As the winter months approach, many of us get out our bottles of cod liver oil and start taking preventive doses to ward off flu viruses and keep the winter blues from setting in. The vitamin D content of cod liver oil tends to get most of the credit for the above benefits (and rightly so), but there are actually a couple of other factors at work to make cod liver oil a fantastic cool-weather supplement:

• Cod liver oil supplies a natural form of activated vitamin A. Vitamin A is necessary for immunity (white blood cells actually require vitamin A in order to mature properly) and a deficiency in vitamin A can be related to fatigue. Most of the negative press surrounding vitamin A has been related to synthetic forms, such as those found in acne medications. However, excessive intake of natural forms that require conversion and activation by the body, such as beta carotene which requires zinc for activation, can cause problems. People with altered vitamin A metabolism (such as alcoholics) should still be careful to watch total vitamin A intake.
• Cod liver oil is a balanced source of highly absorbable omega-3 fatty acids. Some of the signs of inadequate omega-3 intake include depression, lowered immunity, weakness, fatigue, lethargy, dry skin, dry hair, dry eyes, frequent infection, and irritability. Foods that are richest in omega 3 fats include cold-water fish, egg yolks from pastured hens, flax seed and flax oil, and walnuts.

For more detailed information on cod liver oil, see the article Cod Liver Oil: The Number One Superfood which is available on the Weston Price Foundation website, www.westonaprice.org.

Probiotics (also known as “friendly bacteria”) are an integral part of immunity and may be a key to prevention during cold and flu season.  There are a variety of strains of friendly bacteria, all of which work in concert to help to maintain a healthy intestinal tract and provide a barrier to invading organisms while encouraging your immune system to fight off illness and disease.  The amount of probiotics in your body is constantly fluctuating so it is important to replenish the levels of friendly bacteria in order to keep harmful bacteria and other pathogenic organisms from growing out of control.  Stress, poor diet, and antibiotic use may all lead to loss of probiotics which in turn may cause gastrointestinal problems, digestive problems, and many other health issues.

To restore lost probiotics and keep the balance of bacteria in the body healthy, include plenty of naturally cultured or fermented foods in your diet and use a probiotic supplement during times when you need an extra boost such as flu season or times of stress.  A few examples of naturally cultured or fermented foods include kefir, yogurt, sauerkraut or other cultured vegetables, and kombucha.  For information on how to make your own cultured and fermented foods see the “Cultured Dairy Products” and “Fermented Vegetables & Fruits” section of the cookbook Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon.  There are also several probiotic-rich fermented food recipes available at the Body Ecology Diet website’s recipe section.

Today I wanted to talk a little bit about tinctures.

WHAT ARE TINCTURES?

Herbal tinctures are what you end up with after you take parts of herbs or plants and soak them in alcohol for a few weeks.  (Non-alcoholic tinctures are made from herbs soaked in glycerin, water or apple cider vinegar.) After you strain the plant material out of the mix, you have a concentrated extract of the herbs or plants.  Depending on what combinations of herbs you use, tinctures can be therapeutic, medicinal, preventive or even life-saving.

For example, one of the most important first-aid tinctures is Cayenne.  This tincture may be able to help stop a heart attack, slow or stop bleeding and revive someone from unconsciousness. 

 WHY USE TINCTURES?
 
Tinctures are an easy way to get a concentrated dose of the healing properties of the herbs you are using.  Especially when the herbs are extracted in a base of 80 – 100% alcohol, your body can absorb the tincture quickly and put it to work!  When I feel myself coming down with something, the first thing I reach for is my bottle of Immune Boost.  It helps me fight off all the bad bugs fast!! 

Another of my favorite tinctures for fighting colds or flu is Super Force, which is onions, garlic, horseradish and peppers soaked in apple cider vinegar.  I even take it when I’m not sick because I like the taste of it so much.  Some people I know will mix it with olive oil to make an immune boosting salad dressing.

WHAT KIND OF TINCTURES SHOULD I USE?

Always look for tinctures where the best, organic and wild-grown herbs and plants are used.  That way you can be sure you are not getting any herbicides and pesticides along with your extracts. 

Next, make sure that the tinctures are full strength, not diluted or watered down so that you receive the full benefit from taking them.

You can easily make your own tinctures at home if you have the time.  There are many different websites explaining how to do this.  If you are short on time, you can order them for very reasonable prices from Marilyn Farms, with the full assurance that you are getting a product that is safe and full-strength.

I have been finalizing my lecture for this weekend’s webinar on immunity and thought I’d share with you a few of the exciting things I’ve been learning while researching this topic! 

• Most people over 60 years old have natural antibodies to swine flu in their blood because their parents were exposed to the 1918 flu virus.

• Having sufficient levels of healthy bacteria in your gut makes it less likely that you’ll suffer side effects from vaccinations containing thimerosol (mercury).

• All of us have cancer cells in our bodies all the time, but for most of us our immune system continually identifies and destroys them before they are ever able to take hold and grow into a tumor.

• Occasional exposure to children that have chicken pox boosts your natural immunity and helps keep you from getting shingles, an adult expression of the chicken pox virus.

• Mild childhood infections (cold or flu, chicken pox, strep throat, etc.) help the immune system mature and may play a part in preventing autoimmune disease as an adult.

• Regular use of nasal irrigation, such as with a neti pot, can drastically reduce the likelihood of catching the flu even if you have been exposed to the virus because it keeps the virus from reproducing in the nasal cavity and causing infection.

This is just a “teaser” so if you want to learn more you have to attend the webinar!  To register, click here

Registration cutoff is Saturday morning, so make sure you get in before that!

As we head out of summer and into the cooler months, the attention on cold and flu season starts to set in.  That attention has definitely been amplified this year with all the press surrounding different strains of the flu!  There is a lot you can do to prevent the flu including diet, lifestyle, and in some cases medication, but I thought to take this blog entry to provide info on zinc.  

Zinc is one of the most important nutrients for immunity, and can usually be obtained from the diet if attention is given to eating protein rich foods (although extra may be needed in supplement form if you are around people who are sick with a cold or flu or if you are starting to show symptoms). 

Below is a link to an in-depth entry on zinc from the Linus Pauling Micronutrient Center that also includes a table listing amounts of the mineral found in several zinc-rich foods.  Happy eating!

http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/infocenter/minerals/zinc/

In preparing for our next webinar, which will be on immunity and will take place on October 24th, I came across an interesting article from 1930.  Here is the link:

http://www.westonaprice.org/archive/wap2.html

It is written by Weston A. Price, a dentist that traveled the world looking at the traditional diets of natives, and who just happens to be one of my favorite nutrition voices.  The text is a bit antiquated, as the article was published in the Journal of the American Dental Association in 1930, but the information is as pertinent today as it was then.

Please note that he talks a lot about dairy products, as in his day he had free access to raw milk which is a pure and undamaged food, but today if you don’t have access to unprocessed dairy (either in unpasteurized, low-temp pasteurized, or non-homogenized form) I would recommend getting the nutrients discussed in this article from other food sources such as grassfed meat, seafood and cod liver oil.

Happy reading!