A good picture of the H1N1 flu

Helping people grasp this pandemic is of utmost importance if we’re going to understand it’s implications and the potential for future issues with even more virulent flu’s.   The following link does help paint a picture of how quickly it hits, how long it stays in the body, etc.      http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20091020/hl_nm/us_flu_academy         Additionally, knowing how viruses replicate in the body is important to know so that you can support the natural processes in place to combat this flu ( or any other flu).  This excerpt helps explain this:  http://abyss.uoregon.edu/~js/glossary/virus.html

In the body, the liver is responsible for metabolizing toxins including those released when the host cell of the virus ‘explodes’ releasing new viruses to infect healthy cells.  Similar to the effects of consuming too much alcohol, the liver becomes sluggish and the resultant build up of toxins in the body ends up producing the achy muscles, headache, shaking, etc. obviously making things miserable.  This is where nutrition targeting the liver becomes even more important as speeding the rate of elimination of these toxins reduces the time that it takes for the body’s immune system to do it’s job in the antibody creation.   Foods that fit this are artichokes, asparagus, broccoli, carrots, beets, and garlic.  Those are also good for general daily health but really support the liver.  Supplements with these ingredients can certainly help; there are plenty of garlic selections to choose from and artichoke is widely used.  I recommend LiverGARD since it is only artichoke and sarsaparilla and provides a tremendous antioxidant boost as well.

Stay healthy and keep washing those hands!

NBPI

Liver health helping the body cope with colds and flu

As we enter a cold and flu season that has many experts concerned, especially with the H1N1 (Swine) variety estimated to impact up to 120 million of us in the USA this year.   Viruses, whether the cold or influenza variety, are different than bacteria in how they replicate.  As they commandeer the protein system in a cell, more viruses are created and the residual effect of the ‘leaking’ of fluids, proteins, etc. from the infected cell must be metabolized.  The huge number of viruses infecting the cells in the body releases a toxic soup that ends up slowing down the metabolizing ability of the liver.  The result is headache, achy muscles, lethargy, or in other words – misery.   (This is similar to the effects of too much alcohol consumption or the alcohol hangover, in fact most of the ‘symptoms’ of the hangover mimic the flu. )  In most cases, the misery only lasts from 3 days to 2 weeks depending on the strength of your immune system.  This is where you can help yourself now.  Eating plenty of vegetables/fruits, getting plenty of rest, a decent amount of exercise, and frequent washing of hands should be the norm.  A supplement like LiverGARD can provide much of the daily antioxidant levels needed daily and keep the liver function top notch and when the inevitable strikes, your body will be in the best possible shape to quickly rid yourself of the viruses.

In health, NBPI   www.livergard.com

PS.  A good, but older article on colds/viruses can be found here:

http://www.healthieryou.com/cold.html