7 Ways To Avoid Holiday Colds & Flu

As we smack on into the cold and flu season, building your immunity becomes more important than ever. Here are 7 interesting ways experts say you can protect your health during the winter holiday season - By Colette Bouchez

Winter is almost officially here and it’s not just Santa Claus who’s comin’ to town. Cold and flu season is hitching a ride and on it's way too!

In a perfect world, your immune system goes to work as soon as those germs make a landing, producing powerful killer cells to attack that cold or flu and keep you from getting sick.

But many factors in our life and our lifestyle - including our age - can sometimes compromise that immunity, making it harder to fight germs and stay healthy, particularly during the winter season.

While some studies show taking herbs like Echinacea, ginseng, and astragalus can help -and a flu vaccine offers important protection too – there are also a variety of things you can do to boost your immune power during the winter season – and get the optimal protection you need to greet the New Year with good health as well as good cheer!

To help get you started, here 7 fun and unique ways experts say you can boost your immunity and stay healthier throughout the holiday season.

1. Eat more yogurt - Few folks realize that a good deal of our immune protection begins in the gut, where one of the first germ-fighting battles begins. To help give your body the ammunition it needs to fight, add more yogurt to your diet, say Jacob Teitlebaum, MD, Medical Director of the nationwide Fibromyalgia and Fatigue Centers. Why? Teitlebaum says yogurt is a great source of “probiotics” – the “friendly “ bacteria that help your tummy fend off germs and bacteria – and can help you fight off a cold or flu.

2. Eat less sugar - What’s a holiday season with out sweets, right? A little bit is okay – but eat too much and you could end up not only adding on a few pounds but also increasing your risk of getting sick. Why? According to preventive medicine specialist Mark Moyad, MD, Director of Preventive & Alternative Medicine at the University of Michigan Medical Center, “The sugar in just one can of soda can decrease immune function by up to 30% for three hours - it mmobilizes immune cells and impacts their ability to surround bacteria and destroy it.”

3. Donate Blood - Not only will you help someone else, but you’ll also get a “feel good “ boost to your immune system which can help you fight off germs. But more important, Moyad says that giving blood reduces your overall iron content – and since bacteria feed on iron reducing levels can help “starve” germs so they can’t multiply as quickly or attack as hard.

4. Drink Matcha Tea – The key here is powerful levels of antioxidants – nutrients that help increase your resistance to infection. According to pharmacist Suzy Cohen RPh, nothing beats the antioxidant power of Matcha tea – a powdered form of ground up green tea leaves sold under many brand names and available online and in most health food stores. Cohen says that just one cup of Matcha tea nets you the antioxidant power found in up to 10 cups of regular green tea – and up to 100 times the antioxidant power of vitamins C and E.

5. Watch The Wine – While wine is good for your heart and your overall health, drink too much and Moyad says you depress your immune system. Too much wine, says Moyad, can reduce the nutritional content in your blood stream, dropping levels of omega 3 fatty acids and vitamin C – both important for fight off germs, he says. Moreover, if you want to prevent those “travel colds “ that seem to pop up after a plane trip, don’t drink in flight. Moyad says this can help reduce your risk of picking up a cold or flu germ present in the plane or at the airport.

6. Smile! - According to studies published by Loma Linda University in California brain chemicals linked to immunity increase when we laugh – or even think about something funny. So rent a funny movie, watch your favorite sit com or just think about people that make you smile – all of it can help you stay healthier through the season!

7. Have more Sex - A study from Wilkes University in Wilkes-Barre Pennsylvania found that men and women who had one to two sexual encounters per week had a 30% increase in IgA – antigens that are found in saliva and in the mucous membranes and are considered the first line of defense against cold and flu viruses. Exactly how or why sexual activity causes an increase is not well understood but … do you really need a reason? :)

You might also enjoy reading:
Yogurt: The New Old Wonder Food

Food Fight: Don't Rely On Will Power To Lose Weight

And remember to visit www.RedDressDiary.com - Your Health & Beauty Source for Fabulous Women Over 40!

Copyright by Colette Bouchez 2009 - All Rights Reserved.
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New Studies Reveal Summer Foods That Fight Disease

You know how I just love to pass a long good food – good health tips – and this week we have a bumper crop of new studies showing that when it comes to disease prevention, your summer picnic basket may be your body’s best defense!

In fact, if you’re someone who’s always looked at the word “diet” as a means to shave off a few pounds so that red dress fits a little better, then it’s time to update your good health vocabulary.

Today, diet – or more precisely our daily eating habits – increasingly play a role in not just how we good we look, but also how good we feel.

And it’s not just the foods we avoid that matter. Certainly reducing your intake of trans fats and saturated fats is important. But so is increasing your intake of some of the foods that research shows can cut your risk of disease – including cancer.

So get ready for a summer picnic of delicious, health-preserving foods!


Cut Colon Cancer Risk 76% With Iced Tea!
New research shows that natural compounds found in tea as well as several fruits and vegetables have a direct impact on reducing the risk of advanced colon cancer –up to a whopping 76% for some!

The new report featured in this month’s journal Cancer, Epidemiology Biomarkers and Prevention focuses on a natural compound known as flavonols found in fruits and vegetables. But if you think you’ve heard it all before, guess again.

This study found that overall fruits and veggies rich in compounds known as flavonoids – like Brussels sprouts - aren’t all that effective on colon cancer prevention. But, when you look deeper at a subgroup of foods containing compounds called “flavonols” - you get a much different risk reduction picture, particularly when it comes to colon cancer.

The new National Cancer Institute study involved over 2,000 men and women who were randomly assigned to either a low fat, high fiber, fruit and veggie-rich diet, or a “normal” diet.

After factoring out the effect of fiber, as well as taking into consideration each patient’s age, BMI, gender, and even the use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications (all of which can influence the risk of colon cancer) researchers found that a higher intake of not only fruits and vegetables containing 6 key flavonols, but also tea - resulted in a 76% reduction in the recurrence of advanced colon tumors.

This backs up a 2006 Italian study reported in the same journal which found that overall, the risk of colon cancer could be reduced by as much as 40% in healthy folks.

According to the World Health Organiztion 1 million new cases of colon cancer are diagnosed world-wide each year, with genetics accounting for less than 5 percent.

To discover the other flavonol-rich foods to toss into your picnic basket – and the picnic basket recipes that use them - click here.

Stop Arthritis With Pomegranates
Some say that pomegranates were the true forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden! But today scientists say that this juicy sweet-tart California treat may give you the same kind of anti-inflammatory protection against arthritis pain, as drugs known as Cox-1 and Cox-2 inhibitors – without the risk of stomach bleeding and upset.

Writing in the Journal of Inflammation, researchers from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, found that several key substances found in pomegranates appear to reduce inflammatory-related breakdown of the protective cushy cartilage between bones – a major cause of osteoarthritis - as well as reducing the production of inflammatory factors related to arthritis pain and progression.

More specifically, the study found that not only were blood levels of antioxidants substantially higher after animals were fed extracts of pomegranates, at the same time levels of inflammatory chemicals known as COX-1 and COX –2 - were reduced by as much as 26%. These are the same chemicals targeted by some of the arthritis pain medications recently taken off the market.

The researchers say that in time, pomegranates may become a realistic alternative to NSAIDs – non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs – medications that also work to reduce inflammation, but have been linked to an increased risk of gastrointestinal bleeding.

Previous studies have also linked pomegranates to heart health and protection against prostate cancer.

For terrific summer recipes using pomegranates, click here!


Eat Cranberries – Reduce Ulcer Risk
By now you probably know that cranberry juice can help reduce the risk of urinary tract infections. But the really big news is that it may also help eradicate the bacteria linked to ulcers – specifically the Helicobacter pylori – or H-pylori infection now believed to be a significant cause of peptic ulcers.

In a report published in the current issue of the journal Nutrition, researchers write that cranberry juice as well as a probiotic or “good “ bacteria known as lactobacillus johnsonii were effective in reducing levels of H-pylori bacteria in the gastrointestinal tracts of children between the ages of 6 and 16 – by as much as 23% compared to just 1% in the control group.

The multi-center randomized, double blinded placebo controlled study involved 271 children with documented H-pylori infections. The research pitted cranberry juice alone, vs. cranberry juice infused with the probiotics, vs. several placebo combinations. The children drank the juices – about 200 ml – daily for three weeks.

The result: Both the lactobacillus and the cranberry juice drinks worked well against the H-pylori bacteria – but if you’re thinking that the combination of the two will pack an even greater punch, stop right there! The study also found there was no statistically significant boost in healing when the two were combined.

In addition to being leading cause of ulcers, H-pylori bacteria is also linked to gastritis, and those infected with the bacteria have an increased risk of developing a specific type of lymphoma as well as gastric cancer.

Previous studies have reported that cranberry juice as well as probiotics can prevent many types of harmful bacteria from clinging to tissue in the mouth, as well as the urinary and gastrointestinal tracts.

For a delicious cranberry cooler recipe that will quench your thirst and protect your tummy, click here.

Kiwi Fruit Boosts Immunity
Finally, when packing that picnic basket be sure to toss in a few kiwi fruits – those sweet little green treats native to California. Indeed, new research published this week in the journal Food and Agricultural Immunity revealed the power of kiwi fruit to help the body manufacture antibodies and other immune cells used to identify and destroy processes that would otherwise be harmful to our health.

The well-controlled animal study conducted by scientists at Bioactives Research New Zealand, found that mice that nibbled on kiwifruit produced significantly more antibodies against two different types of vaccines than the mice that had no kiwi desserts.

Experts attribute the protective effects of Kiwi to their high vitamin C and E content –which is much greater than most other fruits. Kiwis also contain a high but well balanced level of carotenoid antioxidants, which have been found to boost resistance to disease. Finally, kiwi fruit is also high in fiber making it a good choice for helping to control blood sugar and aid the gastrointestinal tract. Find a great summer kiwi recipe here.

For more information on the foods featured in these studies – including tantalizing summer Here’s To Your Health recipes visit www.RedDressDiary.com.