5 Cheap & Effective Ways to Boost Your Immune System

By Harvey Green

How to boost immune system response, is on many minds these
days. It can make the difference between illness and
wellness. You body is constantly fighting off invasions from
many sources. This protection mechanism keeps your entire
body working properly. When it is not properly functioning,
you may be subject to many illnesses. There are a lot of
methods to help the body's defenses. Here are just a few.

Proper intake

Everything that you take into your body will affect your
defenses. Good things in, will equate to good things out.
Eat plenty of vegetables and fruits. Substitute good fats
and oils for bad. Do not eat too many meat items. Limit your
salt intake. Try to maintain an overall healthy lifestyle.

Nothing is more important than your water intake. Your
natural defenses cannot perform well without this liquid. It
also makes it possible to digest and metabolize your food.
Drink water often. Drink it throughout your day. You may
think that tea, soda, and coffee count toward your daily
water intake. They do not. In fact, they can take away from
it. They have a diuretic action on the body. This removes
water and minerals from you. Many of these are vital
electrolytes, like potassium and magnesium.

Healthy tea

Green tea has received a lot of attention in the press.
White tea is also becoming popular. Both contain many
important antioxidants that keep your defense in top gear.
Tea acts similar to an antibiotic. It helps to prevent
bacteria form attacking tissue. It may decrease your risk of
some kinds of cancers. It may also be of benefit to those
with rheumatoid arthritis. Although white tea is supposed to
be more effective, green tea has many benefits, too.

Echinacea therapy

Echinacea is frequently used for infections and flu. The
action of echinacea is on a cellular level. It stimulates
cells that are responsible for fighting infection. It also
helps to produce chemicals that stimulate the healing
process. You can take echinacea in liquid or capsules. It is
usually take for two to three weeks at a time. It is best to
take it with food, also. This may help to eliminate an
aftertaste.

Garlic

Garlic oil and garlic have a positive effect on your
fighting cells. When they attack, they secret enzymes that
can cause inflammation. Asthma and rheumatoid arthritis are
examples. Garlic secretes chemicals that act against this
inflammation. Allergy problems may be helped this way. The
inflammation of other conditions may also be reduced.

Olive leaf

Olive leaf extract is used to help your body's defenses. It
aids cells with its chemical secretions. It also provides
many important antioxidant enzymes. It is supposed to act
similar to an antibiotic. It may also possess antiviral and
anti-fungal properties, too.



If you find yourself getting under the weather a lot, then
you may need to start
(http://www.glutathioneoptimizedhealthsolutions.com/boostingyourimmunesystem.html)
boosting your immune system. Try some
(http://www.glutathioneoptimizedhealthsolutions.com/boostimmunesystem.html)
immune system supplements. Chances are, you will notice the
difference in a few of weeks.

Increase Your Metabolism With These 10 Tips

By Thong M. Dao

There are many folks who would give everything they have to
increase their metabolism. Having a high level of metabolism
enables you to burn fat and lose weight fast with less
amounts of activity. Metabolism is the rate by which the body
produces and consumes energy and calories to support life.

Here is a list of items that will affect your metabolism;
frequency of meals, stress levels, diet plans, activity, and
the amount of muscle tissue your body has.

Here are 10 home run tips that will boost your metabolism.

1. Build up lean body mass. It is only natural that
metabolism decreases with age, but it is possible to counter
the effects. The amount of muscle you have is a strong
determinant to the ability to burn calories and shed fat. So
it goes without saying that exercise is essential.

Build strength and resistance by working out at least twice
a week, preferably with weights. Do easy exercises between
workouts. Simple tasks such as walking the dog and using the
stairs instead of the elevator can burn off calories.

2. Consume breakfast daily. Many individuals do not consume
breakfast. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.
Have you ever noticed, those individuals who consume
breakfast are thinner than those that don't? Metabolism
decreases considerably if you wait to eat later in the day.

3. Spicy food is a friend of metabolism and helps increase
its level.

4. Sleep more. According to research, people who do not get
enough sleep run a greater risk of gaining weight. Also,
muscles are regenerated during the last couple of hours of slumber.

5. Increase water intake. Water flushes out toxins produced
whenever the body burns fat. Majority of the body's
functions involves water, and lack of water causes their
operations to decrease.

6. Have smaller meals. Every 2 to 3 hours we need to consume
a meal, approximately 4 to 6 meals a day. Remember we are
increasing our metabolism so, think healthy meal, not junk
food.

7. Planning on skipping meals? Well don't! One of the
biggest concepts of individuals who are trying to lose
weight is to skip meals. Big mistake! Skipping meals slows
down your metabolism.

8. Meals need to be planned in detail. Occasional eating is
a mistake. Plan what, when, and serving size daily.

9. Green tea. Green tea is also a friend of metabolism.
Green tea boosts metabolism but contrary to coffee, it has
no undesirable side effects.

10. Whole grain, beans, fruits, and vegetables are great to
assist you on your weight loss adventure.

Achieving the desired body weight is never impossible if you
have the determination and patience needed. Remember that
eating right and working out are not just a passing fancy,
but a lifestyle.

Subscribe to my hype-free (http://www.fat-free-fast.com)
fitness newsletter and gain FREE immediate access to a 5-day
(http://www.fat-free-fast.com/index.html) total fitness
course plus a ton of top-notch gifts at your fingertips!

7 Tips To Get Rid Of Fat While Staying Healthy

If you're hoping to lose fat, there's a pretty good chance
you've tried a lot of methods. Unfortunately, the vast
majority of people who are unhappy with their bodies don't
succeed in their fat loss goals. That's because they're
often using gimmicky weight loss plans that can actually
damage their bodies! If you're in this boat, and you don't
know how to get rid of the fat while staying healthy, here
are a few tips that might get you on the right track.

1. Go easy on tea and coffee. Tea and coffee are harmless by
themselves. It's when you add the cream and sugar that they
become fattening. Did you know that having a cup of tea or
coffee that has cream and at least two cubes of sugar is as
bad as having a big piece of rich chocolate cake?

2. If you must have your tea and coffee, try to drink it
black. Black tea or coffee actually has health benefits to
it as long as you counteract the caffeine in your body with
a nice big glass of water. Caffeine is also not good for you
because it affects functions in your body, like your
metabolism. Another type of tea that you can drink freely is
green tea. Green tea has been used as a medicine in China
for over 4,000 years. It aids the digestive system and can
help ease an overly full stomach and it has been linked to a
reduction in cancer risk.

3. Calculate the calories when you eat, however do not
overdo it. It is a sound idea to know the calories that most
food items contain. Whenever it's a packed thing then the
label is certain to give the calories it has. Just don't
become obsessed about it.

4. Be sure to burn out those extra calories by the end of
the week. If you feel that you have consumed more calories
than you should have during the week, it happens you know,
then make sure that you work off those extra calories by
the end of the week.

5. Stand back from deep-fried things. These are a complete
no-no. The more deep-fried things that you ward off, the
lesser pounds you'll gain. Deep-fried things are called so
as they're fried in oil or fat. And even when the external
oil is drained off, there's still lots of hidden oil in it
therefore avoid it.

6. Do not skip meals. The worst thing you can do while
watching you diet is skip a meal. It has just the opposite
effect of what you want. You need to have at least four
regular meals every day.

7. Just like fruits, fresh vegetables are better than those
that are canned. It is even better if you can eat your
veggies raw. When you cook them, you cook away the
nutrients. If you must cook them, try to boil them to the
point that there is still some crispness to them. Also,
don't soak them in butter. If you can buy organic and
pesticide free veggies, that is even better.

Green Tea Downside Possible

I am aware that there are many studies supporting the use of ECGC from green tea for cancer and other health concerns.

I am also aware of the many serious side effects of cancer drugs which commonly this information is not provided those patients receiving them. This distresses me more when dealing with recombinant pharmaceuticals known as genetically engineered drugs.

What most people who strongly stand behind the use of green tea do not know is that it has the potential to cause pancreatic cancer.

I am sure the FDA has not tested all the possible interactions between drugs and I am also fairly certain that the same goes for herbal products.

Probably a good study would be to show how herbs and other nutritional approaches to cancer do more good than harm. And how they often offer cure, without long term damaging side effects, when pharmaceuticals do not.

Green tea may block activity of common cancer drug

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Some components of green tea may counteract the beneficial effects of a widely used anti-cancer agent called Velcade, also known as bortezomib.

"We know that cancer patients look to green tea extracts among other natural supplements to complement their therapeutic regimens," Dr. Axel Schonthal, said in a statement. "We wanted to better understand how the compounds in green tea interact with a cytotoxic chemical therapy and how that may affect patient outcomes."

In lab studies, Schonthal, from the University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine, Los Angeles, and colleagues evaluated the impact of green tea compounds on the efficacy of bortezomib against multiple myeloma, a blood cancer, and glioblastoma, a malignant brain tumor.

Bortezomib normally fights cancer by inducing tumor cell death. However, Schonthal and colleagues were surprised to find that some of the green tea polyphenols and other components actually prevented bortezomib from killing tumor cells.

"Our surprising results indicate that green tea polyphenols may have the potential to negate the therapeutic efficacy of bortezomib," Schonthal said.

"The current evidence," Schonthal said, "is sufficient enough to strongly urge patients undergoing bortezomib therapy to abstain from consuming green tea products, particularly the widely available, highly concentrated green tea and EGCG (epigallocatechin gallate) products that are sold in liquid or capsule form."

The findings of this study, the investigators emphasize, are specific for patients taking bortezomib as opposed to any other common cancer drug.

"Although the study has exposed detrimental effects of great tea in specific combination with Velcade, this should not minimize the previously reported potentially beneficial effect of this herb," Schonthal said. "Related studies with other types of cancer therapies are promising and green tea extract may actually improve the anticancer effects of other drugs."

SOURCE: Blood, online February 3, 2009.