When you get flu, colds, infections or cancer your priority is to build a strong immune system.
Strong defenses can shelter you from taking sick days off from work due to annoying recurring colds but also make you worry less about the most dreaded problem of all – cancer.
Boost immune system when it is low
You can do a lot to improve defenses and it is not all about vitamin C. Yet, many people do not know what makes up a strong body or how things actually work.
Because of that many people walk around half-sick without any suspicion. There are ways to spot low immune system signs. You just need to know what they are.
What is strong immune system?
Many of us think that when we don’t’ get colds of flus it is a sign of a strong immunity. But actually this may not always be so.
Getting a fever or runny nose is a sign of activation of body defenses, not of poor immunity. Studies have shown that people who get infections have fewer cancers, which puts to rest the myth that getting no infections equals a stronger body. On the contrary, people who do not get infections “catch” more cancers.
Immune system simplified
To most people the immune system is just made up of some random floating about cells called white blood cells. This is a gross over-simplification. The body defenses are actually made up of many parts, but we can divide them just into two categories: external protection and internal protection. These are not anatomical names, so do not try to google these.
The external protection is made of barriers. Their job is to prevent penetration a virus or bacteria inside the body. Among those are skin, lung surfaces, intestinal lining etc.
The internal protection is made up of a complicated network of cells that work in sync to create and organize the most efficient fight against the intruder. Among those are white blood cells, tonsils, appendix, or thymus.
Flu – a test for your immune system
Having a flu symptoms is not a bad thing. It is a sign that your internal protectors are fighting. However, what’s bad about it is the fact that your external barriers did not hold up and the intruder managed to get pass them. For example, your nose or throat lining (called mucosa) allowed the intruder to enter your body.
Now you get body aches and a fever. These are not the signs of poor immunity. These are the signs of an activation of internal defenses. Trying to suppress fever is counterproductive. Fever is a backup system that removes germs. Please remember that fever occurs only AFTER the failure of external barriers and it is a sign that the interior got invaded. It has nothing to do with poor immunity.
Most people do not realize that getting sick largely depends on the strength of the external protectors. Their job is to make sure that the body does NOT get invaded in the first place.
Strong barriers protect the inside, so the core can use its powers for other tasks such as fighting cancers. Strong immune system requires that both the core and the barriers are robust and fully functional.
How to boost immune system core
When you get the flu it is too late to work on the external protectors. They already failed. However, it is a perfect time to boost the core. Several natural remedies can help with that. Our “best flu-fighting remedies” chart summaries them.
.
To improve your odds against the flu, before the flu strikes, you need a different strategy than reaching for flu fighters. You need to build a strong immune system, and that includes boosting both: the external and internal protectors. There are different ways to do that. Articles below will guide you through some techniques.
- 7 ways to boost body defenses
- 5 ways to strenghten the body
- boost the body with detox
- Immune system boosters in your kitchen
but for now… … please avoid “echinacea” for “building strong immune system”. Echinacea is a super immune charger, not a strengthener. If taken over long period of time instead of strengthening the body it can actually wear off the defenses and lead to immune over-reactivity.
Over-reactivity can lead to allergies and rheumatoid arthritis, and can contribute to other diseases. So take echinacea only for short period of time while having an infection and only if you do not have allergies or autoimmune diseases.
Building a strong immune system is a must in today`s world. You will find a step by step approach in “Ousting Sniffles“, a great guide to a robust body.