, but we can reduce it considerably. It is essential is to reduce the usage of artificial fragrances on a regular basis, in the form of air fresheners, everyday perfumes, laundry detergents, fabric softeners, dryer sheets, cleaning products, toiletries like soap, shampoo and body wash.

• Up the vitamin C! Vitamin C is the healing vitamin. Its antioxidant properties prevent damage to cells from environmental stress and toxins. It is antibacterial, antiviral, anti-aging, and relatively harmless to humans! Do you know why you crave for sour foods when you're sick? That's because your body is asking you to increase your vitamin C intake so that it can heal itself! An adult may take 1000-1500 mg per day. Reduce that dosage to half in children 2 - 10 years old. The next time you feel a cold coming on, reach for some vitamin C instead of the OTC drugs and feel the difference!

• Use Homeopathy for your whole family! Homeopathy works with your immune system, stimulating it to fight for itself. Conventional medical drugs work against it or act on its behalf, weakening it so that it cannot act on its own. Long term use of homeopathic remedies will improve your immunity; whereas the long term use of conventional medicines will weaken it.

• Finally, a few things we all know but still need to be reminded once in a while. Stay active, exercise both your body and your brain, manage stress well, do not smoke and limit alcohol consumption.

Take your health into your own hands because you are the only one responsible for it. Follow these simple and effective rules and your immune system will surely thank you! Stay healthy!



                                    

The Rise and Rise of Immune System Disorders

When popular Indian detergent brand Surf Excel launched a new ad campaign called 'Daag achche hain', meaning 'Stains are good' in Hindi, the whole country took notice of the new concept. Hindustan Unilever, manufacturer of Surf Excel, used children in their ad to portray the idea, because children bring home the most stains. The ad caught people's attention as it promoted a completely different concept about what is conventionally believed to be dirty - stains. 

The ad shows a boy and a girl walking on a muddy path. When the girl falls into a puddle, the boy jumps into the puddle himself, hits it, and demands that it apologize to his sister. As they walk away, the boy threatens the puddle to 'never do it again'. The puddle inadvertently helps to develop a stronger bond between the brother and sister.

                                

For the same reasons as everyone around me, I was struck by the novelty of the ad. Over the years, with experience, the concept used in this ad made better sense to me, though for completely different reasons. 

Imagine the little girl in the ad as yourself, the puddle is a minor illness like a cold, and the boy is your immune system. Whenever your body falls into any minor illness, your immune system acts immediately, attacking it with all its strength; and after achieving it's victory, the immune system forms antibodies that will threaten the same virus or bacteria if it tries its antics again. This effort results in a stronger bond between you and your immune system. Just as Surf Excel doesn't jump into the picture as soon as stains form on the children's clothes, you don't need to pop a conventional pharmaceutical as soon as you feel the sniffles coming on. Let your immune system do its part, especially in minor illnesses. 

Use home remedies or alternative therapies to ease any discomfort due to the illness, and get lots of rest! Under natural conditions, the immune system will triumph and the illness will pass without the need for assistance from drugs. When the immune system is made stronger this way, it will fight minor infections on its own and you don't even see any symptoms most of the time because your naturally-acquired immunity is quietly doing its job.

Imagine if the boy in the ad had not acted the way he did, but went and complained to his mother about how his sister managed to get so dirty. One small complaint could change the brother-sister friendship that is based on trust. As a result, the girl would find it very difficult to trust her brother again. 

In the same way, when you take medicines at the first instance of a minor illness, the immune system is not allowed to act; the drugs act on its behalf, sometimes even against it. The immunity is not strengthened. The end result is repeated infections, chronic illness, prescription drugs, antibiotics... and when one cycle is over, rinse and repeat over and over again until chronic illness strikes and conventional medicine has nothing substantial to offer. 

Here is a simplified outline of the sequence of events.

Minor infection --> pharmaceutical drugs --> depleted immune system --> re-infection --> antibiotics --> impaired immune system --> re-infection --> repeated antibiotics --> chronic illness --> more suppressive drugs like steroids --> immune suppression --> long term high risk illnesses allergies, asthma, high blood pressure, diabetes, thyroiditis --> autoimmune disorders - crohns disease, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis --> more prescription drugs --> ???

Now, the whole premise of this argument lies in the fact that the immune system is healthy to begin with. If it is already damaged, then there is a lot of work to be done to get it back to normal.

Image credit - Jaya Prime/ Flickr CC

How do we know that the immune system is healthy? Simply by letting it act. Let it be exposed to everyday germs and practice its skills; stimulate it. If you have a healthy immune system, you don't need to wipe every grocery store cart with antibacterial wipes or fumigate your home with antibacterial sprays.

The development of immunity begins even before conception, with the health of the parents-to-be. This is why health and nutritious diet during pregnancy are so significant for the health of our future generations. Take care of the new infant but don't become paranoid about germs, and follow this rule as the child grows.

The sole objective of this post is to analyze why immune system disorders are so common in today's children, is it genetic¹? 

Homeopaths do not regard the occurrence of colds 6 times a year to be normal, or even 1 ear infection, infant eczema, or using nebulizers or asthma inhalers. There are better ways to stay healthy than using pharmaceuticals and antibiotics for everything under the sun, you just need to seek out the other ways.

In the next post, I will discuss how you can keep your immune system healthy. 

1 - I've discussed more about genetics in this post.


 

Additional Reading

 

1. The Autoimmune Epidemic - It's a long article, but a must read!

2. PBS - A 3:56 minute video on the Hygiene Hypothesis. Watch it!
 
3. National Institutes of Health - The hygiene hypothesis for autoimmune and allergic diseases. "According to the ‘hygiene hypothesis’, the decreasing incidence of infections in western countries and more recently in developing countries is at the origin of the increasing incidence of both autoimmune and allergic diseases."

4.Web MD - What are immune system disorders?