Nutrition. Vitamins. You.
What is Asthma? (Part 2) Dr. Claire Arcidiacono, ND In our last blog we talked about what asthma is and what can increase your overall risk of developing the illness. We also talked about what the risk factors are for a flare up or asthma …
Pneumonia Part 2 Dr. Claire Arcidiacono, ND In our first blog on pneumonia, we covered the basics of pneumonia. In this blog we will be reviewing risk factors for pneumonia, details about the vaccine and what you can do to help boost your immunity. Let …
Cold and Flu Season is Here
Dr. Claire Arcidiacono, ND
If you have noticed that it seems like everyone around you, you are coughing or sneezing it’s not just your imagination! Cold and flu season has arrived. What can you do to boost your immunity? Well, there’s plenty of nutrients that can help boost your immune system. It’s a lot to cover so let’s get into it, shall we?
How do you know if you have a cold or the flu? Well, the best way to tell the difference is by doing a review of your symptoms. Please see the chart below for a side-by-side comparison of cold symptoms and flu symptoms. (4)
In addition to the symptoms that you may experience there is also a difference in how quickly your symptoms appear. In general, the flu becomes symptomatic very fast. A cold typically has a slower onset of symptoms. So, what does this mean in practicality? With the flu you may feel fine on Monday but by Tuesday night you feel absolutely miserable! In contrast a cold will typically take longer for you to begin to show symptoms. (1)
The severity of the symptoms experienced is also usually different between a cold and the flu. In general, the flu will have more severe symptoms than a cold. Some people describe the flu as a “cold on steroids”. (1)
What exactly are the risk factors for developing a cold or the flu? While cold weather won’t give you a cold or the flu in my clinical experience it can affect your body’s ability to fight the viruses that do cause these illness. Other risk factors for developing a cold include age, for example infants, young kids and elderly folks are at a higher risk of a cold. Those with a compromised immune system as well as those that smoke are also at a higher risk of catching a cold. Of course, exposure is key since you can’t get a cold if you aren’t exposed to the virus! (2) In contrast what are the risk factors for the flu? Just like with a cold age also increases your risk. Having a compromised immune system also increases your risk. Certain chronic illnesses such as asthma or even diabetes can increase flu risk. Just like with a cold being exposed is important since you can’t get the flu if you don’t come in contact with the virus! Lastly, being obese, on aspirin therapy or being of certain ethnicities can all increase the risk of complications of the flu. (3)
So just what can you do to ward off a cold or the flu?
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Have you heard of snow mold? This occurs when the snow begins to melt and it may be contributing to issues such as runny nose, cough and itchy eyes.
You may have heard of the nutrient colostrum as “the first milk”, but do you know about all of its powerful benefits? Learn about why you need colostrum during cough and flu season and beyond from Amanda Williams, MPH.
pumpkins
InViteⓇ Health Podcast, Episode hosted by Jerry Hickey, Ph.
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It’s fall, which means it’s pumpkin season and harvest season. We identify pumpkins with really nice things, like this beautiful time of year. We also identify pumpkins with desserts and holidays like Thanksgiving and Halloween. It’s a lot of fun, but the question is: are pumpkins healthy?†
Pumpkin pie, pumpkin spice lattes at Starbucks and pumpkin ice cream, you don’t think of those as health foods. But pumpkin itself is pretty healthy. It’s a member of the cucurbit family because they’re a variety of squash. This family includes pumpkins, melons and cucumbers. There are a lot of healthy things in pumpkins. For instance, it’s orange. That’s due to beta carotene. Beta carotene is good for your vision, immune system, thyroid gland, skin and hormone regulation.†
The beauty of beta carotene is that it is, very slowly and in a very controlled fashion, converted into Vitamin A in the liver. Vitamin A has a lot of benefits in the body. We’re in cough and cold season and on top of that we still have COVID hanging around. Vitamin A was originally called the “anti-infective vitamin.” Vitamin A is needed to make your skin, which serves as a barrier for the outside environment, keeping viruses, bacteria, yeasts, molds and parasites out of the body.†
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Vitamin A is also needed by your mucosal cells. These are very important cells that line your respiratory tract, digestive tract and urinary tract. One form of Vitamin A called retinoic acid is produced by the immune cells in these tissues. This allows these cells to capture infectious organisms like viruses and bacteria and present them to our T-cells, which call in the troops to destroy the infectious organism.†
Pumpkins also have a lot of fiber and a lot of potassium. These make it very healthy because it’s also low in calories, low in salt and doesn’t have cholesterol.†
There are other things in pumpkin that are good for your immune system. There’s Vitamin C, which you need for chemotaxis and respiratory burst. If somebody sneezes on you with COVID-19 or the flu, your immune cells have to travel to the site of the infection to kill the virus before you get sick. That’s called chemotaxis. Your immune cells soak up the available Vitamin C so they can travel to the site of the infection. Then there’s respiratory burst, when your immune cells release their chemical arsenal to kill the infection. That requires Vitamin C also.†
You’re also getting Vitamin E. Vitamin E and Vitamin C are both in the lipid layer surrounding your immune cells. If you lack these nutrients, your immune cells don’t work because they get damaged by their own chemical arsenal. Your immune system works better when it has the nutrients you get from eating pumpkins or even sweet potatoes or carrots.†
We don’t sell pumpkins at InViteⓇ Health, but we do have this delicious powder called Oranges HxⓇ. That has a lot of very high quality fruits and vegetables, including tangerines, nectarines, melons and pumpkin seed powder. Pumpkin seeds are loaded with sterols that help you lower your cholesterol. Oranges HxⓇ provides fiber, potassium, natural beta carotene and all the things you find in pumpkins and it’s very easy to mix into liquids.†
In this episode, Jerry Hickey, Ph. discusses the powerful vitamins, minerals and antioxidants found in pumpkins. He details the important benefits of Vitamin A, Vitamin C, fiber and more and also provides a recommendation for a supplement that includes pumpkin seeds as one of its potent ingredients.†
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