Chronic fatigue syndrome is partly an immune system problem. So when you have CFS your body's protective network is not functioning well and depending on how sick you are you will have mild to severe dysfunction of the immune system. Besides a weakened ability to fend off infection and malignancy you may also have symptoms such as fever, weight loss, musculoskeletal pain, fatigue, and many other symptoms when your immune function is poor (just like when you have the flu).
What's for lunch? Some grilled chicken and antioxidants!
Impaired immune system functions in CFS include:- B-lymphocytes (B cells)
- T-lymphocytes (T cells)
- Phagocytic and complement systems.
B cells are a type of white blood cell that is able to recognize foreign proteins (antigens) and make specific proteins (antibodies) to destroy the antigens. T cells are other types of white blood cells with a number of functions such as recognizing foreign antigens, attaching to them, and destroying them.
In the phagocytic system various types of white blood cells (phagocytes) engulf and digest foreign particles. The complement system is a cascade of events that helps clear disease producing particles from an organism. It is a group of different proteins that become activated when they come into contact with antigen/antibody complexes; they attach to the invader to destroy it. This system can bring about various non-specific inflammatory responses.
Strengthen your immune system I talk about strengthening and healing your immune system all the time in this blog, the keys are simply diet and nutrition, exercise, and stress reduction (stress is rat poison to the immune system). Today I’m going to talk about enriching your diet with antioxidants.
Antioxidants Antioxidants are vitamins and minerals that are found in foods and can be obtained through supplements. They work to remove harmful free radicals or oxidants from the bloodstream. Free radicals are the toxic byproducts that are made during the process that converts food to energy, and they are also byproducts of cigarette smoke, pollution, sunlight exposure, and other environmental toxins. Free radicals weaken and suppress immune function and damage DNA and they are important agents in the development of diseases including most types of cancers. In fact people with diets low in antioxidants are more at risk for developing cancer and other degenerative disease while diets high in antioxidants actually protect against cancer and disease.
Other diseases with links to free radicals are heart disease and atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries), central nervous system disorders including dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, and certain kidney, gastrointestinal, and skin disease. Aging is associated with changes in the immune function with depressed activity of T lymphocytes and an increase in several phagocyte functions, as well as their pro-inflammatory cytokine production. Studies show that administration of anti-oxidants improve several immune functions related to aging (something all of us are doing all the time).
Since so much of the etiology of CFS is stress related (remember to think out of the box when you think of stress, stressors include such things as poor diet, toxins, and over the top beyond human endurance lifestyle habits) it's important to combat the effects of stress daily with your diet including antioxidant foods and supplements.
Like everything else I talk about taking antioxidants is not a magic bullet against disease or for healing by itself, you have to do the whole healing program. But on top of your good diet, exercise, stressor reduction, elimination of toxins, etc., adding antioxidants is going to help speed up your healing process and help prevent further damage to your cells.
First off everyone needs to be supplementing their real whole food diet with a balanced multivitamin. Then consider adding some of the antioxidants including beta carotene, selenium, vitamin C, vitamin E, and vitamin A.
- Beta carotene
- N-acetylcysteine (NAC)
- Lutein
- Lycopene
- Selenium
- Vitamin A
- Vitamin C
- Vitamin E
Vitamin-like Antioxidants:- Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10)
- Glutathione
Beta carotene is one of the most potent nutrients to protect the body from oxidative stress. Good sources of beta-carotene include: carrots, carrot juice, spinach, kale, cantaloupe, apricots, papaya, mango, oatmeal, peas, tomato juice, peaches and sweet red peppers.
N-acetylcysteine (NAC) and vitamin E are potent anti- oxidants that are depleted during oxidative stress. These anti-oxidants have an anti-inflammatory action. NAC increases the availability of glutathione, which is an important cellular anti-oxidant, useful to immune cells.
Vitamin E is THE principal anti-oxidant defense against oxidative degradation in the cell membrane and it modulates and improves the immune cell functions.
Lutein: helps with eyesight and may help prevent cataracts.
Sources: carrots, squash, spinach, green leafy vegetables, oranges and yellow peppers.
Lycopene: shown to reduce the risk of prostate cancer and cardiovascular disease.
Sources: tomatoes, tomato soup, tomato sauce, watermelon and pink or red grapefruit.
Selenium: mineral that creates antioxidant enzymes in your body that help prevent cell damage, and help protect the body from toxins.
Sources: brazil nuts, tuna, beef, cod, turkey, chicken breast, garlic, whole eggs, cottage cheese, brown rice, enriched whole wheat bread, black walnuts and cheddar cheese.
Vitamin A: assists in vision and cell growth, preventative against some types of cancer, aids in growth and development, and improvement immune function.
Sources: beef liver, chicken liver, whole or fortified milk, cheddar cheese, eggs and egg substitute.
Vitamin C: helps form bones, cartilage, muscles and blood vessels in the body, important in helping the body absorb iron.
Sources: asparagus, berries, broccoli, cabbage, cantaloupe, honeydew, watermelon, cauliflower, lemons, oranges, fortified breads/grains/cereals, kale, kiwi, potatoes, spinach and tomatoes.
Vitamin E: helps protect cells against free radicals, helps to form red blood cells, and aids in the absorption of Vitamin K.
Sources: wheat germ oil, almonds, sunflower seeds, sunflower oil, safflower oil, hazelnuts, peanut butter, peanuts, corn oil, spinach, broccoli, soybean oil, kiwi and mango.
So I just listed a whole bunch of foods that you should be using REGULARLY in your healing diet.
Go forth and eat well every day!
PS. I made my oatmeal with half water and half apple juice this morning, it was to die for! Stirred in a little whey powder in my diluted coconut milk and topped with fresh blueberries and a little honey. Really started off my day great....!!
Here's my sister's recipe for a super antioxidant soup.
Tomato Soup
Makes 3 Quarts
1 eight-ounce jar sun dried tomatoes in olive oil
1 large yellow onion, coarsely chopped
12 ripe beefsteak tomatoes, washed and scored into quarters
3 quarts homemade or readymade organic chicken broth
1 large handful fresh basil, washed, stems removed
2 tablespoons freshly grated nutmeg
cayenne pepper, to taste
sea salt and pepper, to taste
whole cream, optional
In a large soup pot, over medium-high heat, heat the sun dried tomatoes and all of the oil. When hot, add the onion and sauté until soft, about five minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add tomatoes to pot, cover with chicken broth and cook over medium heat for one hour, until very mushy. Turn off heat, add basil and cover. When completely cool (or soup will splatter out of the blender), purée soup, about 60 seconds per batch, until very smooth. Rinse pot and wipe dry. (You may strain the soup for a smoother consistency if desired.) Return soup to the pot. Season with nutmeg, cayenne pepper, salt and pepper. Ladle into bowls and pour cream into the center of each bowl.
Chronic fatigue syndrome is partly an immune system problem. So when you have CFS your body's protective network is not functioning well and depending on how sick you are you will have mild to severe dysfunction of the immune system. Besides a weakened ability to fend off infection and malignancy you may also have symptoms such as fever, weight loss, musculoskeletal pain, fatigue, and many other symptoms when your immune function is poor (just like when you have the flu).
What's for lunch? Some grilled chicken and antioxidants!
Impaired immune system functions in CFS include:
- B-lymphocytes (B cells)
- T-lymphocytes (T cells)
- Phagocytic and complement systems.
B cells are a type of white blood cell that is able to recognize foreign proteins (antigens) and make specific proteins (antibodies) to destroy the antigens. T cells are other types of white blood cells with a number of functions such as recognizing foreign antigens, attaching to them, and destroying them.In the phagocytic system various types of white blood cells (phagocytes) engulf and digest foreign particles. The complement system is a cascade of events that helps clear disease producing particles from an organism. It is a group of different proteins that become activated when they come into contact with antigen/antibody complexes; they attach to the invader to destroy it. This system can bring about various non-specific inflammatory responses.
Strengthen your immune system
I talk about strengthening and healing your immune system all the time in this blog, the keys are simply diet and nutrition, exercise, and stress reduction (stress is rat poison to the immune system). Today I’m going to talk about enriching your diet with antioxidants.
Antioxidants
Antioxidants are vitamins and minerals that are found in foods and can be obtained through supplements. They work to remove harmful free radicals or oxidants from the bloodstream. Free radicals are the toxic byproducts that are made during the process that converts food to energy, and they are also byproducts of cigarette smoke, pollution, sunlight exposure, and other environmental toxins. Free radicals weaken and suppress immune function and damage DNA and they are important agents in the development of diseases including most types of cancers. In fact people with diets low in antioxidants are more at risk for developing cancer and other degenerative disease while diets high in antioxidants actually protect against cancer and disease.
Other diseases with links to free radicals are heart disease and atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries), central nervous system disorders including dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, and certain kidney, gastrointestinal, and skin disease. Aging is associated with changes in the immune function with depressed activity of T lymphocytes and an increase in several phagocyte functions, as well as their pro-inflammatory cytokine production. Studies show that administration of anti-oxidants improve several immune functions related to aging (something all of us are doing all the time).
Since so much of the etiology of CFS is stress related (remember to think out of the box when you think of stress, stressors include such things as poor diet, toxins, and over the top beyond human endurance lifestyle habits) it's important to combat the effects of stress daily with your diet including antioxidant foods and supplements.
Like everything else I talk about taking antioxidants is not a magic bullet against disease or for healing by itself, you have to do the whole healing program. But on top of your good diet, exercise, stressor reduction, elimination of toxins, etc., adding antioxidants is going to help speed up your healing process and help prevent further damage to your cells.
First off everyone needs to be supplementing their real whole food diet with a balanced multivitamin. Then consider adding some of the antioxidants including beta carotene, selenium, vitamin C, vitamin E, and vitamin A.
- Beta carotene
- N-acetylcysteine (NAC)
- Lutein
- Lycopene
- Selenium
- Vitamin A
- Vitamin C
- Vitamin E
Vitamin-like Antioxidants:- Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10)
- Glutathione
Beta carotene is one of the most potent nutrients to protect the body from oxidative stress. Good sources of beta-carotene include: carrots, carrot juice, spinach, kale, cantaloupe, apricots, papaya, mango, oatmeal, peas, tomato juice, peaches and sweet red peppers.N-acetylcysteine (NAC) and vitamin E are potent anti- oxidants that are depleted during oxidative stress. These anti-oxidants have an anti-inflammatory action. NAC increases the availability of glutathione, which is an important cellular anti-oxidant, useful to immune cells.
Vitamin E is THE principal anti-oxidant defense against oxidative degradation in the cell membrane and it modulates and improves the immune cell functions.
Lutein: helps with eyesight and may help prevent cataracts.
Sources: carrots, squash, spinach, green leafy vegetables, oranges and yellow peppers.
Lycopene: shown to reduce the risk of prostate cancer and cardiovascular disease.
Sources: tomatoes, tomato soup, tomato sauce, watermelon and pink or red grapefruit.
Selenium: mineral that creates antioxidant enzymes in your body that help prevent cell damage, and help protect the body from toxins.
Sources: brazil nuts, tuna, beef, cod, turkey, chicken breast, garlic, whole eggs, cottage cheese, brown rice, enriched whole wheat bread, black walnuts and cheddar cheese.
Vitamin A: assists in vision and cell growth, preventative against some types of cancer, aids in growth and development, and improvement immune function.
Sources: beef liver, chicken liver, whole or fortified milk, cheddar cheese, eggs and egg substitute.
Vitamin C: helps form bones, cartilage, muscles and blood vessels in the body, important in helping the body absorb iron.
Sources: asparagus, berries, broccoli, cabbage, cantaloupe, honeydew, watermelon, cauliflower, lemons, oranges, fortified breads/grains/cereals, kale, kiwi, potatoes, spinach and tomatoes.
Vitamin E: helps protect cells against free radicals, helps to form red blood cells, and aids in the absorption of Vitamin K.
Sources: wheat germ oil, almonds, sunflower seeds, sunflower oil, safflower oil, hazelnuts, peanut butter, peanuts, corn oil, spinach, broccoli, soybean oil, kiwi and mango.
So I just listed a whole bunch of foods that you should be using REGULARLY in your healing diet.
Go forth and eat well every day!
PS. I made my oatmeal with half water and half apple juice this morning, it was to die for! Stirred in a little whey powder in my diluted coconut milk and topped with fresh blueberries and a little honey. Really started off my day great....!!
Here's my sister's recipe for a super antioxidant soup.
Tomato Soup
Makes 3 Quarts
1 eight-ounce jar sun dried tomatoes in olive oil
1 large yellow onion, coarsely chopped
12 ripe beefsteak tomatoes, washed and scored into quarters
3 quarts homemade or readymade organic chicken broth
1 large handful fresh basil, washed, stems removed
2 tablespoons freshly grated nutmeg
cayenne pepper, to taste
sea salt and pepper, to taste
whole cream, optional
In a large soup pot, over medium-high heat, heat the sun dried tomatoes and all of the oil. When hot, add the onion and sauté until soft, about five minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add tomatoes to pot, cover with chicken broth and cook over medium heat for one hour, until very mushy. Turn off heat, add basil and cover. When completely cool (or soup will splatter out of the blender), purée soup, about 60 seconds per batch, until very smooth. Rinse pot and wipe dry. (You may strain the soup for a smoother consistency if desired.) Return soup to the pot. Season with nutmeg, cayenne pepper, salt and pepper. Ladle into bowls and pour cream into the center of each bowl.