Alison, sorry your friend is having so much trouble. Being around those 20 preschoolers surely has a large part in this; she's actually exposed to each of those kids PLUS every member of their families PLUS any other child they interact with, on a daily basis. That's a lot of exposure, especially in cold and flu season.
Women Fitness offers their Top 10 ways to building a strong immune system:
http://www.womenfitness.net/immune-system.htm
Go read the article for more details on each of these, because next to each one of them is a box of specifics. But the basics are:
1. A well-balanced diet
2. Fruits and vegetables. "A steady and balanced intake of essential vitamins and mineral helps to keep our immune systems working properly by providing us protection from infections and disease."
3. Plenty of rest
4. Exercise
5. 6-8 glasses of water a day
6. Vitamin C
7. zinc and magnesium
8. Avoiding excess caffeine or alcohol
9. Avoiding smoke, air pollution and other environmental pollutants
10. Managing stress. "There is a strong data that documents the impact of stress on immunity and susceptibility to illness. A report of 276 volunteers exposed to a common cold virus showed that those who had been under stress for more than a month were most likely to get sick."
Sounds like your friend has good attention to diet and exercise; maybe some of these other areas will give her some help.
In terms of whether sugar affects the immune system: There is some evidence that suggests it does. This study showed ingesting 100 mg of sugar can depress the immune system for up to 5 hours:
http://www.chronicprostatitis.com/sugar.html
Here's a page on what happens when sugar enters the bloodstream:
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Alison, sorry your friend is having so much trouble. Being around those 20 preschoolers surely has a large part in this; she's actually exposed to each of those kids PLUS every member of their families PLUS any other child they interact with, on a daily basis. That's a lot of exposure, especially in cold and flu season.
Women Fitness offers their Top 10 ways to building a strong immune system:
http://www.womenfitness.net/immune-system.htm
Go read the article for more details on each of these, because next to each one of them is a box of specifics. But the basics are:
1. A well-balanced diet
2. Fruits and vegetables. "A steady and balanced intake of essential vitamins and mineral helps to keep our immune systems working properly by providing us protection from infections and disease."
3. Plenty of rest
4. Exercise
5. 6-8 glasses of water a day
6. Vitamin C
7. zinc and magnesium
8. Avoiding excess caffeine or alcohol
9. Avoiding smoke, air pollution and other environmental pollutants
10. Managing stress. "There is a strong data that documents the impact of stress on immunity and susceptibility to illness. A report of 276 volunteers exposed to a common cold virus showed that those who had been under stress for more than a month were most likely to get sick."
Sounds like your friend has good attention to diet and exercise; maybe some of these other areas will give her some help.
In terms of whether sugar affects the immune system: There is some evidence that suggests it does. This study showed ingesting 100 mg of sugar can depress the immune system for up to 5 hours:
http://www.chronicprostatitis.com/sugar.html
Here's a page on what happens when sugar enters the bloodstream:
http://www.healingdaily.com/detoxification-diet/sugar.htm
November 10, 2008 - 10:53amThis Comment
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