Total Health Breakthroughs: Free Natural Health Newsletter and Alternative Health Articles

It seemed like it happened every time, and for the longest while I didn’t think I could do anything about it. I’d be going along feeling fine and healthy. Then I’d have a critically ill patient under my care. After a few days of stress and interrupted night’s sleep, WHAM — I’d come down with a heck of a cold.

At first, I didn’t know what specific steps anyone could take to keep their immune function at an optimal level.

As a physician, I was of course aware of the components of the immune system and their functions. However, like many aspects of wellness, traditional medical training doesn’t emphasize how we can support immune function in normal day-to-day life.

When I starting exploring complementary medical treatments, I was surprised at how much research had been done in this area. Once I started applying what I learned, those stress-related colds became a thing of the past. I’d like to share some of what I learned about building up a healthy immune system and fighting off those nasty bugs with you now.

Our immune system is a complex, interacting web of chemical and cellular components that serves to protect us against potential invaders such as bacteria, viruses and cancer cells. Although we often talk about immune “boosting,” what we really want is a perfectly balanced immune system (an overly active immune system can damage the body, but that’s another story).

A healthy lifestyle supports vitality, including immune health. It’s the foundation of any wellness program.

A New York Times article this week confirmed my worst fears – stress is sending Americans to candy stores in droves.¹

While at first glance this little headline, “When Economy Sours, Tootsie Rolls Soothe Souls” seems amusing, from my perspective it unwittingly brings up two important issues in healthcare today:

1. The simplistic assertion that to manage our weight, all we have to do is control calories in and calories out.

There are many factors that influence our ability to lose weight and keep it off, and this headline is an example of an important one – stress. Stress from economic crisis is doing what we see over and over again in patients at LMI — reducing serotonin and inducing carbohydrate cravings.

So what’s the harm in eating a little candy if you’re stressed? Nothing if you can stop at “a little,” but if you make that stop at the candy bowl too much of a habit, you can quickly undo weight loss and start to increase health risks.

Stress management is such an important factor for long term weight control, I have made it one of the key components of my approach to weight loss.

The last six months our country has been on an emotional roller coaster. There have been both highs and lows, but the collective national mood increasingly seems to be one of depression and worry.

Although there are real issues that need addressing, much of the current mood stems more from perception than reality.

For example, news reports focus on layoffs and the families they affect, putting the problem front and center in our attention. However, the unemployment rate is 7.6%, which means that over 92% of us still have jobs. But because of where our focus is, the mental and emotional depression affects everyone.

In a way, the financial crisis itself makes the case for the importance of perceptions. The economy is slow so people are afraid to spend and banks are afraid to lend, which makes the economy slow, which…

Wouldn’t it be great if an herb could help you handle stress better and stimulate your body’s own ability to bring itself back into balance (instead of “forcing” it to do something the herb “makes” it do)?

Well, there IS an entire category of herbs that do just that - Adaptogens!

So often, we lose the meaning of the holiday season in the hustle and bustle of “doing”. There are meals to prepare, shopping to be done, gifts to wrap, and cards to mail. All of which can sap your energy, leaving you weary and flustered when guests finally arrive.

But through the years, I have learned two very important lessons that help to keep me relaxed and put my guests at ease:

As we enter the heart of cold and flu season, many of our patients want to know the best way to prevent coming down with these viruses. In my last article, I talked about whether flu shots really work. If you missed it, I said there is very little evidence that they do.

The best way to prevent flu or colds is to keep your overall health and immunity strong. That’s why you’ll see recommendations for making sure you dress warmly, get plenty of rest, and drink plenty of fluids. Good hand washing is another great preventive measure, but there is a ton of evidence that shows another sure-fire way to lower your chances of catching a nasty cold or debilitating flu — and it’s not one that you see discussed often.

Lower your stress.

As I write this article, the stock market continues its wild gyrations and the economic and other rampant stress of our times is beginning to take its toll on our health.

This is not just my opinion, it’s also been shown in a recent poll published by the American Psychological Association (APA).¹ Money and the economy topped the list of stressors for at least 80% of those surveyed. Finances now overshadow the more usual daily stressors of work and relationships, with 46% of people reporting that their stress is due to worries about providing for their family’s basic needs.

My own research clarifies that when you feel you have less control over your stress, it definitely causes you more concern. It raises your internal mind, body, and emotional threat level.²

Women Worse Off

Unfortunately, the brunt of this economic stress is falling upon women more than men. According to the APA’s poll, compared with men, more women say they are stressed about money, the economy, job stability, housing costs, and health problems affecting their families.

Managing stress and emotions is a cornerstone of healthy living. New research documents yet another area where a person’s stress level affects their well-being. Stress definitely makes things worse for people with seasonal allergies.

Jan Kiecolt-Glaser, a professor of psychology and psychiatry at Ohio State, has long studied the effects of stress. She recently reported the results of a study of the effects of stress on people with seasonal allergies (such as hay fever).¹