Your Immune System During Flu Season
by Dr. Marie Andersson

Your immune system is like a library. When you are born, you’ve never read a book, so you have a lot to learn. Every time we read a book, we learn something new. Every time your body is exposed to a new pathogen (bacteria, virus or fungi), if it is not interrupted, your immune system will learn how to kill it.

When people take an antibiotic it impairs their immune system’s ability to learn, in other words, how to kill the infection. Why would we intentionally do that? It’s not logical.

How do antibiotics work?

Antibiotics don’t kill bacteria. What they do is interrupt the bacteria’s ability to reproduce. These are called bacteriostatic or bactericidal drugs. They interfere with the bacteria’s ability to reproduce by altering their genetic makeup. Bacteria don’t live long, only about 12-18 hours, therefore if you disrupt their ability to reproduce, they will die off in a few days.

Bacteria are very adaptive. They quickly learn how to change their genetic code so that they can survive. This is why it is so important to finish a round of antibiotics once you start it, stopping part way through only gives them a better chance of mutating and surviving.

The other part of this is, even if you finish your antibiotics, they are most likely not all going to be gone. Inevitably some survive. This is what happens when people end up with chronic infections, such as an ear infection, sore throat, sinus infection etc. The infection comes back and your immune system is not equipped to handle it because it was not allowed to finish learning. If you only read part of a book, you’ll never learn how it ends! Also, most people don’t get bacterial infections regularly. They are simply not that common. What we do get exposed to all the time is viruses.

Antibiotics DO NOT KILL VIRUSES!

Folks run for an antibiotic because of several common reasons: it’s inconvenient to be sick, it’s uncomfortable to be sick and fear that if you don’t take a drug it will lead to something worse. These are not good reasons to take a drug. Fear based decisions are never a good idea. And the hard reality is, if this is your pattern, at some point you’re likely to get an infection that may make you profoundly sick.

Indiscriminately taking an antibiotic poses the risk of developing an infection from a resistant bacteria and this can be life threatening. Not to mention what it does to your
microbiome, a whole other set of complications resulting in autoimmune disorders and much more.

An antibiotic can save your life. Save the use of it for something real so that it can do its job. If you let your body do its natural job of recognizing what has infected you, it will do it and remember. So that next time you are exposed, you won’t get sick, in fact you won’t even know you were exposed.

So what do we do if we get sick?

There are lots of natural antimicrobials that work, not just on bacteria, but also viruses. And most common infections are from viruses, not bacteria.

If you feel you are coming down with something, start taking time-released emulsified oil of oregano (like A.D.P.) along with a broad spectrum probiotic and whole food vitamin C
immediately. Even better, boost your immune function so you don’t get sick in the first place. The best way to do this is to eat well, stay away from sugars (including artificial sweeteners), eat lots of vegetables, especially those high in vitamin C. Some great options include cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, kohlrabi, cauliflower), potatoes, bell peppers and tomatoes. Lemon is also wonderful and high in vitamin C without all the sugar to negate the efficacy of a high vitamin C food.

High blood sugar prevents your immune system from working properly. Your white blood cells (immune cells) require 2 nutrients: glucose and vitamin C. When we eat a food high in
true vitamin C (not synthetic ascorbates sold as vitamin C), such a bell pepper, the WBC’s
will uptake the glucose (sugar) and vitamin C together up to a point. If your blood sugar
goes over 120, then the WBC’s lose their ability to uptake vitamin C and they can only take
in the glucose (sugar). When this happens the WBC’s lose the ability to convert vitamin C
into glutathione, and they become compromised. Which means you lose the ability to fight the infection effectively. Sugar is not your friend, especially when you are sick.

The sad reality is that diabetics are more likely to die from an infection than non-diabetics. High blood sugar results in a compromised immune system.

If a loved one is sick, don’t show them you love them with a cookie or ice cream, give them
homemade soup loaded with veggies and plenty of water to stay hydrated.
And let’s remember echinacea. There is more research on the benefits of daily echinacea than you can probably read in this lifetime. Taking a blend of echinacea angustifolia along
with purpurea will keep your immune system strong and help you not only fight an infection, but perhaps something more serious. Echinacea must be high in alkyl amides in order to have medicinal benefits, you will know if you have a good echinacea if it makes
your tongue a bit numb.

In summary, eat your vegetables daily! Stay away from a high carb diet and sugars. Take
echinacea daily and keep good infection fighters in your medicine cabinet.

Have a wonderful holiday season and remember that we are here for you if you need us!