Protecting Your Immune System During Cold and Flu Season

I suffer from auto-immune illness, and although I am still waiting to get my test results back, I can tell you I was diagnosed with Grave's Disease in 2008. This was a time in which after two years I had been struggling with colds and flu-like symptoms non-stop. I would take a course of antibiotics then two weeks after finishing them I would be back to square one again suffering with a cold and cough, sniffling and headaches. No one could seem to figure out what was going on with me, and I had no idea either so I was pretty miserable. With the help of a few of my two favorite doctors that I began seeing during 2009 and 2010, I came up with a plan that would help me fight the signs of a cold at onset and help me feel better within 24 to 36 hours.

My chiropractor had advised me to take a mass dose of vitamin A last year when I was suffering from pneumonia. I knew that it was recommended for many things, but I didn't realize that it was used to help strengthen the immune system. He told me that day to take ten of them, then the following day to take 8, then 5, then 3, then 1 a day. While the effects weren't immediate I did begin to feel a little better later that evening. Day two of taking the vitamin A left me feeling much better. I continued on with the treatment and within a few days my symptoms had significantly decreased to the point where I was feeling human again. According to Dr. Randall Fick, of Fick Chiropractic Centers vitamin A is powerful, but should only be used in mass doses like this when you are ill. Too much vitamin A can irritate the stomach, and if you aren't ill and taking too much your body will become immune to it. Taking it in mass doses will help you when you need it most.

I started seeing Dr. Leonid Macheret of Partners in Wellness in January 2010, and it was then that I discovered how taking magnesium at least once a day can help change a lot of health issues. According to Dr. Macheret, magnesium can help with anxiety, depression, fatigue and can help work with other vitamins and minerals to sustain the immune system. Although he was giving me magnesium in the vein through an IV treatment, he said that taking one a day will help speed up the process significantly. Many of his patients whom I met while getting an IV have said that magnesium helped reduce their headaches, and not only the severity of them but the frequency as well.

Coupled with vitamin C in an IV, magnesium helped to bring down a fever I had one day upon my arrival to his office. I was feeling fluish, and had a temperature of 101, and within fifteen minutes of being hooked up to the IV my fever was completely gone. I walked out with a clean bill of health and with plenty of energy to finish my day and make dinner when I got home. It was amazing.

According to Dr. Macheret, taking Astragalus is also extremely helpful. I learned more about this natural supplement while battling a kidney infection. He gave me a bottle of a Astragalus and I took three a day. Within the first 24 hours I felt significantly better, and I decided to make Astragalus a part of my inventory of vitamins and minerals at home. One day I can remember feeling like I was getting a cold, so I began taking the Astragalus, and within 24 hours I felt better. It was evidence that yet again the power of taking Astragalus was really beneficial for me.

Taking minerals and vitamins in their purest form is essential to good health, and getting supplements that are not chemically coated is important. If you aren't sure ask your doctor what might be right for you, or do some research online or read more about them before you try them. Some individuals may have allergies but in my case I did not. The more you know about yourself the easier it is for you to treat your body to good, wholesome supplementation without putting harsh chemicals into the body that just cover up the symptoms.

Dr. Randall Fick, D.A.R.C.O

Fick Chiropractic Centers

Cincinnati, Ohio

Dr. Leonid Macheret

Partners in Wellness

Fairfield, Ohio