8 Exotic Superfoods to Boost Your Immune System

Exotic superfoods are more mysterious, perhaps even harder to find, but well worth your efforts. These exotic superfoods have been used in other parts of the world for their powerful healing punch successfully. 

By Wendy Warner and Kellyann Petrucci from Boosting Your Immunity For Dummies

Exotic superfoods are more mysterious, perhaps even harder to find, but well worth your efforts. These exotic superfoods have been used in other parts of the world for their powerful healing punch successfully. Get to know some of these unusual superfoods and figure out how to implement them into your overall superfood regimen.

Enlarge 1 Extracts from acai berries may destroy cancer cells, particularly those associated with leukemia. Acai berries (pronounced ah-sigh-ee) are grown on the palm trees in the Amazon rainforest of northern Brazil. The name of the game with acai berries is pure antioxidant and nutrient power. They fight leukemia. A well-known study, done by the University of Florida, found that extracts of the acai berry destroyed human cancer cells grown in a lab. More studies are needed to confirm its effects, but this step is definitely in the right direction. They reduce inflammation. One of the best things that acai berries can do for you, due to the large amounts of anthocyanins they contain, is reduce inflammation associated with chronic diseases. Heart disease, cancer, diabetes, arthritis, fatigue syndromes, digestive discomforts, aches, and pains are all helped by reducing inflammation. They shield your heart against disease. The pulp of acai berries has deep healing agents that contain antioxidants and fiber that reduces cholesterol — and keeps your digestive system healthy to boot!	Enlarge 2 Goji berries are richly immersed in antioxidant power. Goji berries (pronouncedgo-gee), which are the commercial name for wolfberries, have been used for thousands of years in Chinese medicine. Battle cancer: The phytochemicals in goji berries may have powerful anticancer effects. A 1994 study published in theChinese Journal of Oncology stated that goji berries have a positive effect on treatments when used in conjunction with other cancer therapies. Support weight loss:Goji berries contain natural compounds that are lipotropic, meaning they help carry fat away from the liver and burn those extra calories. Protect your heart: Goji berries have compounds to lower cholesterol, are natural defenders against free radical damage, and release levels ofhomocysteine, a protein associated with heart disease and inflammation. Prevent age-related eye problems: Goji berries have a high level of antioxidants, like beta carotene and zeaxanthin, which are important for vision. Zeaxanthin protects the eyes, specifically the retina, and may reduce the risk of age-related macular degeneration. Boost your libido: This amazing superfood not only raises your spirits, but it also raises your libido! Goji berries raise testosterone levels, and, therefore, your sex drive goes up.	Enlarge 3 Dulse is a sea vegetable with many vitamins, minerals, essential fatty acids, and other natural food chemicals with antioxidant properties. Dulse is reddish brown and comes in whole leaves, powdered, or as a condiment. This sea vegetable is chewy with a salty finish. Dulse flakes give a great flavor to salads. You can also eat it right out of the package!
Enlarge 4 Hijiki is a sea vegetable that looks like black angel hair pasta. Called the “beauty vegetable” in Japan for the shiny hair and beautiful skin it gives to those who indulge, this sea vegetable helps nourish the thyroid, promotes healthy skin and hair, and promotes a healthy immune system.	Enlarge 5 You can find virtually every nutrient in sea kelp. Kelp is a great source of iodine, which is a vital nutrient that many are deficient in and that your throid needs. Kelp noodles are delicious and a wonderful way to add sea vegetables to your diet.	Enlarge 6 Kombu, another sea vegetable, provides minerals that are particularly important in your diet. Kombu is a type of brown algae that has a beautiful dark purple hue. You can find kombu fresh, frozen, or dried. It comes in thick strips or sheets. It has a savory taste and can be used as a food flavoring, food topping, or a nice salty addition to soups.
Enlarge 7 Nori is the most popular sea vegetable because it’s used to make sushi. You can find nori in colors from dark purple to marine green. You can use it as a condiment for soups, salads, and casseroles or cut into strips.	Enlarge 8 Another great sea vegetable, wakame, provides a salty taste that comes from a balance of sodium and other minerals from the sea. Wakame (pronounced wah-ka-may) is a tender grayish green sea vegetable, and when you soak wakame, it expands many times its original size. Eat it raw as a snack, add it to soups and stir-fries, or roast it and sprinkle on salads and stews. Wakame becomes soft and melts in your mouth when cooked. What a great way to add minerals to your foods! Sea vegetables also give you a good dose of fiber to promote digestive health.

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Dementia For Dummies (UK Edition)

Dementia is not simply a medical word for becoming forgetful; there’s 
much more to it than that.

From Dementia For Dummies - UK, UK Edition by Simon Atkins

Dementia is not simply a medical word for becoming forgetful; there’s much more to it than that. But once you have identified the symptoms and their potential causes, you can access the best available help.

What Is Dementia?

Contrary to what many people think, dementia is not a single disease in itself, but the medical term used to describe the progressive and irreversible effects that a number of different diseases have on a person’s brain and the way in which it functions.

Dementia affects both men and women and becomes more common with advancing age, although 2 percent of people who develop dementia are under the age of 65.

The symptoms affect three main areas of people’s lives:

• Thought processes, such as memory, language, and ability to plan
• Emotions, leading to changes such as irritability and aggression in some people, withdrawal and lack of speech in others, and maybe sexual disinhibition and depression
• The ability to carry out the normal activities of daily life, from driving and holding down a job in the early stages, to washing, dressing, and even feeding themselves as the condition becomes worse

So just having a few senior moments and becoming a bit more forgetful doesn’t mean that someone has dementia; he may just be becoming older and more forgetful. For a doctor to make the diagnosis, a person needs to have problems in each of the three areas.

The Top 5 Symptoms of Dementia

Dementia can reveal itself through multiple symptoms and is sometimes difficult to diagnose. Following are the top five symptoms that point toward a diagnosis of dementia:

• Memory problems: This is probably the most well-known but least understood of all of the symptoms of dementia, mainly because although everyone becomes forgetful, this doesn’t mean everyone has dementia. The crucial issue here is whether failing memory affects the way someone is able to carry out tasks every day. If it does, then it is certainly significant.
• Difficulty solving problems and planning: In the early stages of dementia, people lose the ability to perform tasks that may need planning or involve having to work out what to do next. So, for example, they’re not able to pack effectively for a holiday or trip and may become confused at the petrol pump when filling the car with fuel.
• Trouble finding the right word when talking or writing: Again, this happens to everyonefrom time to time. You are mid-sentence, and the next word you’re looking for completely eludes you. In early dementia, this word-finding difficulty becomes more and more frequent, and people often forget names of people and objects they’re trying to describe.
• Getting lost and losing things: People with dementia increasingly forget where they left something, from their car keys to the car itself, and aren’t able to retrace their steps to work out where they’ve left the thing. Familiar journeys also become a mystery, and so people themselves often become lost, too.
• Different emotions: Another early change occurs in a person’s mood, emotions, and personality. Mountains may become molehills more often than ever before, people may become either withdrawn or more aggressive and inpatient with things, and sexual disinhibition is also more common.

Causes of Dementia

Four main diseases cause dementia: Alzheimer’s disease, named after the person who discovered it; vascular dementia, called after the part of the brain that’s damaged (the blood vessels); fronto-temporal dementia, named after the areas of the brain affected; and Lewy body disease, called after the protein deposits seen in the brains of sufferers when looked at under the microscope.

Despite the different causes, the symptoms are largely the same, although each disease has its own special features that differentiate it from the other three.

	Percentage of Total Cases of Dementia	Special Features
Alzheimer’s disease	62	Abnormal protein structures called plaques and tangles are found in the brain cells.
Vascular dementia	17	Caused by damage to the blood vessels bringing oxygen to brain cells. Twenty-five percent of people who have strokes are likely to develop vascular dementia.
Fronto-temporal dementia	2	Affects two parts of the brain called the frontal lobe and the temporal lobe. Very likely to cause changes in a person’s personality.
Lewy body disease	4	Lewy bodies, named after the person who first described seeing them, are spherical protein deposits in brain cells. This condition shares a number of features of Parkinson’s disease, and sufferers often have poor mobility and experience visual hallucinations.

Drug Treatments for Dementia

Sadly, no cure exists for this condition, but a handful of medicines has been developed to help slow its progress. The drug treatments initially were designed specifically to help people with Alzheimer’s disease, but some specialists use them in people with a mixture of Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia.

The following table shows the four available drugs, the method of taking them, and the most common side effects to look out for.

Name	Method of Taking	Most Common Side Effects
Donepezil (Aricept)	Ordinary tablets Melt-in-the-mouth tablets	Upset stomach, headaches, agitation, hallucinations, fatigue, insomnia, giddiness
Galantamine (Reminyl)	Ordinary tablets Slow-release tablets Liquid	Upset stomach, indigestion, poor appetite, weight loss, headache, dizziness, hallucinations, high blood pressure and slow pulse
Rivastigmine (Exelon)	Capsules Liquid Patches	Upset stomach, poor appetite, weight loss, headache, dizziness, drowsiness, nervousness, tremor, confusion, insomnia, slow pulse, symptoms of Parkinson’s disease
Memantine (Ebixa)	Ordinary tablets Liquid	Constipation, raised blood pressure, headache, dizziness, drowsiness, shortness of breath

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Cleanse Your Liver with the Right Foods

You don’t need liver-cleansing supplements to detox. Really, you don’t! People often think that cleansing their liver would be best supported by strict detoxing, fasting or limited calories ...

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By Michele Chevalley Hedge and Dan DeFigio

You don’t need liver-cleansing supplements to detox. Really, you don’t! People often think that cleansing their liver would be best supported by strict detoxing, fasting or limited calories, however just the simple act of eating whole foods can clean up your liver. We actually need nutrients to support the detoxification process that our bodies naturally like to do.

The following real-food ideas can assist in the natural detoxification of your liver and other organs that might be on overload too.

• Go nuts! All nuts are full of amino acids and no sugar. Not only are nuts full of essential fatty acids, but walnuts in particular are high in l-arginine and glutathione, which can assist in detoxifying the liver and oxygenating the blood. It’s the walnut hull that is often found in liver-cleansing products that you can purchase in the chemist. Why not just eat them?
• Sidestep alcohol and fructose. Fructose is very hard on your liver, much the same way as drinking alcohol is. Fructose is converted into fat that gets stored in your liver and other tissues as body fat. If this is consumed in excess this can lead to non-alcohol fatty liver disease (NADLD). When the liver becomes dysfunctional, we lose our metabolic powerhouse.
• Love a grapefruit. This yellow or rosey-hued fruit is rich in vitamin C and antioxidants, which are excellent at cleansing the liver. One of the flavonoids in grapefruit, naringenin, contains a compound that makes the liver burn fat rather than store it. Why not squeeze some into your sparkling water today?
• Befriend onions and garlic. Foods rich in sulphur containing compounds are one of the primary types of molecules used to help the liver detoxify a wide range of toxins. Food like onions, garlic and eggs yolks come under this category. Garlic contains allicin and selenium, which are proven to help protect the liver from toxic overload. Do your best to buy Australian-grown garlic and organic eggs.
• Go green. Green tea has antioxidant properties and is loaded with catechins.Catechins are a type of plant antioxidant that have been known to eliminate fat accumulation and promote proper liver function. It also protects against toxins that can cause serious liver damage.
• Spice it up. Turmeric has increased in popularity. Everyone wants this little spice as its proven much of its beneficial properties in research studies. It’s shown to protect the liver against toxic damage and even regenerate damaged liver cells. Turmeric also boosts the production of bile and hepatic dusts, which is beneficial to those who have gallbladder issues.

http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/cleanse-your-liver-with-the-right-foods.html

Powerful Protein Sources That Can Make You Healthy (and Thin!)

Protein builds you up. Growth and repair are protein’s major roles: Your body uses the protein you take in as food to build cells, synthesize new proteins, and keep your tissues healthy. Eating adequate protein supports your physique and satisfies your appetite.

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By Wendy Warner and Kellyann Petrucci from Boosting Your Immunity For Dummies

Protein is a nutritional powerhouse in that it provides important immune-boosting nutrients — essential fatty acids (good fats), vitamins, and minerals. Among these minerals is zinc, which helps in the production of infection-fighting white blood cells. Even a mild deficiency in zinc can open the door to many diseases and infections. So sufficient amounts of protein are wonderful in supporting a healthy immune system.

Enlarge 1 The protein in meats strengthens your body by building strong muscle, providing fuel storage for bursts of energy, and even helping your body burn fat, which keeps you healthier. Buy the leanest, organic grass-fed, free-range meat as possible. Beef, buffalo, lamb, goat, turkey, chicken, organic organ meats, pasture-raised pork, nitrite- and gluten-free deli meats, and nitrite- and gluten-free sausages are all good sources.	Enlarge 2 Wild meat (game) is the best kind of meat, if you can get it, because it’s full of good fats. Venison, rabbit, pheasant, quail, and even boar are all good choices.	Enlarge 3 Purchase the best quality meat that hasn’t been irradiated with chemicals, which is counterproductive to your boosting immunity efforts. When buying conventional meats, look for food that hasn't been irradiated  (exposed to ionizing radiation to kill bacteria, viruses, or microorganisms). Choose the leanest cuts and trim all visible fats before cooking. Make sure you drain as much of the fats released before you cook.
Enlarge 4 The benefit of fish is that healthy fish are loaded with healthy fats. Purchase wild-caught, sustainable fish when you can. Fattier, deep cold-water fish are your best choices. Salmon, sardines, mackerel, cod, and herring are all great for boosting your health. Tuna packed in olive oil is another choice to add to your grocery list.	Enlarge 5 Eggs are amazing: They’re rich in key nutrients, especially fat-soluble vitamins A and D, and the egg yolk is also loaded with brain food and immune-fighting nutrients. Capture as much of this immune-building nutrition as possible by buying the best quality. Organic pastured eggs have the best fatty acid profile. If you can find a farm that carries pastured eggs, you’re sure to get an explosion of nutrients! Studies show that dietary cholesterol has very little affect on blood cholesterol. Actually, the egg yolk contains choline,which is a natural fat transporter, keeping cholesterol out of the blood! Dietary cholesterol is simply not a good indicator of heart disease.	Enlarge 6 If you choose to eat vegetarian protein sources, the most optimal choices are organic, non-GMO (genetically modified organisms, which have had changes introduced into their DNA by genetic engineering techniques), plant-based foods. Good choices are lentils, black beans, pinto beans, and red beans because they have the lowest impact on blood sugar (and having your blood sugar spike up and down causes you to become unhealthy and overweight). If you buy canned beans, be sure to rinse them a couple of times before eating. If you’re preparing dried beans, soak them for at least 12 hours before cooking. Rinsing and soaking remove the starch (and salt, if canned) and reduce the gassiness that beans cause for many people. Other possible choices are full-fat yogurt and kefir from milk of pasture-raised cows, high-quality protein powders, natto, and tempeh.

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How to Create a Layered Landscape for Free-Range Chickens

Chickens fit in well with a layered plant landscape. Chickens thrive because this type of ecosystem provides shelter, food, and protection. Softscape elements are most beneficial added in layers. 

By Bonnie Jo Manion and Robert T. Ludlow from Gardening with Free-Range Chickens For Dummies

Chickens fit in well with a layered plant landscape. Chickens thrive because this type of ecosystem provides shelter, food, and protection. Softscape elements are most beneficial added in layers. Think of your style of gardening as an integrated plant landscape with each layer working together. Imagine each tree or plant as building a plant community with symbiotic relationships, rather than isolated by itself.

Softscape includes all the living materials such as plant materials, flowerbeds, mulch, and soil. A layered landscape is important and beneficial because each layer builds upon the next layer providing elements such as shade, plant nutrients, and mulch. Think of your garden in beneficial layers from the tallest trees in your yard down to the bulbs you dig in the ground.

A forest grows in layers naturally because each tree or plant fills a niche that helps other trees and plants grow. Tall forest trees reach for the sun and provide shaded canopies for others. Smaller trees, shrubs, and perennials closer to the forest floor receive dappled sunlight and moisture for growth.

A harmonious, thriving garden is full of clusters of symbiotic plants calledguilds. In biological terms, symbiotic plants are different plants that are grown in close proximity of each other for mutual advantage. These symbiotic plants build guild communities. In ecological terms, a guild is a group of species that have similar requirements to thrive and play a similar role within a plant community.

An example of a guild is a small tree with tulips and daffodils planted underneath for weed suppression, and used as a natural support for a beautiful climbing rose. An added benefit is that, to some degree, planted daffodils deter gophers, rabbits, and deer by sending out a year-round toxic fragrance that animals sense and move away from. If animals were to bite into the actual bulbs, the bulbs would burn and irritate sensitive mouth and cheek tissues.

Work with what you have in your garden and on your property. You can change some — but not all — elements. Know your garden and your property and their particular characteristics. If you have a known low, wet spot, plant something that thrives in a consistent wet spot, such as blueberry bushes or a willow tree.

The positives of a layered landscape

This layered plant landscape is similar to subtropical environments from which some wild chickens originated. Imagine your garden as a simulation of this environment. Don’t forget to add the necessary components of a fresh water source and a quiet place for hens to lay their eggs, such as a nearby chicken coop.

The same layered plant landscape that’s so natural for free-ranging chickens is beneficial for you, too. A layered plant landscape provides you with the same attributes of shelter, natural shade, edibles, aesthetic value, and sanctuary.

Shelter means protection from your environment, such as blustery winds, strong sun, or even close neighbors. Shade from a tree’s natural canopy is a gift on a hot summer day. The same food you enjoy growing for yourself can be potential food for your chickens, too. Many shrubs that have berries that attract birds can be food for your chickens.

A carefully planned layered plant landscape can be visually stunning and soothing to the soul.

The negatives of a non-layered landscape

The figure paints a picture of a non-layered plant ecosystem to show you a type of environment that wouldn’t be good for free-ranging chickens. This environment doesn’t provide shelter, protection, and a variety of food.

This scenario isn't good for free-ranging chickens because they have only lawn grass or one type of food on which to forage. They have no protective and screened shelter other than shade from the maple tree in the center of the yard. The maple tree’s first branches aren’t low to the ground; in fact, its lateral branches start at eight feet high.

The chickens have no protective shrubs along the fence or any other area in the backyard to hide or escape from a predator. The landscape gravel may attract the chickens toward the house for scratching and dust baths. Chickens are highly visible in the yard at all times with no landscape shelter. The non-layered landscape is not as enjoyable as a layered landscape for one to appreciate and spend quality time in either.

Structure in the garden

Besides creating a layered plant landscape, gardeners want to consider structure in the garden for themselves and their chickens. Structure is the “bones” of the garden or the bare skeleton of a garden using landscape plants. The structure in the garden consists of permanent landscape such as a hedge or a row of trees.

Garden structure is what anchors and remains constant in a garden. You may have seasonal changes in color, blooms, flowers, fruit, and so on, but the trees, shrubs, hedges, or perennial vines remain in the garden throughout the year. Their structure consists of trunks, branches, lines, and so on. Structure in the garden is usually the larger landscape layers of mature trees, hedges, and shrubs.

You have many choices of styles to choose from when creating your garden style and in planting your garden structure. Planting a garden structure is not only a foundation for your garden or property that will last for years, but also an investment in purchasing and planting all the landscape. Choose carefully, and consider hiring a landscape professional to guide you.

Implementing structure in the garden is one of the first phases of a garden and landscape design. An example of structure is planting a permanent screening hedge in front of a chain link fence across the entire back of your property or strategically planting aesthetically pleasing shrubs along a side of your home to create a softer look.

Structure such as mature trees and shrubs with deep roots are less impacted by free-ranging chickens than smaller shallow-rooted shrubs, perennials, and annuals.

The smaller the plant in your chicken garden, and the more shallow-rooted it is, the more likely free-ranging chickens will damage it. You may have to take precaution to protect these types of plants with temporary fencing or chicken-resistant methods.

After your garden structure with trees and shrubs is in place, continue to layer your garden with perennials, edibles, vines, herbs, bulbs, and annuals. When following your garden design, remember to check that your plants are non-poisonous to your free-ranging chickens.

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10 Plant-Based Foods That Boost Your Immunity

The plant world contains a natural army of foods that are ready to fight — infections, that is! Getting a steady supply of the following foods helps you build up immunity so that, when that cold comes for you, you may be able to block it entirely — or, at the very least, not let it affect you as much.

By Marni Wasserman from Plant-Based Diet For Dummies

In addition to eating these ten foods regularly, you can use them to make home remedies at the first sign of a cold or flu!

Enlarge 1 Garlic The most pungent of the plant kingdom inhabitants, garlic contains the immune-stimulating compound allicin, which promotes the activity of white blood cells to destroy cold and flu viruses. It also stimulates other immune cells, which fight viral, fungal, and bacterial infections. Garlic kills with near 100 percent effectiveness the human rhinovirus, which causes colds, common flu, and respiratory viruses. Because allicin is released when you cut, chop, chew, or crush raw cloves, allow freshly chopped garlic to stand for 10 minutes and then cook it, sprinkle it over foods, drop it into soup, or swallow bits of garlic with some water like a pill. You can also drop a clove of garlic into some honey and swallow it immediately for a quick dose that tastes good!	Enlarge 2 Onions Onions, like garlic, contain allicin. They also contain quercetin, a nutrient that breaks up mucus in your head and chest while boosting your immune system. Additionally, the pungency of onions increases your blood circulation and makes you sweat, which is helpful during cold weather to help prevent infections. Consuming raw onion within a few hours of the first symptoms of a cold or flu produces a strong immune effect. Chopping onions into your favorite soup or cooked recipe is a great way to enjoy them. Also, it may sound a little weird, but putting half an onion in your bedroom while you sleep can help absorb some of the circulating bacteria and potentially lessen the symptoms of your cold.	Enlarge 3 Ginger Spicy, pungent, and delicious, ginger reduces fevers, soothes sore throats, and encourages coughing to remove mucus from the chest. Anti-inflammatory chemicals like shagaol and gingerol give ginger that spicy kick that stimulates blood circulation and opens your sinuses. Improved circulation means more oxygen is getting to your tissues to help remove toxins and viruses. Research has indicated that ginger can help prevent and treat the flu. Ginger is also extremely helpful for stomachaches, nausea, and headaches. If you’re feeling a little sickly, a homemade ginger tea is one of the best things you can drink. Slice some fresh ginger root, place it into a pot with water, and bring to a boil. Then drop in a bit of lemon juice or cayenne, which makes the tea that much more effective at nourishing and purifying your system.
Enlarge 4 Cayenne The cayenne family of hot peppers (cayenne, habanero, Scotch bonnet, and bird peppers, to name a few) contains capsicum — a rich source of vitamin C and bioflavonoids, which aid your immune system in fighting colds and flus. It does this by increasing the production of white blood cells, which cleanse your cells and tissues of toxins. Cayenne pepper is also full of beta carotene and antioxidants that support your immune system and help build healthy mucus membrane tissue that defends against viruses and bacteria. Spicy cayenne peppers raise your body’s temperature to make you sweat, increasing the activity of your immune system. The fresher the pepper, the more effective it is. However, fresher also means spicier, so choose accordingly. When you’re sick, add organic cayenne powder to some warm water with lemon juice for an intense immune boost.	Enlarge 5 Squash Squash is a good source of vitamin C and carotene. The six carotenoids (out of the 600 found in nature) found most commonly in human tissue — and supplied by squash and other gourds — decrease the risk of various cancers, protect the eyes and skin from the effects of ultraviolet light, and defend against heart disease. One of them, alpha-carotene, helps slow down the aging process. Butternut squash is the strongest source of these nutrients, but you can also try acorn, Hubbard, delicata, calabaza, and spaghetti squash.	Enlarge 6 Kale Like other leafy greens, kale offers up a good dose of vitamin E. This immunity-boosting antioxidant is known for increasing the production of B cells, those white blood cells that kill unwanted bacteria. Whether you eat kale raw in a salad, steam it, or lightly sauté it, you’ll reap all of its wonderful benefits.
Enlarge 7 Citrus Fruits Adding a bit of citrus to your diet goes a long way toward fending off your next cold or flu. Packed with vitamin C, oranges and grapefruits help increase your body’s resistance to nasty invaders. The best way to enjoy citrus fruits is to eat them whole. Otherwise, you can make fresh juice yourself (stay away from the premade stuff in cartons or in the freezer section at your supermarket).	Enlarge 8 Green Tea Green tea is a potent source of antioxidants called polyphenols — especially catechins. Some studies have found that catechins can destroy the influenza and common cold viruses. Sipping a hot cup of green tea when you’re feeling under the weather can really help you come alive again. Try adding some honey or lemon to kick it up a bit.	Enlarge 9 Miso Soup Miso soup is the plant-based version of chicken-noodle soup. It has wonderful healing properties that are amazing at boosting immunity. As a living food, miso is loaded with enzymes and healthy bacteria that help fight infection and keep your cells thriving. All you need is one teaspoon of miso paste stirred into a mug or bowl of warm water, and you’re set. Sip this down, especially at the first sign of a cold or when you’re just feeling “off” with a stomachache, headache, or something like that. This is sure to hit the spot and make you feel good all over.
Enlarge 10 Mushrooms For centuries, people around the world have turned to mushrooms for a healthy immune system. Contemporary researchers now know why. Studies show that mushrooms increase the production and activity of white blood cells, making them more aggressive. This is a good thing when you have an infection. Shiitake, maitake, chaga, and reishi mushrooms appear to pack the biggest immunity punch. Experts recommend eating a quarter ounce to an ounce a few times a day for maximum immune benefits.

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