10 Surprising Foods That Lower Your Immune System

With the onslaught of cold and flu season, the looming of the H1N1 virus, and shortage of vaccines, it makes more and more sense to do what you can at home for your immune system. An easy way to do this is to avoid the surprising and not so surprising foods that lower your immune system. They are listed below, along with a few myths regarding it.

Surprising Foods That Lower Your Immune System
Be sure to avoid these to ensure a healthy immune system, fewer missed work days, and avoidance of the doctor’s office.

1. Fatty Breakfasts : Don’t start your day off wrong by making your body take on a load of fat first thing in the morning. Not only is it bad for your waist line, but it can make your body focus on fat busting instead of the germ busting it should be doing. According to this report from ABC News, the fattiest breakfast you can eat is the Cinnabon Regular Caramel Pecanbun. It has 56 grams of fat, or the same as eight hamburgers. Instead, they recommend getting the Cinnabon Stix if you must breakfast there.


Source : msnbcmedia4.msn.com

2. Soda : These sugary drinks can contain anywhere from 30 to 50 grams of sugar in just one can. So imagine the damage a few sodas a day can do. According to “Associated Content,” sugar can lower your immune system just ten minutes after you drink it. The acid found in colas can also do damage to your intestinal tract, which allows germs to enter. Even diet sodas can hurt your immune system. The aspartame found in them can harm neutral cells within the body, making more room for infectious ones.
3. Foods That Keep You Awake : Because the body does a lot of building and recovering during sleep, it is important not to eat anything harmful that will keep you up and potentially lower your immune system. An obvious choice to stay away from is caffeine including coffee, tea, colas, and chocolate. Alcohol is another bad choice for those wanting to get a good night sleep. It is also a good idea to not eat large meals or drink anything before bed time to ensure restful sleep.
4. Olestra : A few years ago, this fat substitute was introduced in foods such as potato chips. The idea was to have a replacement for the unhealthy fat found in these fried foods. However, given all of the problems found in Olestra, from indigestion to others, it was found to be just about as destructive as the fat it was substituting. Olestra has also been shown to bind with vitamins A, E, D, and K, along with carotenoids, which have been thought to keep the immune system healthy. These vitamins have also been shown to help prevent certain cancers.
5. A Multi-vitamin : You read that right. It’s not that a multi-vitamin is going to lower your immune system, it’s that it can fool you into thinking you have had enough vitamins for the day. Dawn Jackson Blatner is a dietician who believes that the best vitamins come from foods. In particular, the combination of certain foods like good old fashioned chicken soup, can be far more effective than popping a vitamin pill.

Surprising Myths on Lowering Your Immune System
Rethink how you fight colds and boost your immune system by having a look at these myths surrounding it.

Source : stltoday.com

6. Acidic Foods Increase Acid :  Because the gastrointestinal tract is thought to effect the immune system, there are those who believe that eating acidic foods will damage the lining. However, according to Alice of Columbia University, digesting a grapefruit is like throwing a bucket of salt water into the ocean. It is acidic, but not nearly as much as the acids naturally found in your stomach and intestines. Those who are still concerned about acidic foods can find a list of the foods that contain the most, such as lemons and vinegar.
7. Lemon Wedges Can Make You Sick : We’ve all seen the studies performed on this and other drink garnishes at restaurants. The fact is in the hands of a restaurant with low health standards, a lemon and anything else handled poorly can make you sick. However, the original study did not test if the germs found on the lemons were harmful to humans or in a disproportionate larger portion. In fact, it was also shown that germs have a hard time surviving on a lemon’s surface and restaurant patrons do not eat the lemon rind.
8. Nuts Are Good For You :  In moderate proportion, this is true. However, where you eat them is what can cause illness. If at a bar, party, or any other social event, stay away from the peanut bowl. Your hands may be clean and sanitary, but those of the other guests are a mystery. There is also the added negative that many get saliva on their fingers to consume these nuts before again reaching into the bowl.
9. Flu Shots Temporarily Weaken Your Immune System : Not according to WebMD. In fact, they point out that the flu vaccine is designed especially to strengthen your immune system by injecting a mild form of the flu virus for it to fight. Although those who get a flu shot can still get the flu, chances are it will be a more mild version of the flu. Side effects of the shot include fever and aches that can also be mistaken for the flu.
10. A Weakened Immune System Causes a Cold : This may be true for some, but even those with a healthy immune system can still get a cold, according to CommonCold.org. They link to a study that showed that 95% of those exposed to the cold virus through their noses developed it. Of those, 75% showed symptoms of a cold. Other immune system myths such as central heating and external temperature are examined.

Many things such as stress and improper hand washing can lower your immune system. However, those watching what they eat and drink can also have a leg up. By taking stock of these ten surprising foods and myths that lower your immune system, you could sail through cold and flu season with no problem.

If you feel a cold coming on, try checking out these top ten foods to beat it and boost your immune system.

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 25th, 2009 at 12:52 am and is filed under Blog. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.