More Probiotics And Less Sugar For Improved Immmunity

As we head into winter, the time of year of flu, coughs and colds, caring for your immune system is more important than ever. Probiotics, the trillions of bacterial organisms that inhabit your gut and take on a significant role in your immunity, are the most efficient at their job when you're leading a healthy way of life. The fundamentals of optimum health are eating nutritious foods, exercising and getting enough relaxation and sleep.

One of the most damaging things you can do to your immune system is eat too much sugar. And sugar, as research has shown, is the most addictive food in modern society-- it causes cravings and the more you eat, the more you want. Can you eat just one square of chocolate?

Back in the 1970s Dr Linus Pauling, who made the renowned finding that Vitamin C helps to fight the common cold, also discovered in his research that excess sugar severely hampers the ability of the good bacteria in our bodies to demolish the toxic bacteria, in some cases by as much as 75 %. In doing so, it also restricts the body's ability to absorb what Vitamin C we do consume. Excess sugar can be equal to 20 teaspoons of sugar, or the amount contained in two average 12 ounce sodas. This immune suppressing effect of sugar starts less than 30 minutes after ingestion and may last for up to 5 hours. So if you're eating sugary foods all day, your immune system is constantly functioning at a low, which is when you're more likely to become ill.

Here are some other ways excess sugar can impact your immunity:

Most sugar is lacking nutrients and it actually requires nutrients to digest it, so it's depleting your body of vitamins and minerals

It may promote inflammation of the cells, manifesting as joint pain or even colds

It causes fluctuations in your insulin levels, which can eventually lead to diabetes

Research has shown that cancer cells feed on sugar, so excess sugar is a high risk factor for cancer

All of the above situations mean that the good bacteria are diverted away from their normal functions of safeguarding you from the bad bacteria to handling those particular crises, leaving your body wide open for attack.

How can you prevent that happening? The glib reply is to quit sugar, but that's easier said than done. Some experts recommend giving up all sugar, including fruit, for 30 days to purge yourself of the addiction, then gradually introduce small amounts of sugar by eating healthy food such as fruit and raw honey.

In fact, it's been shown that the sugar in fruit, called fructose, is well tolerated by the body as the fibre and vitamins in fruit assist the fructose to be quickly absorbed-- as long as you're not eating excessive quantities. Two pieces of fruit a day are considered to be more than adequate for the body's needs.

The solution is to remove all sugary processed foods such as cookies, cakes, soda, chocolate, candy etc and also to reduce the amount of canned food you purchase, as much of it incorporates high levels of sugar. If you're a person who eats a good deal of sugary food everyday, cutting out all those foods will make a huge difference to your health and sense of well-being.

Furthermore, it's a good idea to take a probiotic supplement, which will help build up your stores of natural probiotics while you're improving your eating habits and help protect you from those winter afflictions.