Strengthening the Immune System, step one

I was talking with a friend the other day.  She was telling me that last winter, her family was sick from December to May!  They just kept passing the same bugs around.  She's frustrated and confused, and desperately wants to avoid that scenario this year, even as she can see it rearing its ugly head all over again.  She cleans and cleans, using bleach and vinegar, and wonders what she can do to keep this from happening all over again.

I feel for her.  I have a relatively healthy family.  I know that when we do get sick, generally for a few days at a time, two or three times a year, it's HORRIBLE.  I can't imagine the horrors of taking care of a sickly brood, while being sick myself, for weeks or months on end.

So, in all my wisdom and eloquence, I kindly suggested that what she needs to do is not to stop the contamination, but to strengthen their immune systems so they are no longer succumbing to their "bugs."  It was wonderful - like watching a light bulb flick on inside of her.  She suddenly "got it!"  So she said to me, "Oh, yeah, you know all about that stuff!  How do I do that??!"  To which I replied, "Ah, well, ah, wow... where to start..."  Wisdom? Vanished.  Eloquence?  Out the window.  So long.  See ya.  In her presence, I bumbled and fumbled over my words, not knowing where on earth to start.  Truthfully, it IS a big piece of knowledge to chew.  But I DO know where to start. 

As with anything overwhelming and large, we start at the very beginning.  When climbing the stairs of health, we start with step number one.  Today I am going to write about the first step.  Most Americans who eat a SAD (Standard American Diet), sad, diet need to change their ways.

Step number one: Cut the sugar.  If you devote your life to only one dietary change, cut out sodas.  If you must, and I mean MUST, allow yourself one real-sugar soda per week.  None of this corn-syrup laden junk that most of us are giving ourselves, and definitely NOT more than once per week.

Ideally, you will cut out all processed, highly sugared foods, all corn-syrup, and anything with more than 5 ingredients on the label, or words you need to slowdown your speech to pronounce.  Oh, and cut out ALL man-made sugars.  I mean it.

Most people probably fall somewhere in between eating very healthy and eating solid junk.  We are told that we should be people of moderation.  Well, I am telling you that drinking a soda once per week, once per month, or once per year, is doing soda in moderation.  It is true that cutting back from drinking a 2-liter per day to only a 20-oz. is an improvement.  And you would likely receive benefits from making such a change.  But not enough.  Our bodies are not meant to take the abuse of daily poisoning, and they will not last long if we treat them that way. 

In place of your junk, you should eat the natural equivalent.  Here, I use the term "equivalent" loosely, as an orange is nowhere near the equivalent to a bag of fruit snacks, but eat the orange instead.  A handful of baby carrots is nowhere near the  equivalent of a candy bar, but eat the carrots instead. A cup of green tea is not the equivalent of a soda, but drink the tea instead.  These foods and beverages do not claim to be equivalent.  They are far superior to their junk-food counterparts. 

If you have not already done so with your diet, I urge you to make the change of cutting the junk.  No sodas, no processed foods, no fake sugars.  Pick a day (today sounds good) and do it.  See if that one change doesn't make a huge difference on your path toward wellness.