Avoiding flu and colds

When the immune system is in a weakened state, disease can take your body hostage — and it is quite happy to have your body as the host.

by Debbie Williams — 

Advertisements are in full swing right now promoting flu shots and cold medicines. Our 24-year-old son texted me recently, asking if he should get his free flu shot at work. An emphatic “No!” was my answer. He is in fantastic health, exercises regularly and his immune system is operating the way it should. Logically, it makes no sense to me to put a shot of “who knows what” into the body. I have read that flu shots contain a mercury-based preservative called thimerosal. No thanks.

A healthy immune system will keep you strong and help you avoid disease and those sneaky seasonal “gotchas” like the flu and colds. Once you feel the scratchy throat and teary eyes, it is destined to run its course. Eighty percent of your immune system lives in your gut, and a healthy immune system means your tissues, cells and organs are balanced enough to be able to fight invaders that enter your body. The word “immunity” comes from the Latin word “immunis,” which means free of burden.

Our bodies take much abuse from viruses, germs, pollution, alcohol, tobacco and more. When the immune system is in a weakened state, disease can take your body hostage — and it is quite happy to have your body as the host.

A strong immune system can help with allergies and avoiding the flu and colds. Most people have never heard of beta glucan, including doctors, but it is a polysaccharide that is considered the number one immunomodulator on the planet. I think the reason it has not been more well-known is that a decade ago it cost $200 a capsule. In my opinion, it is the most significant health supplement of our lifetime. If you go to pubmed.gov and type in “glucan,” you will see more than 11,000 published positive studies from prestigious universities.

Beta glucan can be found in seaweed and Japanese mushrooms, but ours comes from the walls of baker’s yeast, which studies find to be more potent in relation to immune response. But buyer beware: Many commercial brands are worthless. Our product also contains resveratrol and vitamin C. These three ingredients are synergistic, making the effect of beta glucan much more powerful. This is the best in the world, beating the number two brand by eight-fold, i.e., you would have to take eight capsules to get the same immune response as our brand. The FDA gives beta glucan the Generally Regarded As Safe (GRAS) rating.  In more than 50 years of study, no known side effects have been found.

It is critical for maximum effectiveness to take beta glucan on an empty stomach so food does not compete for absorption. Our beta glucan binds to the CR3 receptor of neutrophil cells, which are the most abundant white blood cells. These cells are then activated to see “non-self” cells. Essentially, trillions more fighter cells are produced in the body. People call our product “life-changing” and “miraculous” because the other brands of beta glucan do not produce these cells.

I have been taking the supplement for over two years and have not been sick once, which is highly unusual for me. I am usually plagued with allergies and strep throat. My husband says it best: “The thing I like about the beta glucan is that the frequency, duration and severity of anything you might get are greatly reduced.”

Disclaimer: These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. If pregnant or lactating, consult a physician before using.

Debbie Williams is an immune health coach. For more information on how to get the number one beta glucan, contact Debbie at debphoenixryl@gmail.com or 623-444-0557.

Reprinted from AzNetNews, Volume 32, Number 6, December 2013/January 2014.