Boosting Your Immunity For Dummies

195 Pages·2021·4.081 MB·English

by  Warner|Kellyann Petrucci Petrucci Wendy Warner

Boosting Your
Immunity
Portable Edition
by Dr. Wendy Warner and
Dr. Kellyann Petrucci
Boosting Your Immunity For Dummies®, Portable Edition
Published by:
John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774
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Library of Congress Control Number: 2020952483
ISBN 978-1-119-80985-2 (pbk); ISBN 978-1-119-81025-4 (ebk)
Manufactured in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Contents at a Glance
Introduction .......................................................................................................1
CHAPTER 1: Immunity: Your Ticket to a Stronger, Longer, and Healthier Life ......5
CHAPTER 2: Strengthening Your Allergy Defense System......................................15
CHAPTER 3: Cancer: When the Immune System Takes a Vacation ......................31
CHAPTER 4: Uncovering the Influence of Immunity in Other Conditions ............41
CHAPTER 5: Improving Your Immunity with Nutrition ...........................................55
CHAPTER 6: Choosing Good Foods, Avoiding Bad Foods .......................................69
Boosting Your Immunity
CHAPTER 7: Tapping the Immune Properties of Superfoods ................................89
CHAPTER 8: Planning and Stocking an Immunity-Friendly Kitchen ....................107
CHAPTER 9: Living an Immunity-Friendly Lifestyle ................................................121
CHAPTER 10: Considering Vaccinations and How They Work ...............................141
CHAPTER 11: Exploring Detoxification to Refresh Your Immunity .......................145
CHAPTER 12: Ten Breathing Exercises for a Better Immune System ...................159
CHAPTER 13: Ten Tips to Avoid Colds and Flu .........................................................169
Index.....................................................................................................................175

Table of Contents
Introduction .......................................................................................................1
About This Book ...................................................................................1
Foolish Asumptions ..............................................................................2
Icons Used in This Book .......................................................................3
Where to Go from Here .......................................................................3
Immunity: Your Ticket to a Stronger,
CHAPTER 1:
Longer, and Healthier Life....................................................5
Super Immunity 101 ............................................................................5
Starting with your immune system ..............................................6
Boosting your immunity with nutritional excellence ..................6
Considering super immunity and modern medicine .................7
Living Longer, Stronger, and Healthier ..............................................8
Focusing on healthy cells ...............................................................8
Turning on your “super immunity” genes ....................................9
Choosing health ............................................................................10
Boosting Your Immunity to Look and Feel Amazing ......................11
Looking younger ...........................................................................11
Increasing vitality ..........................................................................12
Getting a good night’s sleep ........................................................12
Clearing up skin and digestive issues .........................................13
CHAPTER 2: Strengthening Your Allergy Defense System ......15
Battling Sneezes, Sniffles, and Itchy Eyes ........................................16
Getting to the root of the allergic reaction ................................16
Pinpointing causes of allergic rhinitis .........................................17
Diagnosing allergic rhinitis ...........................................................18
Using conventional medicine treatment for allergies ..............19
Choosing natural medicine treatment for allergies..................20
Catching Your Breath Again: Asthma ...............................................22
Diagnosing asthma .......................................................................22
Using conventional medical treatment for asthma ..................22
Choosing natural medicine treatments for asthma .................23
Soothing Scaly, Itchy Skin: Eczema ...................................................23
Diagnosing eczema .......................................................................24
Using conventional medical treatment for eczema ..................24
Choosing natural medical treatment for eczema .....................25
Table of Contents v
Distinguishing between Food Allergies and Food Sensitivities .....26
Immediate/acute food allergies ..................................................26
Delayed food-allergy reactions and food sensitivities .............28
Cancer: When the Immune System
CHAPTER 3:
Takes a Vacation ........................................................................31
Understanding the Changes in Cells that Lead to Cancer .............32
Tracking dangerous cell mutations ............................................32
Skipping apoptosis: Planned cell death and how
it relates to cancer ........................................................................33
Weeding out cancer cells .............................................................34
Realizing that even a good immune system can’t
always keep up ..............................................................................34
Reducing Your Chances of Recurrence after Chemotherapy
or Radiation .........................................................................................35
Making dietary interventions specific to cancer .......................36
Managing stress: Cortisol and cancer prevention ....................37
Cleaning up your environment ...................................................38
Uncovering the Influence of Immunity
CHAPTER 4:
in Other Conditions .................................................................41
Chronic Inflammation: From Achy Joints to Alzheimer’s ...............41
The inflammatory process ...........................................................42
Achy joints ......................................................................................42
Heart disease .................................................................................42
Diabetes .........................................................................................43
Alzheimer’s disease ......................................................................44
Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), or Leaky Gut Syndrome ..............45
Diagnosing IBS...............................................................................47
Treating IBS ....................................................................................47
Acne and Chronic Skin Conditions ...................................................49
Acne ................................................................................................49
Psoriasis .........................................................................................51
Eczema ...........................................................................................52
Contact dermatitis ........................................................................52
CHAPTER 5: Improving Your Immunity with Nutrition ............55
Calling in Nutrition’s Big Guns ..........................................................56
Powerful Protein: Making You Healthy (and Thin!) ........................57
Traditional sources of protein: Meat, fish, and eggs ................57
Vegetarian protein options ..........................................................60
vi Boosting Your Immunity For Dummies
Healthy Fats: Protecting Your Body .................................................61
Saturated fats ................................................................................61
Monounsaturated fats (MUFAs) ..................................................62
Polyunsaturated fats (PUFAs) ......................................................63
Refined fats and oils to avoid ......................................................63
Carbs Your Body Will Love: Getting Your Charge Back ..................64
Healthy carbohydrates: Vegetables ............................................65
Healthy carbohydrates: Fruits .....................................................67
CHAPTER 6: Choosing Good Foods, Avoiding Bad Foods ..........69
Building Your Plate for Everyday Wellness
and Robust Immunity ........................................................................69
Finding the right portion sizes .....................................................70
Satisfying your thirst .....................................................................73
Staying Away from Foods on the Proceed-with-Caution List ........73
Unhealthy grains ...........................................................................74
Beans and legumes ......................................................................75
Dairy and stuff ...............................................................................76
Avoiding Certain Foods at All Cost ...................................................78
“Frankenfoods” ..............................................................................78
Sneaky food additives ..................................................................80
Sugar: The monkey on your back ...............................................81
Having to Say Goodbye to Foods You Love, or Do You? ................84
Salt: Friend or foe? ........................................................................84
Are desserts on the menu? ..........................................................85
How about happy hour? ..............................................................86
Restarting Your Health and Nutrition with the “Boosting 30”.......87
Tapping the Immune Properties of
CHAPTER 7:
Superfoods ......................................................................................89
Getting the Scoop on Superfoods ....................................................90
Separating superfoods from the rest of the pack ....................90
Tacking on a superfood bonus: Weight loss ..............................93
Robust, Everyday Superfoods with the “It” Factor ..........................94
Dark chocolate ..............................................................................94
Fruits ...............................................................................................95
Nuts and seeds ..............................................................................98
Spices and herbs .........................................................................100
Teas...............................................................................................102
Vegetables ...................................................................................103
Table of Contents vii
Planning and Stocking an Immunity-
CHAPTER 8:
Friendly Kitchen ........................................................................107
Getting Started: Cleaning Out Your Kitchen ..................................108
Restocking Your Kitchen for a Boosting Future ............................110
Picking proteins your body will love .........................................110
Choosing produce with boosting power ..................................112
Selecting fabulous fats for a nourishing kitchen .....................114
Adding in kitchen staples for eating well .................................115
Shopping for Healthy Foods ...........................................................116
Getting food straight from the farm .........................................117
Exploring traditional grocers and health food stores ............118
Buying organic: Do’s and don’ts ................................................119
CHAPTER 9: Living an Immunity-Friendly Lifestyle ....................121
Getting More from Your Daily Routine ..........................................122
Sleep .............................................................................................122
Sunshine ......................................................................................125
Water ............................................................................................129
Exercise ........................................................................................132
Exploring Ways to Reduce Stress ...................................................134
Massage .......................................................................................134
Yoga and meditation ..................................................................135
The HeartMath solution .............................................................136
Chiropractic .................................................................................137
Naturopathy ................................................................................138
Energy work .................................................................................139
Considering Vaccinations and
CHAPTER 10:
How They Work .........................................................................141
Teaching Your Immune System to Remember and Fight ...........142
Weighing Pros and Cons of Vaccination ........................................143
Making an Informed Decision about Flu Shots ............................144
Exploring Detoxification to Refresh
CHAPTER 11:
Your Immunity ..........................................................................145
Deciding to Detox .............................................................................146
What is a detox, and is it right for you? ....................................146
Weighing the pros and cons of detoxing .................................147
Meeting the Key Players in Detoxification .....................................148
viii Boosting Your Immunity For Dummies