The other week, one of our clients, Alison, asked the following question:

“With the flu season around the corner – and this year they say it will be nasty (H1N1) – is there some great morning and neon shakes / drinks that we can prepare to better arm our system. I have 3 kids 8, 10 and 12 and I want to start their day off right. Taste is important too – cause if its not tasty – I will get a lot of push-back. Also – are there some additives (minerals/oils) that I can add to the drink to help too. Again – being cautious on taste – since kids can be very pick!!!”

This is a great question because it really forces us to look at how we get sick and what we can do to remain healthy and prevent illness. After all, our health care system is really a sick care system – it’s not about prevention but treatment of disease.

So with your well-being in mind let’s look at some strategies to boost your immune system to prevent getting sick and to build lasting health and vitality.

Alkalize and Oxygenate Your Body

This is almost the same thing since alkalinity brings more oxygen into your body. The reason it is important to alkalize and oxygenate your body is that “unfriendly” micro-organisms do not flourish in oxygen-rich environments.

For instance, cancer has been shown to flourish in acidic, oxygen-deprivated tissues, yet will literally die off when exposed to high oxygen environments inside the body. That’s why one of the most important things you can do to prevent (and treat) cancer is drink (and eat) lots of greens – which are the highest source of alkalinity on the planet. It’s actually too bad that the medical establishment doesn’t even know about the power of greens for improving the vitality of the human body.

Some of my favourite strategies for alkalizing my body (and those of my clients) are the following:

- green juices (my favourite contains kale, celery, cucumber, parsley, lemon, ginger, and apple)
- green smoothies (one of my favourites has spinach, spirulina, apple, banana, and lime juice)
- wheat grass shots (just 1 oz has the nutritional value of 2 lbs of vegetables)
- barley grass powder added to water (very similar properties as wheat grass)
- lemon water throughout the day

All of these nutritional strategies will add tremendous alkalinity (ie. alkalizing minerals such calcium, potassium, magnesium) to your body and create an internal physiology that prevents bacteria, viruses, and other nasty critters from spreading!

Avoid Refined Sugar

This is an important. Entire books have been written on the body-decaying effects that sugar brings about. From an immune system perspective, it has been shown that as little as 1 tablespoon of refined sugar can depress your immune system for up to 6 hrs! Moreover, sugar curtails the action of the immune system’s lymphocytes and other “foreign invader-killing” cells.

If you want to avoid getting sick and want to skyrocket your health, minimizing or avoiding refined sugars may be one of the most important things you do.

Fortify Your Defenses with Natural Immune Boosters

I’m not a fan of antibiotics – not by a long shot. They actually create more sickness (or business) for the health care system to deal with.

In order to avoid having to use them, you need to eat a clean whole foods diet (preferably raw) and you can further boost your defenses with the following natural weapons:

Garlic – it’s active ingredient – allicin – is an incredible natural “anti-everything” will fend off bacteria, viruses, fungi, and much more.

Oregano oil – wow! If there’s one thing you need in your medicine cabinet it’s this powerful essential oil. Anytime you feel any kind of cold coming on, just drink 1-2 drops of oregano oil with 1 oz of water a few times a day and you’ll be feeling in no time. Oregano oil also kills off the unwanted yeast – candida albicans!

Probiotics – Having good bacteria to balance out the 400 different types of mico-organisms in your colon will definitely support your immune system. Your best source will come from supplementation but naturally fermented foods and drinks like miso, sauerkraut, and kombucha are also good food-based sources.

Not only are these tips great for builing your immune system but they will obviously create a strong foundation for great health.