Recommended ways to build up your Immune System ?

[KarlC]

Id like to know what you have found that works for you.

[batman1425]

Eat right, stay hydrated, get adequate sleep, and try to eliminate unnecessary stress. Essentially just try to treat your body nicely.

[CNY rider]

Define "Build up your immune system" please.

[Geeheeb]

some evidence that beta-glucan in bakers and nutritional yeast can boost immune function

[Mzilliox]

Both of the above are good. Not knowing anything about your current habits:

Eat healthy is the answer to everything. If it says diet on it it is not healthy, its crap. literally stop eating fast food and soda, and cut back as much as possible on processed carbs. stop eating industrial food, and stop eating things laced with things designed to kill micro flora. and Cut way back on meat, waaaaaay back. we are seriously dirt averse to our own demise here. stop with the idea everything must always be clean. if it kills stuff on your kitchen counter or on the produce, it kills flora in your belly and body too.

make as much of your own food as you can.

stop drinking alcohol

dont take medications unless your being alive requires it. medications kill lots of things.

roll around in the dirt

play outside more

keep riding your bike, but only as much as you like to.

life is too short, and even shorter for some, so enjoy it

do these things and your immune system wont have to worry too much

[MattTuck]

I think team sky has a good regimen for losing weight while staying healthy.


also, wash your hands a lot. :)

[AngryScientist]

stop drinking alcohol



alcohol kills germs, duh.

seriously though, that was a good list.

i would add, try and get enough sleep, sleep is important.

[vqdriver]

sleep and water go a long way

[2metalhips]

Eat plants, whole grains, fruits, veggies. No dead animals or dairy or processed foods.

[KarlC]

I starting this thread because I get sick several times a year, and usually each time it last for 2-3 weeks. Its just common bugs that are going around, but I seem to catch them ezaly from others.

Me and My current habits....

- I'm 6ft 180lbs and in my early 50s (most people think Im in my 40s)
- I try and sleep 7-8 hours a night, more when I am sick.
- I have never smoked or done drugs
- I only take medications if badly needed
- I do take some vitamins and herbs
- I drink 1 glass of red wine most nights, on some weekends 2-3 drinks
- I drink 1-2 cups of coffee a day
- I drink 6-8 glasses of water a day
- I rarely ever eat fast food, never soda or diet food
- We eat out 1-2 times a week. The rest we cook or eat prepared store bought food. A favorite 2-3xs a week snack is Red Wine, Olives, Roasted Garlic and Cheese
- I have been juicing lately to get more fruit and vegetables in my diet
- I ride about 3000-5000 miles a year
- I spend to much time on this web site (Tho I have learned a lot)
- I own my own company and that can be stressful at times

I do want to stay healthily and ride more

.

[huck*this]

Ever since taking a daily vita C tablet (1000mg) once before going to bed (your body does better with vitamins when dormant) and upping the dose to two (2000mg) if I was around someone that was sick I have not had a full cold/illness in two years. My wife also started this and she also has the same results. It is kind of weird. You feel like you are getting sick but it is nothing more than a stuffy nose that goes away in 24hrs never fully sick.

This works for us.

[batman1425]

FWIW - what made the biggest different for me on avoiding the "office bugs" was regular hand washing before eating and being much more cognizant of touching my face in day to day life. Think about how many time you touch your face in a given day. Fingers to eyes/nose/mouth is one of the best routes of exposure and doesn't require your should be home but came in anyway because the like to "tough it out" sick office mate sneezing in your face. Just using the same doorknob or stapler as them is good enough if you are touching your face all the time.

Keep your mitts away from your head and I'll bet you see a precipitous decrease in sick days. This practice worked wonders for me for nearly 3 years. Then we had a kid. All bets are off once one of those day-care vector germ factories is under your roof.

[daker13]

Any time you hear a vitamin or supplement is an antioxidant, buy it, start taking it, don't notice any difference in how you feel or how healthy you are, and leave the half-empty bottle in your medicine cabinet for the next eight years.

[woodworker]

My young daughter has slept for years with a stuffed animal that she has dragged through airports and planes. She seems to have the strongest immune system in the family. Does that help? :)

[54ny77]

buy another bike.

[mcteague]

Avoid other human beings? :confused:

Tim

[benb]

Yah avoid other human beings. Stay as far away from small children as possible. Under no circumstances have your own kids.

99% of the time if I get sick it is something my kid brought home from school. He's 5, 4 out of the 5 years since he's been born he's brought something practically deadly home right when the weather turns at the end of the fall, stuff bad enough I ended up with a raging fever and into the doctor at least once and ended up on antibiotics. Given that I mostly did things like cycling that didn't involve too much close contact with large groups of people I was *really* healthy till I got married and had a child.

AFAICT almost anything anyone tries to sell you to "boost your immune system" is just a scam and they're trying to make money off you. Same old stuff as most of the supplements industry.

The doctors would give it to you straight up:
- Plenty of sleep
- Eat healthy
- Exercise
- Wash your hands a lot
- Get your flu shots & other vaccinations (best way to not get sick is to have immunity)
- Don't engage in anything that would be "risky behavior" for getting sick
- Probably cut your alcohol intake and stuff like that (sounds like you are a pretty regular drinker, see the news recently for the corruption coming out of NIH right now involving the liquor industry lobbying/influencing people at NIH to make sure those industry-funded studies got put out there to support drinking as healthy and squash anything that showed drinking in a poor light.)
- Possibly check humidity/air quality in your house/apartment

[notsew]

I used to get sick a lot. From your list, my life is similar.

I don't know if its all in my head or not, but last fall I started taking a multi-vitamin, a 1000 vitamin D supplement and a 500 Vitamin C supplement religiously every night. I really haven't been sick since. I take more of the vitamin c if I feel something coming on. Sometimes I start to feel under the weather, but it never fully takes hold.

It seems to have made the difference for me. YMMV

[FlashUNC]

FWIW - what made the biggest different for me on avoiding the "office bugs" was regular hand washing before eating and being much more cognizant of touching my face in day to day life. Think about how many time you touch your face in a given day. Fingers to eyes/nose/mouth is one of the best routes of exposure and doesn't require your should be home but came in anyway because the like to "tough it out" sick office mate sneezing in your face. Just using the same doorknob or stapler as them is good enough if you are touching your face all the time.

Keep your mitts away from your head and I'll bet you see a precipitous decrease in sick days. This practice worked wonders for me for nearly 3 years. Then we had a kid. All bets are off once one of those day-care vector germ factories is under your roof.

The simplest and most effective advice so far.

Just wash your hands and avoid touching your face and it'll go a long way to avoiding the crud that floats around.

[ORMojo]

To the wash your hands, get plenty of sleep, drink lots of water (and maybe less alcohol), exercise, and eat well advice, I'll add one specific recommendation.

Probiotics.

Unsweetened plain yogurt, and this, my current favorite protein powder, I'm convinced have helped me feel better and be healthier in multiple ways. Note that about half the time I blend the powder with just water, and the rest of the time with a banana, or a huge helping of raw leafy greens, or some plain yogurt, depending on what I feel like. The banana + greens + water + powder mixture is my favorite. Oh, and I always sprinkle a liberal amount of cinnamon in also. One more fun tip with protein powders - instead of water, mix with room-temperature or cold coffee. Get your caffeine and protein in one glass!

1697958000


21g Organic Plant-based Protein
1 Billion Probiotics
Smooth & delicious classic Vanilla Bean flavor
Organic Ancient Grains
Organic B & C Vitamins
8g Organic Fiber
50 Organic Superfoods including beets, blueberries, acai, ginger root, turmeric, chia, bell peppers, kale, wheat grass
No Added Sugar
Non-GMO, Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Soy Free
No artificial colors, flavors or preservatives

[macaroon]

Obviously eat well, get plenty of rest, exercise (but not too much), try and avoid stress and alcohol.

Vitamin C with bioflavinoids
Zinc
N-acetylcysteine

are probably worth taking.

[ripvanrando]

TSB > -60

Stay out of the ER or Doctor's offices

[OtayBW]

Get the new Shingrix vaccine! :banana:

[regularguy412]

[QUOTE=ORMojo;2342538]To the wash your hands, get plenty of sleep, drink lots of water (and maybe less alcohol), exercise, and eat well advice, I'll add one specific recommendation.

Probiotics.
^^ This. And.....

I've also started using a nasal wash daily. My choice on that is Alkalol, but there are others. Use like a netty pot regimen.

I've only gotten a head cold ONCE in the last 2 years on this regimen.

Mike in AR:beer:

[cnighbor1]

My Naturopathic in Seattle was great in building up our family immune system
however new state laws don't allow to work with out of state clients
first visit must be in person
So suggest ask around in your area for recommendations
If needed I put you in touch with mine to recommend one in your state

[Kontact]

Washing your hands does not build immunity. If anything, it does the opposite. If you are going to wash your hands, use regular soap.


You build immunity by doing healthy things and not avoiding every germ. Bodies in good shape are able to stave off minor infections and build immunity from those interactions.


The sickliest people are often the ones raised around the most antibacterials, bleach, Lysol and hand sanitizer. Chemicals in general should be avoided because they screw with cell chemistry.

[FlashUNC]

Washing your hands does not build immunity. If anything, it does the opposite. If you are going to wash your hands, use regular soap.



Yes, but the question from the OP was how to avoid getting sick as easily he seems to of the cold and other bugs.

Rather than eating bark off a tree or drinking some tea or getting on some "naturopath" regimen, just wash your hands and don't touch your face. Goes a long way to help avoid getting the cold bug that goes around.

[Hilltopperny]

May sound a bit different than a lot of what is said here, but I rarely wash my hands unless they are dirty. I also do not use hand sanitizer nor do we clean our house with chemicals. I touch my face a lot! I wash with basic soaps that are not anti bacterial and we use a mix of vinegar and essential oils to clean the house with.

I very rarely get sick and my wife is a k-12 Art teacher who is exposed to all kinds of things and have a 13 year old daughter who also is exposed to all kinds of germs. They are quite healthy as well.

If we feel a little run down my wife makes a hot cup of apple cider vinegar, water, cayenne, lemon and cinnamon and all is well by the morning. Not saying any of this is a cure all, but seems to work for us.

We eat mostly whole foods and have cut down on beef which I have replaced with venison. We also make green smoothies with organic protein powder and eat whole fat yogurt, pasture butter, coconut oil and cheese. We limit the amount of processed flour and sugar and don't drink soda or other artificial drinks.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

[Kontact]

Yes, but the question from the OP was how to avoid getting sick as easily he seems to of the cold and other bugs.

Rather than eating bark off a tree or drinking some tea or getting on some "naturopath" regimen, just wash your hands and don't touch your face. Goes a long way to help avoid getting the cold bug that goes around.

But that doesn't "build immunity", as requested in the OP. Nor did my post suggest anything about bark.

[weisan]

Id like to know what you have found that works for you .

In my other "losing 10 pounds" thread, I only talked about weight loss based on direct personal experience, not just simply repeating what I have read or heard from friends, books, tabloids, radio talk shows, internet etc.

I think that's an important distinction and that's honoring the OP's request.

I used to get sick, sinus ,catch a cold or exhibit flu symptoms every other week growing up and living in Singapore. When I came to the US, specifically, Austin Texas when I was 26, and started living here permanently, all of that craziness suddenly just stopped, I mean, like right away. I dunno what happened, my theory is humidity and climate have something to do with it. And now whenever we return to visit relatives for like 2 weeks, all that $hit start back up again. Ad soon as the plane touch down and we are back in the states, they are gone.

Crazy!

[tigoat]

Count me in with the SLEEP camp. It is not just sleeping a lot but having a quality sleep every night would fix a lot of health issues, as the human body is a natural healer. I just bought a sleep breathing machine and it seems to be working to fix some of fatigue problems.

[54ny77]

machine for apnea, or [ ]?

personally, i'm a fan of general anaesthesia. i actually look forward to that alone, regardless of whatever procedure i'm having (which are, hopefully, few & far between.....but i do try to look on the bright side when I do!).

it is the deepest, most relaxing restorative sleep i get. period. love it!

otherwise on a typical night i'm 5 maybe 6 hours, tops.

Count me in with the SLEEP camp. It is not just sleeping a lot but having a quality sleep every night would fix a lot of health issues, as the human body is a natural healer. I just bought a sleep breathing machine and it seems to be working to fix some of fatigue problems.

[BobbyJones]

Im no doctor, BUT what works for me:

Unprocessed foods - generally as a lifestyle, not a quick cure

Appropriate rest - For some that may mean sleep, for others not overdoing training, etc

Supplements - The only things I take consistently are Fish Oil, Tumeric, Vitamin C and Astragalus. It's anecdotal, but the C and Astragalus is for immunity.

Not sure if you keep a "lifestyle log" or a diary, but it can be a huge help to have quantitative data to help solve problems like this to see what works.

[charliedid]

I'd have to go with pizza.

[skiezo]

Lots of great suggestions. Less meat and more seafood and plant based proteins,leafy greens,imported pasta,colorful veggies and plain yogart.
I also juice but do smoothies more as it does not extract the fiber and such.
I also make my own kombucha and drink 16 to 20 ounces a day.
Fresh air and good sleep as well. Cant forget about my time on the river and on the bike as well.

[Louis]

Every year I get the flu shot. Seems to work for me. (either that or I'm doing something else right too)

Wash your hands often and try to keep them away from your face.

If you can, stay away from children - they're worse than Typhoid Mary.

[pinkshogun]

1 organic lemon, ginger, turmeric root and distilled water in a blender...yes, the lemon rind too but take out the seeds....drink some everyday

[tigoat]

54ny77, Yes it is a sleep apnea CPAP breathing machine. From the data collected by my machine, I have a mild case of sleep apnea with only about 2 awakening interruptions per hour. Even with 2 interruptions per hour, that would be 14 interruptions for 7 hours. The pressurized air from the machine to have a soothing affect and I find sleeping more additive than ever. My life will change for good with this sleep breathing machine.

[Spaghetti Legs]

Immunizations.

[benb]

TSB > -60


For sure.. Pretty sure before I had a PM I did that fairly often.

I was -42 on Monday and felt like death warmed over M/T/W. Finally feeling a little better today at -21. It's a rest week this week but I feel like I pushed too hard last week.

[oldpotatoe]

Yah avoid other human beings. Stay as far away from small children as possible. Under no circumstances have your own kids.

99% of the time if I get sick it is something my kid brought home from school. He's 5, 4 out of the 5 years since he's been born he's brought something practically deadly home right when the weather turns at the end of the fall, stuff bad enough I ended up with a raging fever and into the doctor at least once and ended up on antibiotics. Given that I mostly did things like cycling that didn't involve too much close contact with large groups of people I was *really* healthy till I got married and had a child.

AFAICT almost anything anyone tries to sell you to "boost your immune system" is just a scam and they're trying to make money off you. Same old stuff as most of the supplements industry.

The doctors would give it to you straight up:
- Plenty of sleep
- Eat healthy
- Exercise
- Wash your hands a lot
- Get your flu shots & other vaccinations (best way to not get sick is to have immunity)
- Don't engage in anything that would be "risky behavior" for getting sick
- Probably cut your alcohol intake and stuff like that (sounds like you are a pretty regular drinker, see the news recently for the corruption coming out of NIH right now involving the liquor industry lobbying/influencing people at NIH to make sure those industry-funded studies got put out there to support drinking as healthy and squash anything that showed drinking in a poor light.)
- Possibly check humidity/air quality in your house/apartment

Same as diet thread
-eat better
-eat less
-drink less(alcohol)
-ride lots

Add get yer shots and wash yer hands.

[biker72]

Looks like you're doing most everything right Karl. Reducing stress can be tough but well worth the effort. Can't do much about heredity.



I starting this thread because I get sick several times a year, and usually each time it last for 2-3 weeks. Its just common bugs that are going around, but I seem to catch them ezaly from others.

Me and My current habits....

- I'm 6ft 180lbs and in my early 50s (most people think Im in my 40s)
- I try and sleep 7-8 hours a night, more when I am sick.
- I have never smoked or done drugs
- I only take medications if badly needed
- I do take some vitamins and herbs
- I drink 1 glass of red wine most nights, on some weekends 2-3 drinks
- I drink 1-2 cups of coffee a day
- I drink 6-8 glasses of water a day
- I rarely ever eat fast food, never soda or diet food
- We eat out 1-2 times a week. The rest we cook or eat prepared store bought food. A favorite 2-3xs a week snack is Red Wine, Olives, Roasted Garlic and Cheese
- I have been juicing lately to get more fruit and vegetables in my diet
- I ride about 3000-5000 miles a year
- I spend to much time on this web site (Tho I have learned a lot)
- I own my own company and that can be stressful at times

I do want to stay healthily and ride more

.

[Gummee]

The simplest and most effective advice so far.

Just wash your hands and avoid touching your face and it'll go a long way to avoiding the crud that floats around.

Pay attention to what you're touching too: door handles, pens in public places, etc all have someone else's bugs on em.

I'm not a germaphobe, but by changing a few habits, I've managed to avoid bugs this year.

HTH

M

[ripvanrando]

I can't remember the last time I was sick. I never get immunizations. I'm around kids during the holidays and every few weeks here and there. My MD has prescribed a vitamin regimen for at least 15 years and it seems to work for me. I had two surgeries recently and both surgeons were blown away how fast I had healed. The rotator cuff Ortho point blank said I healed faster than anyone in his 30 years including all of the professional athletes that he had done surgery on. At 6 weeks, he said I passed the 6 month exam tests and said I was done, no more follow-up. I also did not require any pain medicine after the surgery but I credit some of that to cold thermogenesis. So, I am a proponent of supplemental vitamins and refuse to listen to the average Doc on vitamins or nutrition.....what do they get an hour lecture in Med School?

[gngroup]

Have kids!

[KarlC]

Thanks much for all of the replies, I plan to put a few of these into practice.

[Ozz]

Have kids!

and dogs....

Pretty much the same as far as hygiene, so lots of oppty for your immune system to bulk up!

:cool:

[KarlC]

stop drinking alcohol

Well 1 glass of Red wine has been proven to be good for you right?

Eat plants, whole grains, fruits, veggies. No dead animals or dairy or processed foods.

No meat? Most everything tells me that being over 50 I need LOTS of protein to make up for mussel loss.

Ever since taking a daily vita C tablet (1000mg) once before going to bed (your body does better with vitamins when dormant) and upping the dose to two (2000mg) if I was around someone that was sick I have not had a full cold/illness in two years. My wife also started this and she also has the same results. It is kind of weird. You feel like you are getting sick but it is nothing more than a stuffy nose that goes away in 24hrs never fully sick.

This works for us.

This seems to work for my wife, usually Vita C gives me the runs, not sure why.

FWIW - what made the biggest different for me on avoiding the "office bugs" was regular hand washing before eating and being much more cognizant of touching my face in day to day life. Think about how many time you touch your face in a given day. Fingers to eyes/nose/mouth is one of the best routes of exposure and doesn't require your should be home but came in anyway because the like to "tough it out" sick office mate sneezing in your face. Just using the same doorknob or stapler as them is good enough if you are touching your face all the time.

Keep your mitts away from your head and I'll bet you see a precipitous decrease in sick days. This practice worked wonders for me for nearly 3 years. Then we had a kid. All bets are off once one of those day-care vector germ factories is under your roof.

I do this for the most part now, and I work out of my home office most all days, and we have no kids.

buy another bike.

I have 3 now, its not helping, I am likely selling 1 we will see if that helps.

I used to get sick a lot. From your list, my life is similar.

I don't know if its all in my head or not, but last fall I started taking a multi-vitamin, a 1000 vitamin D supplement and a 500 Vitamin C supplement religiously every night. I really haven't been sick since. I take more of the vitamin c if I feel something coming on. Sometimes I start to feel under the weather, but it never fully takes hold.

It seems to have made the difference for me. YMMV


I think I will start adding the Vita D, I read a respected Coach recommended it as well.

[KarlC]

To the wash your hands, get plenty of sleep, drink lots of water (and maybe less alcohol), exercise, and eat well advice, I'll add one specific recommendation.

Probiotics.

Unsweetened plain yogurt, and this, my current favorite protein powder, I'm convinced have helped me feel better and be healthier in multiple ways. Note that about half the time I blend the powder with just water, and the rest of the time with a banana, or a huge helping of raw leafy greens, or some plain yogurt, depending on what I feel like. The banana + greens + water + powder mixture is my favorite. Oh, and I always sprinkle a liberal amount of cinnamon in also. One more fun tip with protein powders - instead of water, mix with room-temperature or cold coffee. Get your caffeine and protein in one glass!

1697958000


21g Organic Plant-based Protein
1 Billion Probiotics
Smooth & delicious classic Vanilla Bean flavor
Organic Ancient Grains
Organic B & C Vitamins
8g Organic Fiber
50 Organic Superfoods including beets, blueberries, acai, ginger root, turmeric, chia, bell peppers, kale, wheat grass
No Added Sugar
Non-GMO, Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Soy Free
No artificial colors, flavors or preservatives


I buy the Orgain Organic Plant Protein now its the only powered protein I have tried that did not mess with my stomach. Ill start buying this one with the Super Food mix.

TSB > -60

Not sure what that is ???



I've also started using a nasal wash daily. My choice on that is Alkalol, but there are others. Use like a netty pot regimen.

I've only gotten a head cold ONCE in the last 2 years on this regimen.

Mike in AR:beer:

I have a netty pot, Ill try using it more often.

[Mikej]

Good genes- not sure about all of the other stuff.

[ripvanrando]

TSB stands for training stress balance and is a measure of fatigue or proxy for overdoing it.