Strengthen your immune system with selenium!
How strong is your immune system? Do you feel well and energetic or do you suffer with frequent infections?
Selenium is the most important mineral for the immune system and the liver to function at their optimal level; indeed without adequate selenium in your body, your immune system and liver will remain vulnerable to attack.
People who don’t get enough selenium in their diet are more likely to come down with frequent infections, and it takes them much longer to recover from infections. This is because it is much easier for viruses to replicate inside your body if there is an inadequate selenium level inside your cells. Basically, viruses can have a party in your body if there isn’t enough selenium to stop them. I often refer to selenium as the “viral birth control pill” because of its ability to inhibit viral replication.
People who don’t get enough selenium in their body are more likely to suffer with fatigue and swollen glands, as their body struggles to overcome infections. Unfortunately it is very difficult to obtain sufficient selenium through your diet, as very few foods are a rich source of this important mineral.
What are the symptoms and consequences of selenium deficiency?
- Increased risk of thyroid disease, especially Hashimoto’s disease and Graves’ disease
- Increased risk of allergies and chemical sensitivities
- Increased incidence of inflammatory problems
- Increased incidence of autoimmune diseases
- Higher morbidity rates in people with chronic viral hepatitis
- Higher morbidity and mortality rates in people with AIDS
- Higher viral loads
- Increased incidence of many different types of cancer
- Frequent colds and flu
- Increased susceptibility to infections of all types
- Persistent infection of the cervix with the human papilloma virus (HPV)
- Incurable warts on the skin or genitals
- Increased severity of many types of liver disease
- Exposure to heavy metals, such as mercury and lead
- Prior use of chemotherapy drugs to fight cancer
- Diseases of the intestines such as gastritis, Crohn’s disease, colitis, celiac disease or irritable bowel syndrome. If you have a digestive problem, you may not be absorbing enough selenium from your food. If you are taking a stomach acid blocking drug (antacid), you will also not be absorbing selenium well enough.
- Try to get adequate sleep and rest. Even if you eat well, your immune system will suffer if you don’t sleep enough or sleep well.
- Make sure you have a healthy digestive system. If you regularly suffer with gas, bloating, indigestion, constipation or diarrhea, it means something is very wrong with your digestive tract. People often say “you are what you eat” but I prefer to say “you are what you absorb”. If your digestion is poor, you won’t extract the goodness from your food and nutritional supplements. Taking a digestive enzyme supplement with each meal can go a long way to remedying this.
- Try to get some regular and safe sunshine exposure. Exposing your skin to the sun's UVB rays enables your body to manufacture vitamin D. UVB rays are mostly present in the middle of the day. Many people are not able to get outside into the sunshine due to indoor jobs and other commitments. Also in many parts of the world the sun's rays are too weak during winter, therefore vitamin D production becomes inadequate. Vitamin D is extremely important for a healthy immune system; it helps your body to fight infections and reduces inflammation, thereby helping autoimmune disease and allergies.
- Avoid sugar, or minimize your consumption of it. It weakens your immune system, and also sugar is food for bacteria, yeast and other pathogens. Stop giving the bad bugs in your body fuel to grow. Removing sugar from your diet will make it much easier to overcome an infection. If you really struggle with cravings, Glicemic Balance capsules contain herbs and nutrients to stabilize your blood sugar and prevent low blood sugar (hypoglycaemia), which can lead to out of control sugar cravings.
- Don’t forget to eat plenty of vegetables. The weather in the northern hemisphere is becoming cooler, but it’s still important to eat lots of vegetables. You don’t have to eat a salad on a freezing cold day; you can include lots of veggies in a soup, stew, casserole or curry. I’m a big fan of vegetable juices as they provide a concentrated dose of easily digested vitamins, minerals and antioxidants.
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