• Guest - w'd love to know what you think about the forum! Take the 2025 Survey »

Support immune system

H

HpprKM

Well-Known Member
Messages
837
Dislikes
Self absorbed and rude people! Motorists who are oblivious to the rest of the world, and really don't give a ****!
Me again, I have been very happy with all the response that generated on my post, and other peoples' posts on the subject of statins. Now I am wondering just what a diabetic can do to support or assist the immune system. I am into my second cold since August, and it is a bit of a conundrum really - as I am catching many things from my 18 month old grandson who I care for two days a week, and could not give up for the world :problem: :? But it seems I have no immunity to whatever he has, and the problem is that I have so much trouble shaking illnesses off and they lay me really low!

I had an evil cold and cough in early September on the back of my trip to Canada (suspect plane recycled air), that took a good 3/4 weeks to shake off. Then two weeks ago last Saturday came down with a rather nasty cold and cough, that made me feel quite rough. I felt a little better for a couple of days last week, then Saturday evening started sneezing, spent all day Sunday and Monday with streaming cold, now I have the most evil cough that is keeping me awake at night, and wracking me so badly that my ache all over from it, not to mention my poor throat. Seeing GP today as suspect may have infection, but my question is - 'Is there anyway to improve the immune system?' beyond the food, vitamins and minerals we eat and which ones are the most beneficial of these?

So sorry for feeling so sorry for myself :roll:
 
Sorry to read of your troubles! :(

The only supplements I take daily are cod liver and garlic tablets, garlic is said to help boost the immune system and protect the heart but couldn't honestly say if they help or not.

I rarely get colds and last time I had flu was about 6 years ago, I know your type 2 so it's difficult to eat this fruit but I eat one/sometimes two bananas a day which are a rich source of potassium.

Apart from eating healthy, keeping bg in check and getting plenty of fresh air/exercise I really don't have much to offer in the way of advise.
 
Elderberries!! My godmother is a naturopath she alway made sure we had these berries when we were kids, I have a freezer full of them. You can buy a product called Sambucol, Google it and next year you might like to collect your own Elderberries.
Probiotics help build a stronger immune system but you need to make your own as all commercial preparations have been pasteurised
Tight bg control and good food = vegetables fat and protein are important tom of course.
Hope you get better soon x
 
Hi HpprKM

Probably not what you'll want to here (re. cholesterol), but lowering your LDL level has been shown to compromise your immune system!!!!

But, all is not lost. Omega 3 has been shown to increase LDL (the 'big fluffy, good ' LDL) levels, thereby, one would assume, boosting your immune system.
 
Probiotics help build a stronger immune system but you need to make your own as all commercial preparations have been pasteurised
Click to expand...
The milk used is pasteurised; the bacteria are added afterwards [e.g. Danone]. Also keep in mind that they are sold as food, i.e. they are not considered medicine
 
Vitamin D3 supplement , also LOTS of colourful veg and fruit at every meal... good fat's and protein..Does it for me!
Hope you are feeling better soon.
 
Well thanks for all your advice, lots of good common sense there. I feel already cover most of the normal sensible things such as fruit and veg, fresh air (when I feel well enough :) :) ), so I guess I will just have to battle on through! I saw the doctor, a very nice, young GP, but very thorough - he has given me antibotics and an inhaler to help when I am having particular trouble, but mentioned that if I do not improve I may have to get steroids, and said that I have a propensity for this type of illness because I am diabetic (low immunity I guess), and also that we need to keep a close watch on the infection, also because I am diabetic. Actually, he managed to make me feel that I was getting special treatment as I was diabetic - so I guess it has some bonuses :crazy:
 
AMBrennan said:
Probiotics help build a stronger immune system but you need to make your own as all commercial preparations have been pasteurised
Click to expand...
The milk used is pasteurised; the bacteria are added afterwards [e.g. Danone]. Also keep in mind that they are sold as food, i.e. they are not considered medicine
Click to expand...

Just wondering if anyone knows how I might go about this :?:
 
You would have to get unpasteurized milk (farmers' market, perhaps?), probiotic yoghurt starter cultures (only shops I could find are US), mix the two and leave the mix in a yoghurt maker for some time.
Finally, hope that the result is safe to eat - milk is pasteurized for a reason; even this site selling the starter kit recommends using pasteurized milk.
 
Back
Top