The Nutrition Rainbow for Immunity

Winter’s here and it’s time to bolster our immune systems in the fight against flu and colds. Adequately feeding your immune system boosts its fighting power. Immune boosters work in many ways. They increase the number of white cells in the immune system army, train them to fight better, and help them form an overall better battle plan. Boosters also help to eliminate the deadwood in the army, substances that drag the body down. The Nutrition Rainbow for Immunity will give you an immune fighting food in each colour of the rainbow (plus a few extras).

 

Red – Lean beef

Lean meat is surprisingly good for the immune system as it contains zinc and iron plus all the essential amino acids, all of which go together to make healthy blood cells and a strong immune system. The key is moderation, and avoiding fatty cuts of meat and not frying the meat or letting it burn.
 

Orange – Butternut Squash or Pumpkin

Both are good sources of beta-carotene, which increases the number of infection fighting cells, as well as being a powerful antioxidant that mops up excess free radicals that accelerate ageing.

 

Yellow – Ginger

This warming root has been revered as a therapeutic food for centuries and medieval Europeans traced the herb to the Garden of Eden. As well as being an effective anti-nausea agent, ginger contains the active ingredients gingerols and shogaols, which can have an anti-inflammatory effect which may ease the symptoms of colds and flu.

 

Green – Kiwi fruit /broccoli/Brussels sprouts

All three of these are great sources of Vitamin C. Vitamin C increases the production of infection-fighting white blood cells and antibodies and increases levels of interferon, the antibody that coats cell surfaces, preventing the entry of viruses.

Blue – Blueberries

These delicious little berries are a powerhouse of nutritional goodness. Blueberries are bursting with antioxidants including vitamin C, anthocyanins, quercetin and ellagic acid, which can help protect the cells against disease. Blueberries are high in fibre and contain pectin, a source of soluble fibre which can help both diarrhoea and constipation – good digestive health is the cornerstone of a healthy immune system.

Pink -Salmon

 The omega 3 fatty acids in fatty fish act as immune boosters by increasing the activity of phagocytes, the white blood cells that eat up bacteria. Essential fatty acids can also have an anti-inflammatory effect if eaten as part of a balanced diet.
 

Purple – Beetroot

Starting the day with a glass of beetroot juice could do wonders for your immune system, as well as keeping your brain sharp and your heart in good shape. Beetroot is rich in vitamin C and also folic acid, which is essential for healing and making new blood cells.

 

White – Garlic
This flavourful member of the onion family is a powerful immune booster that stimulates the multiplication of infection-fighting white cells, boosts natural killer cell activity, and increases the efficiency of antibody production. The immune-boosting properties of garlic seem to be due to its sulphur-containing compounds, such as allicin and sulphides. Garlic can also act as an antioxidant that reduces the build-up of free radicals in the bloodstream.

Brown – walnuts

OK, so brown is not normally a colour that you would associate with the rainbow, but we had to mention the disease fighting potential of vitamin E, which is found in nuts, particularly walnuts, hazelnuts and almonds. These are in season at Christmas time so get cracking!

Information provided by The Institute for Optimum Nutrition (ION), an independent, not for profit educational charity whose purposes are to advance education of the public and health professionals in all matters relating to nutrition and to preserve and protect the health of the general public by giving advice, assistance and where necessary treatment through nutritional therapy.  www.ion.ac.uk

How not to get fat – Ian Marber

Eat every 2½ hours during the day, combine carbohydrates with protein and make it a way of life.

Oh if only it were so easy, but actually it probably is. Ian Marber is a well know nutrition therapist, broadcaster and author of several health/nutrition books. His message in his new book, How Not to Get Fat – Your Daily Diet, is deliberately simple –

• Never get so hungry that you’ll eat everything in the fridge.
• Combine carbohydrates and protein to slow down the conversion of glucose to energy in the body.

With the prevalence of sweets, chocolates, cakes, biscuits, sugary drinks and much more in our shops and supermarkets it’s easy to fulfil every hunger pang with a sugary snack. This boosts energy and makes you feel better, but not for long as it’s quickly followed by a slump in energy. Insulin is produced in the pancreas to convert glucose to energy, and with so much sugar in the diet, it is working overtime – resulting in more and more cases of diabetes when insulin becomes depleted. Excess glucose in the bloodstream is stored in fat cells, and contributes to people becoming overweight and obese.

‘Carbohydrates are converted to glucose rapidly,’ Ian explains. ‘Complex carbohydrates (wholegrain bread, brown rice and pasta) take longer to break down. Add protein to these and you slow down the process even more. Protein lowers the impact of what you eat on your blood glucose levels.’
He doesn’t compromise – in large letters he writes in the book, ‘It is imperative that we eat protein with complex carbohydrates. Always without fail. Every single time.’

Ian told Healthy Soul, ‘This is not a diet – it’s a way of eating for life. If you stick to this way of eating forever, there’s no need to count calories, or GI (glycaemic index) points.’

Eat regularly

‘If you eat every 2½ hours you don’t get overly hungry which usually means that you eat all the wrong things, forget that you’re supposed to be on a diet and continue until you feel better.’ Three main meals a day is a given, but interspersed with a (healthy) mid-morning snack and a mid-afternoon snack. Healthy snacks include:

  • fruit salad topped with mixed seeds
  • two slices of ham, wrapped in lettuce on two oatcakes
  • two rye crackers with cottage cheese and cucumber
  • low fat houmous with sliced carrots

No faddy diet

According to a news report on January 13th this year, this is the date when people give up their new year diets. The aim of Ian’s ‘how not to get fat’ message is to create a consistent way of eating that becomes a way of life. It is not a faddy diet that you give up after a few weeks.
‘The fewer rules there are,’ Ian explains, ‘The easier it is to follow. If you give someone lots of rules they only follow the diet at the beginning. The aim of this way of eating is that you do it forever.’

Recipes to suit everyone

How Not To Get Fat combines a host of great recipes with nutritional advice about how to shed pounds in a sustainable way. It suits vegetarians and carnivores equally with plenty of lentils, beansprouts, soya and Quorn recipes plus interesting ways of eating oily and white fish, pork, veal, poultry, duck lamb, goat and venison. The recipe pages contain detailed information about how the foods, how to choose them, how to cook them. For example, Ian explains which is the best salmon and trout to buy and why, how farmed salmon doesn’t contain as many nutrients as wild or organic salmon and why.

With Ian’s advice and recipes there’s no need to feel that you’re giving up something to lose weight. You can have a varied, interesting diet with a broad spread of foods, which enables you not only to lose pounds but to keep them off long term.

Buy How Not to Get Fat from the Amazon carousel on the home page.

Soya good for cholesterol, weight and hot flushes

People who have to give up dairy products because of allergies are often concerned that they won’t get enough calcium, but soy is a good substitute. Soya is also a high quality plant-based protein which is very digestible. Young girls should be eating soya from a young age as its ability to protect against bone loss in osteoporosis, breast cancer, and heart disease is much improved if you start young.

Japanese and other women from the far east suffer much less from these illnesses and 50 per cent of them sail through the menopause without knowing what hot flushes are, compared with only 25 per cent of women in the west. A study in Japan of 27,435 women showed that strokes came down by 65 per cent and heart disease reduced by 63 per cent in the group that ate a lot of soya.

The health benefits:

  • Soya has a direct effect on LDL (harmful) blood cholesterol levels and displaces some other foods such as saturated fats – not only does it prevent cholesterol increasing but it can displaces it, lowering levels.
  • It is rich in polyunsaturated fats and effective at lowering the incidence of heart disease which is very high among women in Europe.
  • It can reduce hot flushes in menopausal women (by 88.5% in one trial*).
  • It can improve insomnia (by 63%*) in menopausal women.
  • Soya can protect against bone loss and prevent osteoporosis. A study showed a 1/3 reduction in fractures in women who ate a lot of soya.
  • Early intake of soya can protect against breast cancer – and is noticeably better the younger they eat just 12 to 15g a day.

How to take soya

At supermarkets and health food stores you can find soya milk, yoghurt, ice-cream, cheese, desserts and tofu made from soya beans. Alternatively you can take soya capsules.

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Dispelling myths about soya

There are a lot of myths about soya that are dispelled by experts (and much of this is disinformation deliberately put out by companies who do not want soya to become too popular). It has no noticeable effect on fertility and no effect on thyroid function.

See also The Cholesterol Myth

Is soya environmentally friendly?

And if you are concerned about the environment, the soya on sale as food in this country is not genetically modified, and is grown in north America. It is true that large swathes of Amazonian rainforest are cut back for soy crops to grow, but this is a different crop, which is genetically modified and fed to cattle. There is no concern about the effect on the environment of the supermarket brands.

Research cited

*A study in Menopause: The Journal of the North American Menopause Society, gave 38 women of 50 to 65 who suffered from hot flushes and insomnia 80mg soya isoflavones, or a placebo. There was an 88.5 per cent reduction in hot flushes, and 63 per cent improvement in insomnia in the women who were in the soya group. Hachul, H et al, Isoflavones decrease insomnia in post-menopause, Menopause, 18,2: (2010)

Food intolerance testing

In a survey commissioned by Allergy UK and carried out by the University of York it was found that three out of four people were suffering unnecessarily from food intolerances. After they had an intolerance test they cut out the foods that were causing them problems, and felt considerably better within three weeks.

Most of them (38 per cent) had gastro-intestinal problems, 13.7 per cent had skin problems, and the rest were respiratory, psychological, musculo-skeletal and random. The 5,286 men and women surveyed in the Testing Times study took the Yorktest 113 foodSCAN IgG (ELISA) blood test to identify their intolerances.

Not all allergies are to do with food – one of the best known allergens is pollen which accounts for thousands of people suffering hay fever in the spring and summer. They can also be the cause of asthma, eczema and irritable bowel syndrome. Symptoms include:

•runny nose
•upset stomach
•itchy eyes
•itchy skin and rashes
•bloated stomach and indigestion
•aches and pains
•painful sinuses
•headaches

Increase in allergies and intolerances

Every year 5 per cent more people including children develop allergies and this is believed to be due to the constant assault on our bodies by the environment – through pesticides in food, airborne pollution such as fumes from cars, and chemicals in our homes. The immune system becomes so worn down fighting all the alien substances it is coming into contact with that it becomes increasingly intolerant of a variety of foods and other substances.

Unfortunately the medical profession finds it hard to deal with allergies – there are not nearly enough allergy clinics in the UK to deal with the thousands of people who need them. More details on these clinics can be found on: www.bsaci.org/clinics

For more information: www.allergyuk.org

The Yorktest

The Yorktest FoodScan range contains three types of test:

  • The First Step Food Intolerance Test will tell you ‘yes’ or ‘no’ if you have a food intolerance, and costs £9.99
  • A FoodSCAN 113 Food Intolerance Test costs £265 tests for 113 food intolerances. The tests include a telephone consultation with a nutrition consultant, a year’s membership of Allergy UK, plus extra advice and support materials.
  • Vegetarian FoodSCAN Food Intolerance Test also costs £265 and includes the same as above, excluding meat products.

The 113 foodSCAN will provide you with all the information you need to start getting the best out of your health. The list of foods selected for this test covers the most commonly eaten foods in the UK.

All they need is a small sample of blood, which you can collect yourself at home. People taking the 113 foodSCAN have their sample analysed against specific foods and not groups of foods, and find the results easier to work with and obtain the best health improvements.

You will get a result for every single item on the list. The ‘green’ foods are the ones you can continue to eat normally. They do not appear to be causing your body to have an adverse reaction. The middle group, ‘amber’, displays the foods that you have shown a mild reaction to and should only be eaten once every four or five days. The ‘red’ list contains all the foods which you react strongly to and try to eliminate from your diet – the scores are on a scale of +1 to +4 with +4 being the highest. The ‘green’ list is usually much bigger than the other lists!

Benefits of using the 113 foodSCAN service:

* Comprehensive Guidebook, 12-Week Diary and Motivation booklet in a folder to help you achieve the best results
* Two telephone consultations with our qualified nutritionists, one of 30 minutes and one of 15 minutes with further consultations available for a fee
* Priority results turnaround service
* Handy results reminder card to keep in your purse or wallet

Case study:

Erica Hadley sat down to her first Christmas dinner in eight years knowing the food on her plate won’t be making her ill. The 24-year old Barnsley girl was living, day-to-day with a chronic case of Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) until a food intolerance test revealed turkey as one of the foods which were making her ill.

Sometimes it hurt so much it made me cry and I was in so much pain I couldn’t even stand up,’ said Erica. ‘I couldn’t go out, I didn’t sleep and always felt exhausted from the moment I got up on a morning.’

From the age of 16, Erica went back and forth to her GP and was prescribed several different types of painkillers. He eventually referred her to a specialist gastroenterologist when she was 18 who conducted a colonoscopy – a camera to look at the bowel – and a barium enema. The test didn’t show up anything and the specialist told Erica that there was nothing wrong with her.

Erica was reluctant to believe this. ‘I knew it couldn’t be true,’ said Erica.

Erica tried a varied mix of other treatments in a bid to combat her condition. It wasn’t until she was off sick from work and watching ITV’s ‘This Morning’ programme that she heard a presenter talking of the food intolerance test and decided to give it a go.

‘I didn’t expect it to work but I sent off for the test and received the kit in the post containing a small pinprick lancet and a small container to collect the two drops of blood needed.’

Erica took the YorkTest FoodScan 113 home food intolerance test in November 2005. The results showed she was intolerant to wheat, gluten, milk, lamb, turkey, millet, peaches, white fish, cashews, coffee, cola nut, hops, sunflower seeds, tea and yeast.

Within three days of eliminating these foods from her diet, the constant pain had reduced by about 90%. Luckily, Erica had never drunk coffee or tea, but she loved chocolate, so found the first two weeks incredibly hard. She is back to normal now and the improvement has continued. Another unexpected benefit is that her skin is much clearer and she is sleeping brilliantly.

Erica considers the home food intolerance test to be the best thing she has ever spent money on. Erica said that it was difficult at first finding things she could eat, but this has got far easier over time as she realises that there are actually a lot of products available on the market for those with food intolerances.

Vitamins and minerals – chart

On balance it can be better to take a multivitamin/mineral so that you know that you are getting a good spread of vitamins and minerals in the right doses. However, sometimes you need extra for a variety of reasons and this chart helps you to understand what these main vitamins and minerals do in the body.

They are vital to life, and many people believe they can get them all through their food. Sadly intensive farming, pollution and poor diets means that lots of us are not getting the nutrients we need. Young girls are often deficient in iron (see Vitamins – do I need them? and after a long winter Britons are usually lacking in Vitamin D (see Vitamin D deficiency due to lack of sun). Extra Vitamin C can prove invaluable in fighting minor problems like coughs and colds, but also more serious illnesses.

Supplement RDA Functions Food sources Safety & combinations Times to take Absorption and effectiveness adversely affected by:
Vitamin C 60mg (80mg smokers) Essential for producing collagen, promoting healthy skin, keeping arthritis away. Boosts immune system, alleviates allergic conditions. Fresh fruit, vegetables (particularly green leafy), tomatoes. Cannot overdose as kidneys excrete excess. Not advisable for kidney stone sufferers. Can dilute trycyclic antidepressants.Function assisted by combination with bio-flavonoids in citrus fruits, onions, berries, grapes, garlic. Several times a day. Easier on stomach at meal times but not essential Refined sugar, tobacco, aspirin, corticosteroids, oral contraceptives, fluoridated water.
Vitamin A 800 mg For healthy eyes, boosts the immune system, wards off infections, and fights free radicals that damage body cells. Fish oil, liver, whole cream milk, egg yolks. Excess levels can be very toxic.Assists absorption of zinc. Meal times – absorption assisted by dietary fat Alcohol, antacids, aspirin and corto-steroids
Vitamin B1 (Thiamin) 1.4mg Maintains healthy nervous system, can protect against arthritis, and is needed for energy production in the muscles. Whole grains, sunflower seeds, pork, seafood and beans. Non toxic in the short term. Can be toxic if excessive doses taken long term.Best taken as part of B complex Meal times Alcohol, coffee, refined sugar, tea, tobacco, antacids, antibiotics, oral contraceptives, diuretics
Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin) 1.6mg Needed when body is growing, for good vision, hair, skin and nails, and helps cells use oxygen efficiently. Liver, cheese, eggs, almonds, green leafy vegetables.B2 enhances the activity of B6. No known toxic effects. Colours urine yellow but this is harmless. Meal times Alcohol, coffee, refined sugar, tea, tobacco, antacids, antibiotics, oral contraceptives, diuretics
Vitamin B3 (Niacin – a combination of niacinamide and nicotinic acid) 18mg Breaks down protein, fat and carbohydrates, reduces cholesterol, stimulates ccreate hormones, cancer-protecting and keeps skin and digestive tract healthy. Nuts, pig’s liver, soya flour, wheat, peanut butter, potatoes. High doses can cause liver damage, so should be medically supervised.Advisable to take B complex. Vitamin C increases effectiveness Meal times Alcohol, coffee, refined sugar, tea, tobacco, antacids, antibiotics, oral contraceptives, diuretics
Vitamin D (Calciferol) 5 mg Maintains healthy bones, teeth and muscle function. Keeps heart and nervous system healthy.People in UK often deficient in spring because of lack of sunlight. From exposure to the sun, oily fish, eggs, milk, butter, cheese, green leafy vegetables. Excess causes too much calcium in the blood, leading to drowsiness, nausea, weakness, excessive thrist, abdominal pain, and eventually kidney damage.Helps absorption of zinc. D is best utilised with Vitamin A Meal times as absorption aided by dietary fats Alcohol and corto-steroids
Iron 14mg Required for manufacture of red blood cells. Red meat, wholegrains, pulses, nuts, green leafy vegetables, dried fruit. 100g dose is potentially lethal. Overdose more likely in children. Unnecessary iron supplements cause liver and heart damage, skin problems and diabetes.Supplement with Vitamin C at same time, to aid absorption Preferably away from mealtimes, but not essential. Not at the same time as calcium, zinc or Vitamin A. Bran, rhubarb, spinach, chocolate, milk, tetracycline antibiotics
Calcium 800mg For healthy bones, a natural tranquilliser, important role in blood clotting, and may help to prevent bowel cancer. Milk, milk products, beans, nuts, molasses and fruits. Excess is excreted but overdosing can cause kidney stones, weakness, constipation, abdominal pain, decreased appetite, nausea. Safer with magnesium. Not to be taken by kidney patients.Should be taken combined with magnesium. Absorption improved with presence of Vitamin D, A and iron Best time at night. Can be taken with or without food. Diuretic drugs, tetracycline antibiotics, coffee, spinach, chocolate, soft drinks (with phosphoric acid), refined sugar, tobacco, aspirin, wheat bran, excessive phosphorus or protein
Vitamin E 10mg Neutralises free radicals, protects against heart disease, strokes, arthritis, diabetes, and reduces incidence of blood clots. Good for healthy skin. Nuts, seeds, soya beans, wholegrains, lettuce, green vegetables. Over 800g occasionally linked with fatigue, nausea, stomach problems, palpitations and increased blood pressure. Not to be taken by diuretics and hyperthyroid sufferers.Assists in Selenium activity and vice-versa Meal times any time (one dose a day is sufficient) Alcohol, oral contraceptives
Magnesium 300mg Works with calcium and helps muscles to relax, releases energy from food, builds new cells and proteins. Vegetables (particularly organic), nuts, seeds, wholegrains. Excess excreted rapidly. Excessive doses can be dangerous if calcium levels are inadequate.Assists absorption of calcium and should be taken together. With or without food at any time of day Alcohol, coffee, excessive fat, wheat bran, soft drinks (with phosphoric acid), refined sugar, tea, diuretics, tetracycline drugs, excessive phosphorus
Selenium No RDA available Works with Vitamin E to neutralise free radicals that damage healthy cells. Eliminates toxic metals such as mercury and lead, fights infection, eases menopausal symptoms, gives energy, and helps produce health sperm in men. Shellfish, brazil nuts, wholegrains. Above 750mg can cause side-effects such as hair loss, tooth decay, nail problems, poor appetite and digestion, skin problems.Supplements should be accompanied by Vitamin E Meal times Alcohol
Zinc 15mg Essential for healthy immune system, helping to fight infection. Vital for normal growth in children, healthy hair, skin and nails. Wholegrains, nuts, seeds, ginger root, brewer’s yeast, fish, seafood, meat. Excess can cause nausea, vomiting and fever, dizziness and drowsiness.Requires Vitamin A for absorption. Meal times for stomach tolerance Better absorbed away from milk, eggs and cereal. Interferes with tetracyclines
Evening Primrose Oil Unavailable Can alleviate PMS symptoms and encourage healthy skin. In supplement form only. Occasional nausea, headaches and skin problems when first taken. Not to be taken with drugs for schizophrenia; or by epileptics Meal times, but not on an empty stomach Linseed and blackcurrant oil inhibit EPO
Fish Oils Unavailable Healthy brain development, good for the heart, helps keeps joints mobile. Can stave off dementia. Oily fish – salmon, tuna, sardines, herrings, mackerel. Plant sources: linseeds (flaxseed). High doses to be medically supervised. Should be avoided by those taking blood thinning drugs.Not to be taken when you have gallstones. Meal times to avoid nausea
Vitamin B12 (Cobalamin) 1 mg Manufactures red blood cells, maintains healthy nerves. Found in oily fish, egg yollk and liver. No toxic effects from overdosing.Advisable to take B complex and add B6 supplement if required` Meal times, throughout the day if on high doses Alcohol, coffee, refined sugar, tea, tobacco, antacids, antibiotics, oral contraceptives, diuretics
Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine) 2mg Balances hormonal changes during PMT in women, so is helpful to ease symptoms, maintains healthy function of immune system. Eggs, beans, walnuts, wheatgerm, sunflower seeds, liver and kidney. Too much (2g to 7g) can bring about numbness in extremities. Should not be taken with anticonvulsant or Parkinson’s medication.Advisable to take B complex and add B6 supplement if required` Meal times throughout the day if on high doses Alcohol, coffee, refined sugar, tea, tobacco, antacids, antibiotics, oral contraceptives, diuretics
Vitamin B5 Supports the adrenal glands, helps to combat stress, maintains healthy skin, muscles and nerves, and helps to release energy from food. Nuts, wheatgerm, pulses, eggs, pig’s liver. High doses of over 10g a day could cause diarrhoea Best taken with other B vitamins, Vitamin C, calcium and sulphur.

From information provided by Solgar Vitamins, Quest’s Professional Product Manual, The Vitamin Alphabet by Dr Christina Scott-Moncrieff, and the Council for Responsible Nutrition

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