Are You a Resistant Host?
Are You a Resistant Host?
October 31st opened the holiday season of 2021 into 2022. Are you ready? Do you love sharing hospitality and opening your home for the holidays? Perhaps you have different guest lists for various events and gatherings. It’s the season to invite and to be invited. With all this festivity, most of us wouldn’t consider ourselves a resistant host. That odd expression may be a guide to help you create optimal health.
Many years ago I attended a wellness conference and heard a highly esteemed expert in his field of psychoneuroimmunology (the study of the interactions among behavioral, neural, endocrine and immune processes) say: “We should not concern ourselves with fighting-attacking-killing- beating a disease (pathogen), but rather focus on creating an internal environment that is inhospitable to it.” In other words, become a resistant host.
By not offering favorable conditions for pathogens (virus, bacterium, fungi, protozoa, worms), they cannot survive and reproduce in your inner terrain. These infectious micro-organisms bring distress and dis-ease to their host.
In the same manner that you prepare your guest list for an event, you may want to consider the unwanted guests in your body. Some of us may have a crazy uncle that brings an element of uncertainty to the party, but at least we know he will depart at the end of the event! Pathogens may linger and continue their destruction.
With all the health uncertainties going on in the world today, nurturing a strong immune system is vital to overall health and wellness. As the “cold-flu-illness” season approaches here are a few ways to prep your immune system and resist unwanted guests:
• Consider your daily dietary intake: include whole, fresh, organic (when possible) unprocessed foods. Eat a variety of colors, textures, flavors to get a variety of phytonutrients.
• Shift from Summer (cooling) foods, to Autumn/Winter (warming) foods, to strengthen your metabolic function.
• Eliminate the C.R.A.P. (Colorings, Refined flours/sugars, Additives-Artificial ingredients, Processed foods). These products weaken your body’s immune function.
• Drink plenty filtered water. “If you aren’t drinking filtered water, your body becomes the filter” (Dr. Mark DeBrincat). Add citrus slices, fresh peppermint or rosemary sprigs for flavoring.
• Reduce the sugar! Refined sugar consumption promotes elevated triglycerides and lower HDL (good) cholesterol, leads to obesity which is linked to diabetes and heart disease, as well as liver disease, dementia, certain cancers and depression. Look for healthier, more natural sources of sweeteners and use smaller amounts.
• Sweat! Keep the consistency in physical activity in every season. Your body is designed to cleanse and detox, so support this function with daily activity. Even a walk through your neighborhood keeps all systems moving.
• Try immune-boosting recipes. Include herbs and spices with medicinal properties that maximize nutrient density. Prevent “dys-nutrition.” Check out this short list:
+ Basil - A strong protective herb providing anti-inflammatory properties, digestive restoration, and respiratory strength (when taken as a tea).
+ Thyme - A good immune builder (high in Vitamins C & A), that reduces coughing, lowers cholesterol and blood pressure.
+ Cayenne and Cinnamon - Improve circulation with their warming properties.
+ Turmeric - Known for its cancer fighting properties.
+ Garlic - A well-known natural “antibiotic” type herb that can be added to many recipes. It boosts natural defense cells to activate against harmful invaders.
+ Nature’s “Farmacy" provides many medicinal choices to help you stay healthy and strong. A healthy and strong gut help build a healthy and strong immune system.
• Thoughts can make you well, or make you sick: Think about what you are thinking about! Positive, optimistic, encouraging thoughts stimulate your immune system to function optimally. An article published in the New Scientist journal revealed that brain activity shows a connection between negative thoughts/emotions and a lower immune response against disease. Visualize your body being exceptionally healthy and strong. Believe it. Live it.
• Include the seasonal supplements that ward off infections; Vitamin C & D, zinc, elderberry, echinacea, and use them wisely, according to your wellness needs.
• Get Adequate Rest! A tired body becomes a sick body. Enough. Said.
In my many years teaching and writing about wellness, I have shared the belief that wellness is not so much about the “cure” as it is cultivating a strong inner terrain. Make this the season that you become a “resistant host” to lurking microbes so that you may live your most robust season!