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How to be merry in cold and flu season
Poor diet a big reason for weakened immune system during the holidays

by Flavia Kreis

Autumn is here and so comes the sneezing, coughing and aching. As we all know, during the fall and winter our body's immune system starts to suffer from various forms of flu and cold viruses.

Did you ever ask yourself why this is happening to you every year? And why do you have to feel so miserable?

First, I'll give a quick description of how the immune system works. Most people have heard of white blood cells, and that these attack invaders in the body. White cells are actually a combination of three main types of cells, called B-cells, T-cells and macrophages. Each has a different function, and collectively they make our immune system a well-armed defense against invaders.

When B-cells come into contact with an antigen (an antigen is some form of toxin, bacteria, or foreign blood cell in the body), the B-cells grow larger and divide into more cells which secrete specific antibodies that latch onto the invader. These antibodies cannot destroy the invader, but they make its life more difficult by preventing it from entering body cells. Because a virus requires body cells to reproduce, this seriously hampers its ability to propagate itself.

Next we have T-cells. These come in three kinds: T-helpers, T-suppressors, and NK (natural killers). The NK cells can produce toxins which will destroy an invader. T-helpers help the B-cells fight more invaders, while T-suppressors stop everything once the invader is destroyed. So T-cells in essence fight by helping B-cells, by actively trying to destroy the invader, and by stopping things once the battle is won.

And at the end, the macrophage cells swallow up and digest what is left of the invader, which is waste material.

What prevents the immune system from working effectively? Digestive problems caused by bad food choices. The categories of these are: sugars, bad fats, caffeine and alcohol.

The next question is, when do we have these foods the most? Holidays! That means the holiday season, which starts around Halloween and ends the beginning of the New Year.

Throughout this period, most people on and off have more desserts, candies, fattening foods, caffeine and alcohol. This means the immune system will be busy fighting internal toxins created by us rather than fighting a real invader like a virus or a bacterium. On top of this internal turmoil, we might have some emotional stress created by meeting with family, holiday preparation, travel, and so on. And stress also weakens the immune system.

How do we escape such a fate? We must organize ourselves by taking an appropriate supplementation — examples include digestive enzymes, probiotics, vitamin C, and echinacea — by reducing our exposure to bad food, and by minimizing stress in the healthiest ways possible.

As an additional suggestion, avoid mental or verbal conflict with friends and family members. Instead, start a conversation that all people can relate to. Go out and do something together as a group, something everyone likes to do, such as walk the dog, take the kids to a park, or play a board game. Be positive and merry! After all, what are the holidays about if not for love, sharing and tolerance.

Flavia Kreis is a certified nutritional consultant and the owner of Integrative Nutrition and Wellness Center, located in downtown Mountain View. For more information, visit www.integrative-nutrition.com.