Immune System Vitamins

With all kinds of flu going on around us, from Swine flu to the flu of the season,  millions and millions of people are lining up to get their yearly doses of flu shots.  To me, strengthening and maintaining oneself optimal immune system is the best way to avoid any flu.

There are vitamins and supplements you can take on a regular basis to achieve this goal.  In fact, all the antioxidant vitamins such as Vitamin A, vitamin C, and Vitamin E are all good for a strong immune system.

• Vitamin A is a fat-soluble vitamin which is stored primarily in the liver. Vitamin A is available in two forms:  retinol, which is found in animal products and beta carotene, which your body converts into vitamin A.  Vitamin A is present in liver, cod liver oil, carrots, and sweet potatoes. Retinol is found in meat, fish, eggs and dairy products. Beta carotene is present in orange and yellow fruits and vegetables and dark, leafy greens. Beta carotene is a powerful antioxidant that neutralizes free radicals – molecules that damage healthy cells – decreasing the immune system and other health conditions.  Multi Carotene is a good source in supplement form.
  
• vitamin C is also known as ascorbic acid. It is a powerful antioxidant in the body. vitamin C is a water-soluble essential vitamin that is quickly lost from your body, so daily intake is very important.  Vitamin C rich fruits and vegetables are black currants, green pepper, mangoes, citrus, cabbage, tomatoes, and potatoes.  The body utilizes vitamin C in the immune system by maintaining activity of the white blood cells. Water, cooking, heat and light all reduce the levels of the vitamin C available in food sources. Vegetables begin to lose vitamin C as soon as they are cut.  Taking supplement from a good source of Vitamin C might be a healthy idea. Smokers, those who consume alcohol regularly, people taking medications regularly, and people who suffer from stress regularly all may benefit from taking adequate or slightly higher than daily recommendations of vitamin C.
• Vitamin E is fat-soluble,  only stored in your body for a short period of time, making regular intake is essential.  Vitamin E is a powerful antioxidant that helps decrease the effects of free radicals, which may damage cells and decrease the immune function. Food sources for vitamin E: Wheat germ oil, sunflower oil, sunflower seeds, almonds, pine nuts, peanut butter, sweet potato, asparagus, spinach, and avocado.  But they are readily destroyed by heat processing (deep-fat frying) and through oxidation.  Natural E Complete is a all-natural, all-vegetarian blend supplement with nine forms of vitamin E found in nature.

Take charge of your own health.  Prepare your body to fight a good fight and win over any flu or cold by taking care of your immune system, regularly.

Nutrition and Exercise

Additional nutritions are recommended for strenuous exercises to speed up recovery and build muscle mass and improve bone density, at the same time building stronger immune system for overall better health.

• Carbohydrates: The power food for working out. Eat 30-60 minutes before and after strenuous workout session 45 minutes or longer. Try to avoid refined carbohydrates and processed foods. Best to take a meal replacement drink or bar with at least 20-30 grams of carbs before-the-workout. You can also eat rice or pasta if you like food.
• Protein: The essential for muscle growth and maintenance. Get 20-35% of your daily calories from lean, high-quality protein source (See doctor for suggestion if you have kidney problems). Best quality proteins are complete protein, containing all essential amino acids, and incomplete proteins. High-quality protein powder is a good way to boost protein without adding the fat.
• Good fats (mono-unsaturated fats): help recovery. Omega-3s fatty acids help reduce inflammation and support heart, brain, and neurological functions. Omega-6s help with stimulating necessary inflammation responses and with blood clotting.
• B Vitamins and chromium: helps to optimize use of carbs, protein and fat.
• Antioxidants -Vitamins C and Vitamin E: help speed recovery from exercise and support immune system and promote muscle repair and growth.
• Calcium and magnesium: for bone stability, muscle function and neurological function.

Or you can take multivitamin-Multiminerals in place of the the above, just adding the Omega’s to your diets or supplementation plan.

Top Ten Supplements For Workout

Why Is Nutrition Important When Exercise

exercises" target="_blank">Exercising and proper nutrition go hand in hand for good health. If you do all kinds of workouts, 7 days a week, but feeding your million dollars body with junks, don’t expect it to give you a good return on your exercise investment.
When exercising, there are three major nutrients that your body needs: Carbohydrates to power your workout, fat for recovery, and protein to build muscles. All three need to be in proper ratio to maximize your fitness. When it comes to increasing your nutritional intake for optimal performance, start with the basics: macronutrients like carbohydrates, protein and fats, plus micronutrients related to optimal use of those macronutrients, such as the B vitamins and chromium. The more strenuous you exercise, the more you need additional antioxidants such as vitamins C and E, and minerals such as calcium and magnesium. This group of nutrients will help speed recovery from exercise.
As you stress your body with harder exercise, you may want to add nutrients that support the immune system and promote muscle repair and growth. These include vitamins C and E, protein, and carbohydrates, as well as fatty acids such as omega-3 and omega-6.
Carbohydrates are the power food for working out. Your muscles would rather use carbs than anything else because it burns carbs the quickest and most efficiently, and give you the energy you need with the least metabolic effort. When is the best time to eat carbohydrates? There are two special times: 30 to 60 minutes before any strenuous workout lasting 45 minutes or longer and in the 30 to 60 minutes after any strenuous workout. Carbohydrates are also good for keeping the immune system strong, so don’t overlook this important time for refueling.
Protein is essential for muscle growth and maintenance. The RDA (Recommended Dietary Allowance)suggests that your daily caloric intake should be about 10-15% protein. This amount is good enough to support your day to day activities and prevent disease, but it’s not enough to support muscle growth. To increase muscle mass with exercising, it is recommended that you get 20-35% of your daily calories from lean, high-quality protein sources. (Check with your doctor if you have kidney problem). The best source of proteins are complete proteins, containing all essential amino acids, and incomplete proteins. Supplemental protein products, particularly protein drinks, bars, and protein powders that combine hydrolyzed whey protein and isolated soy protein can be very beneficial in meeting your complete protein needs. You may find adding a scoop of protein powder to soups or smoothies a good whey to boost protein, especially between meals.
Not all fats are bad fat. Good fats are the mono-unsaturated fats and the omega3s and omega-6s (both polyunsaturated). Mono-unsaturated fats are less oxidative to healthy cells, inhibit the inflammatory response, allow blood vessels to dilate, and may even help suppress or control appetite. Olive oil, almond oil, high-oleic safflower oil, avocados, and certain nuts and seeds are good sources of mono-unsaturated fat. Omega-3 fatty acids from fish appear to reduce inflammation and support heart, brain, and neurological functions. They are especially important as your body recovers from strenuous exercise. As damaged cell walls are repaired, they use the available fatty acids in the process, replacing saturated fats, and cells work better with omega-3 in the cell-wall structure. Omega-6s are important for they help with stimulating necessary inflammation responses and with blood clotting and they are found in safflower, sunflower, soybean, corn, and wheat germ oils.
The “bad fats” that you should avoid at all time are saturated and hydrogenated fats. They increase the bad cholesterol, stimulate the inflammation process, increase stickiness and blood clotting, and increase oxidative damage to cells. Saturated fats are found in meats (especially red and dark meats), cheese, butter, cream, whole milk, and chocolate. Hydrogenated fats are found in processed foods like cakes, cookies, and crackers.
Regular exercise alone is not enough. Eating right and the proper supplementation are equally important for a healthy lifestyle. Eating the right foods at the right time can have positive effects on body composition and overall health, which means more muscle and less body fat,stronger immune system.

Healthy Essentials:

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