Building Your Immune System For the Future

What is life now? Everything is closed except for essential business; grocery stores, drug stores, restaurants for take out and delivery only. All due to a virus that seems to be all over the world at present. I am a bit baffled at the severity of info that is driving everyone to quarantine, keep social distance, wash hands continuously and avoid any type of germs. I wonder what will be the takeaways from all of this. Will we learn to take better care of ourselves and our health to have stronger immune systems, or will we just continue to be germaphobes, worrying about everyone and everything. The tone and mood is stressful and strange. Now more than ever we must practice mindful meditation, yoga, exercise, deep breathing, and any other kind of activity that increases our endorphins and brings some peace to our lives.  Maintaining a healthy lifestyle is key to having a strong immune system. I feel that this has not been publicized enough. We continue to hear about cases and deaths. What they don't talk about is the other underlying conditions that are driving these deaths and continuous respiratory problems, not to mention how many older adults are affected due to other health issues. This happens everyday, even before this virus. There are many reasons people get very sick and to continue to only blame this virus is ridiculous.

I want to focus on building your immune system so it is strong and you have a better ability to fight off these illnesses, and germs. We were raised playing in the dirt and swimming in lakes with fish and turtles. The exposures to dirt is what built our immunities. Now we are dirt and germ free which is not a great recipe for the latter. I know this is just for now and due to this virus but I also wonder how will we continue after this is over. Please focus on keeping yourself healthy and strong by eating lots of veggies, fruits, wild caught fish, grass fed and organic meat and poultry, gluten free grains such as quinoa, millet, kasha, brown rice, nuts and seeds, and healthy fats like avocados, olive oil, goat cheese, hummus, just to name a few things. Stay away or limit dairy such as cheese, milk, yogurt, as it causes inflammation which causes illness and disease. There are great substitutes such as almond, rice, or soy milk and dairy free options. We also need to sleep 7-9 hours each night, stay active during the day and try some intermittent fasting. I have been able to do this by not eating after dinner by 7pm until the next morning around 9. That's a good 14 hours to detox without you even realizing it. I have been doing this since the beginning of January, along with cutting most of my sugar and I feel so much better and lighter.  Dealing with the everyday stress these days is a concern and we must all find ways to handle this. As I said earlier, mindful meditation, relaxation exercises, physical activity, yoga and deep breathing. Also whatever you need as an escape to take your mind off the present situation; limit your news exposure, listen to good music, watch something funny, work on puzzles and games, give back and help others.

My best line of defense is the veggie, fruit, grape and berry, and omegas that I take everyday. This  whole food nutrition has been boosting my immune system, reducing inflammation and oxidative stress, and contributing to my overall health and wellness for the last 7 years. It is my best insurance policy. I also drink a plant based chocolate shake several times a week which is low glycemic and a great snack and meal replacement.  Please watch the video below for more info and let me know if you would be interested in getting started with these amazing healthy whole food gems. We also have a hydroponic growing system called the Tower Garden and you can grow your own produce at home. It's nice to know where your food comes from.

Please take care of yourself and your body so you have the defenses you need to fight anything that may be lurking out there. Try to relax and not stress during this very strange time in our lives and focus on the positives as things will go back to a new normal soon.

Keeping it Happy and Healthy
Your Nutrition Coach
Susan G
www.sgeers.juiceplus.com

Those Raging Hormones (part 1)

Around the age of 40 I started having moderate hot flashes and night sweats, which, obviously affected my sleep patterns. I ran into an old friend who shared her same experiences and told me about some over the counter, natural remedies, which contained black cohash and soy. I experimented with a few different ones to see which would have the best effect. The regular strength seemed to be the best. I used this for a number of years, and it worked in the beginning but as I got closer to 50 the hot flashes, skin crawling, and anxiety got considerably worse. I had been asking my gynecologist each year to test me to see where I was in the world of menapause but I was continuously told that as long as I was still having periods, I was not in menapause, only peri (early) menapause. As you can imagine, this was frustrating for me, knowing how much worse I was feeling and getting no real answers.  About 2 years ago I felt so bad that I called my doctor in a panic. In my quest to just feel human everyday, I was willing to do just about anything. We all want to rely on our healthcare professionals, as I did. Immediately, I started taking the ever popular drugs that have been relied upon for many years, but eventually cause cancer. I was told that I could not stay on this for more than 5 years due to the risk. This did not sit well with me, but at the time I would have done anything to feel better. Ultimately, I did get rid of the hot flashes and night sweats, and slept better as well. The downside was that I gained weight uncontrollably, and bled every other week. I tried another version which was stronger, under my doctor’s care, and there was really no change. I was finally at the point of no return. I realized, as many of us do, that we are dealing with the lesser of two evils. Do I enjoy the taming of the hot flashes, night sweats,and anxiety, at the risk of getting heavier, feeling bloated all the time, and bleeding every other week, not to mention the cramps and other lovely PMS symptoms that go along with it. My answer was clear. I forgot to mention that when I asked my doctor about bioidentical hormones, he was so opposed and negative about it that I dropped it like a hot pancake. I trust this doctor and respect his opinion as I have been going to him since my kids were born. It was time to take me and my hormones into my own hands. I immediately stopped taking the cancer causing hormones and made an appointment with a new doctor who had been recommended by a friend at work. My point here is that even though we feel that we are in the hands of our doctors we must take charge of our own destiny. There are no other choices for FDA approved hormones other than the ones I was offered, as far as I know. This new doctor was in the early stages of learning about hormone replacement therapy and bioidentical hormones, which was just what I had been looking for.  I have been under his care now for about a year and a half and I feel great. He is a bone density and weight loss specialist as well as an MD. After a complete physical, bone density test, blood tests, saliva tests, colonoscopy, and the sharing of much info about any and all symptoms I have and have had, we are very close to getting it right. In other words, this is not a quick fix process. It takes time to get the right combination of each hormone. This was explained right from the start. We have repeated blood tests, and saliva tests a couple of times now to see what the change in hormone levels are after taking the recommended doses early on. Changes were made each time to adjust the hormone levels. I am not an expert on this subject but I do know that you need to have the correct combination of estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone in order to function properly and feel healthy. Please continue to Part 2