This is topic I need some immune boosting tips!! can't stop getting sick!! in forum Medical Questions at LymeNet Flash.


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Posted by gigimac (Member # 33353) on :
 
I would love any tips!! Do abx hurt your immune system? cause it seems like i am sick more than not!

I am planning on making chicken bone broth but what else would help?

Thanks!
 
Posted by steve1906 (Member # 16206) on :
 
How to Strengthen & Rebuild Your Immune System After Antibiotics

Concerns about over prescription of antibiotics are not new. In 2000, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a warning about overusing antibiotics.

In November 2010, the organization urged consumers to learn about the proper use of antibiotics. While these potent drugs can help treat many illnesses, their overuse has spawned the rise of deadly superbugs, such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA. Furthermore, antibiotics can also negatively affect normal cells, weaken your immune system and destroy healthy flora in your colon, according to nutrition consultant Lawrence Wilson. However, you can protect your immune system while using antibiotics.

Step 1

Start taking probiotics at the same time you begin a course of antibiotic treatment, which will help reduce symptoms such as antibiotic-related diarrhea and protect immune-boosting bacteria in your colon. According to Science Daily, a suggested dose of probiotics for adults is at least 10 billion colony forming units per day.

Step 2

Get as much sleep as possible --- about seven to nine hours --- after your worst symptoms have subsided; sleep is essential for a healthy immune system. Don't try to fight sleeplessness in the early stages of battling infection, however, as this may help produce a fever and speed recovery, according to a study published in a 2009 issue of "Nature Review Neuroscience."

Step 3

Eat 2 cups of fruits and 2 1/2 cups of vegetables daily. These are foods rich in vitamins C, E, carotenoids and bioflavonoids --- all of which have antioxidant properties.

Step 4

Exercise for at least 30 minutes five days a week as exercise stimulates the immune system to build cells, such as T cells and macrophages, that fight diseases and infections, according to naturopath Peter Bennett, author of "The Purification Plan."


Warnings
Never take antibiotics without a doctor's prescription.
If you are on a course of antibiotics, do not stop taking them without your doctor's advice. Taking the entire course of prescribed antibiotics is the only way to eliminate the harmful bacteria in your body, according to MayoClinic.com.
Consult your naturopath or family doctor before taking any herbs to strengthen your immune system.


Tips
Add garlic to your meals or take a garlic supplement, as garlic has strong immune-boosting abilities and triggers white cell production, according to AskDrSears.com.
Eat foods rich in selenium daily. These foods include tuna, red snapper, shrimp, whole grains, brown rice, egg yolks, chicken breast, sunflower seeds and Brazil nuts.

http://www.livestrong.com/article/332665-how-to-strengthen-rebuild-your-immune-system-after-antibiotics/

One more>>>>

How to boost your immune system
Excerpted from The Truth About Your Immune System, a Special Health Report from Harvard Health Publications

What can you do?
On the whole, your immune system does a remarkable job of defending you against disease-causing microorganisms. But sometimes it fails: A germ invades successfully and makes you sick. Is it possible to intervene in this process and make your immune system stronger?

What if you improve your diet? Take certain vitamins or herbal preparations? Make other lifestyle changes in the hope of producing a near-perfect immune response?

The idea of boosting your immunity is enticing, but the ability to do so has proved elusive for several reasons. The immune system is precisely that — a system, not a single entity. To function well, it requires balance and harmony. There is still much that researchers don’t know about the intricacies and interconnectedness of the immune response. For now, there are no scientifically proven direct links between lifestyle and enhanced immune function.

But that doesn’t mean the effects of lifestyle on the immune system aren’t intriguing and shouldn’t be studied. Quite a number of researchers are exploring the effects of diet, exercise, age, psychological stress, herbal supplements, and other factors on the immune response, both in animals and in humans.

Although interesting results are emerging, thus far they can only be considered preliminary. That’s because researchers are still trying to understand how the immune system works and how to interpret measurements of immune function. The following sections summarize some of the most active areas of research into these topics. In the meantime, general healthy-living strategies are a good way to start giving your immune system the upper hand.

Adopt healthy-living strategies
Your first line of defense is to choose a healthy lifestyle. Following general good-health guidelines is the single best step you can take toward keeping your immune system strong and healthy. Every part of your body, including your immune system, functions better when protected from environmental assaults and bolstered by healthy-living strategies such as these:

Don’t smoke.

Eat a diet high in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, and low in saturated fat.

Exercise regularly.

Maintain a healthy weight.

Control your blood pressure.

If you drink alcohol, drink only in moderation.

Get adequate sleep.

Take steps to avoid infection, such as washing your hands frequently and cooking meats thoroughly.

Get regular medical screening tests for people in your age group and risk category.

Be skeptical
Many products on store shelves claim to boost or support immunity. But the concept of boosting immunity actually makes little sense scientifically. In fact, boosting the number of cells in your body — immune cells or others — is not necessarily a good thing. For example, athletes who engage in “blood doping” — pumping blood into their systems to boost their number of blood cells and enhance their performance — run the risk of strokes.

Attempting to boost the cells of the immune system is especially complicated because there are so many different kinds of cells in the immune system that respond to so many different microbes in so many ways. Which cells should you boost, and to what number? So far, scientists do not know the answer. What is known is that the body is continually generating immune cells. Certainly it produces many more lymphocytes than it can possibly use. The extra cells remove themselves through a natural process of cell death called apoptosis — some before they see any action, some after the battle is won. No one knows how many cells or what kinds of cells the immune system needs to function at its optimum level.

Scientists do know more about the low end of the scale. When the number of T cells in an HIV/AIDS patient drops below a certain level, the patient gets sick because the immune system doesn’t have enough T cells to fight off infection. So there is a bottom number below which the immune system can’t do its job. But how many T cells is comfortably enough, and beyond that point, is more better? We don’t know.

Many researchers are trying to explore the effects of a variety of factors — from foods and herbal supplements to exercise and stress — on immunity. Some take measures of certain blood components like lymphocytes or cytokines. But thus far, no one really knows what these measurements mean in terms of your body’s ability to fight disease. They provide a way of detecting whether something is going on, but science isn’t yet sufficiently advanced to understand how this translates into success in warding off disease.

A different scientific approach looks at the effect of certain lifestyle modifications on the incidence of disease. If a study shows significantly less disease, researchers consider whether the immune system is being strengthened in some way. Based on these studies, there is now evidence that even though we may not be able to prove a direct link between a certain lifestyle and an improved immune response, we can at least show that some links are likely.

http://www.health.harvard.edu/flu-resource-center/how-to-boost-your-immune-system.htm

Steve
 
Posted by 2roads (Member # 4409) on :
 
Did/doing brone broth for my son. Waiting to buy a new crock pot.

Look into Matcha tea!
 
Posted by D Bergy (Member # 9984) on :
 
Have you read the thread about "fasting rebuilds the immune system" on the first page? Might be an option.

Low dose naltrexone is another option

Dan
 
Posted by steve1906 (Member # 16206) on :
 
Dan, I forgot about fasting, you're right. I'm going to start a new post on this.

Steve
 
Posted by farraday (Member # 21494) on :
 
I'm pleased to report that my Tcell count is finally up to "normal" and rising. It started as low as someone with full blown AIDS. My well known LLMD was an AIDS doc for years before switching to Lyme and tick borne illnesses.

I do follow much of Steve's excellent advice. I think vegetable juicing is helpful and probiotics are essential. But I have to say that IV Rocephan broke the logjam and I am finally moving forward. It does make me tired and walking about causes dizziness and headaches.

So I take it easy, eat properly and keep my spirits up.

If you are interested in blood testing I would suggest checking out National Jewish Hospital in Denver(?). My blood is tested there as well as at Igenex on a regular basis. But other signs of improvement are evident to friends and family...better speech, less trembling, more stamina, etc.

The blood tests are not all that costly and may be covered by insurance. My family got together to help pay for my care. I am very blessed!
 
Posted by Keebler (Member # 12673) on :
 
-
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/12/31/organic-mushrooms-for-immune-support.aspx

Immune Support from Mushrooms - Mercola

also search: "medical mushrooms"
-
 
Posted by Razzle (Member # 30398) on :
 
Always wash your hands with soap and warm/hot water immediately after returning home from being out.

Diffuse essential oil of lemon in your home to remove airborne pathogens. Lemon oil diffused in experiments has proven to significantly reduce the incidences of colds/flu.

Try Andrographis - this herb has been shown to reduce colds/flu. I took Andrographis for about 2 years, and I don't recall having any colds or flu while on it...but I have had a cold since stopping the herb.

Avoid sugar (cane/beet sugar, corn syrup, etc.). Many people find their ability to fight infection is impaired by sugar.

Zinc lozengers, daily zinc supplements (be sure not to get more than 100mg/day total from all sources) also are known to improve immune function.

Vitamin D deficiency can impair the function of microphages (the cells that engulf and destroy pathogens). Sunshine is the best source of Vitamin D; if you can't go out in the sunshine, take a good quality Vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) supplement daily.

I was told by 2 different doctors that the body uses 4-6000IU Vitamin D every day. Therefore, if deficient in Vitamin D, it may take higher doses for a few weeks to restore proper blood levels of the vitamin.

Garlic, Oregano, Thyme, etc., used in cooking can also help. These herbs have antimicrobial properties and also are known to disrupt quorum sensing (the communication medium by which bacteria develop into biofilm communities).

Probiotics and digestive enzymes may also help to create an unfriendly environment in the body for pathogenic microorganisms.

Vitamin C and other antioxidants are also known to help improve overall health of the body's cells.

L-Lysine and Elderberry herb are known to reduce the ability of viruses to replicate...birth control for viruses...

Consider looking into methylation support. Methylation is needed in order for the body to produce immune cells, and impaired methylation reduces the body's ability to detoxify substances that are harmful or may suppress immunity, by reducing glutathione production.
 
Posted by D Bergy (Member # 9984) on :
 
I hope you are taking a Magnesium supplement. Normal people are usually low. Someone with Lyme is always low without supplements.

Dan
 
Posted by LSG Scott (Member # 21624) on :
 
keeping your hydroxy25 vitamin D level between 60 and 80 is by far the best way to modulate the immune system
 
Posted by GretaM (Member # 40917) on :
 
All excellent points.

For me,

1) Low Dose Naltrexone. This has helped me be a cold every month person, to a one cold a year person

2) sleep. Try to get into regular sleeping habits, and if possible, sleep until your body naturally wakes up, (not the alarm etc). This is something I am working on-it is getting easier with time.
My body is at the stage now where 12 hours seems to be it's natural sleep need.

3)I like to put Thieve's Oil in a carrier oil and use it as an all over body moisturizer at night. I feel the aromatherapy, plus the natural antibacterial and antiviral qualities of thieve's oil are absorbed subdermally.

4) Have you had your immunoglobbin levels checked?

Hope you feel better soon.

Hugs

Greta
 
Posted by gigimac (Member # 33353) on :
 
Thanks for all the tips you guys!

There is no money for tests right now unfortunately.

How long do you have to fast for it to be effective?

It is not easy for me to go without food, but I would like to try it. Do you have to go a whole day without eating?
 


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