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Give Your Body a Boost for the Holidays

© Kathern Welsh

The holiday season is soon upon us and one thing we'd all like to avoid at this particular time of year is illness. It's terrible to have a bad cold, bronchitis, the flu, or any number of debilitating ailments during the holidays. Even to feel exhausted and just "not well" when there's so much to do and so many places to go can be a real drag. This is the busiest time of year and also the time when we can have more fun than at any other season. So why not get a head start and give our bodies a little help to fight the winter onslaught of germs and viruses.

Some members of the animal kingdom have been given extra layers of fat to protect against the cold, an instinct to "go south" when cold weather threatens, or an intricate pattern of feathers to protect against water, We humans have been given a complex immune system along with the most powerful brain of any living species. This brain can be used to discover and benefit from a vast world of knowledge.

Macrophages, meaning "big eaters" are the cells in our bodies, which recognize, engulf, and destroy any cells, organisms and foreign substances found in our system. Bacteria, viruses, fungi, abnormal tissue, and heavy metals are just some of the harmful substances these macrophages attack. Macrophages act non-specifically and respond in a similar way no matter what kind of enemy they face. These "big eaters" are the cells that start and regulate the immune process. The Macrophages travel from the point of bacterial contact to the lymph tissues and communicate with the T-cells, thus activating a specific immune response to build specific antibodies to combat each specific intruder.

Any number of factors can affect our body's ability to defend itself. Accidents, surgeries, illness and stress are all culprits in the war of the cells. We can be subject to stresses we're not even aware of which tend to deplete the power and resources of the bodies' immune system.

Anything we can do to increase the power of our immune system naturally can only help us to sustain our health through the coming months. I'll list here just a few of what I feel are the most important, beneficial supplements.

Have you noticed this fall that you or someone you know has been prone to sinus problems for the first time in your life? My husband always bragged that he never had a sinus problem, then suddenly this fall he has been plagued unmercifully and has learned that the itching eyes, nose, throat and ears, violent sneezing and runny nose are all real and very unpleasant.

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