Building a stronger immune system?

[Jenson]

21 hours ago, Champ said:

A good diet with lots of plant based foods

Also foods that are high in resistant starches (so called because they are resistant to digestion by mammalian enzymes and so reach the colon where they can be fermented by the microbiota) such as oats, well cooked and cooled starchy foods like rice and potatoes, legumes (chick peas, lentils, peas) green bananas, and you can also buy resistant starch powders (dextran, inulin) that you can add to drinks, food etc

[Numero Veinticinco]

2 minutes ago, Jenson said:

Also foods that are high in resistant starches (so called because they are resistant to digestion by mammalian enzymes and so reach the colon where they can be fermented by the microbiota) such as oats, well cooked and cooled starchy foods like rice and potatoes, legumes (chick peas, lentils, peas) green bananas, and you can also buy resistant starch powders (dextran, inulin) that you can add to drinks, food etc

Good for the gut, controversial for the blood! 

[VladimirIlyich]

21 hours ago, Champ said:

A good diet with lots of plant based foods

The problem with plant based food for those of us with digestive disorders is that its mostly insoluble fibre,therefore a no-no in our diets.

[Jenson]

Just now, Numero Veinticinco said:

Good for the gut, controversial for the blood! 

Resistant starches are not broken down in the small intestine to glucose and so have a very low glycaemic index. They are fermented by the colonic microbiota to short chain fatty acids.

[Numero Veinticinco]

10 minutes ago, Jenson said:

Resistant starches are not broken down in the small intestine to glucose and so have a very low glycaemic index. They are fermented by the colonic microbiota to short chain fatty acids.

Rice, potatoes, peas, bananas?  Some of the stuff you mention would cause quite the insulin response and knock me straight out of ketosis due to the carbohydrate content. 

[Jenson]

53 minutes ago, Numero Veinticinco said:

Rice, potatoes, peas, bananas?  Some of the stuff you mention would cause quite the insulin response and knock me straight out of ketosis due to the carbohydrate content. 

All these kind of starchy foods such as rice and potatoes need to be cooked thoroughly and then left to cool. This increases the percentage of resistant starch contained in them, albeit not all the starch. If you then reheat them to eat, the amount of resistant starch increases further.

Resistant starch is good for promoting bacteria that produce butyrate which is the main source of energy for colonic epithelial cells and also has anti-cancer properties.

[Remmie]

Anyone looked into taking turmeric and manuka honey?

[Red Shift]

On ‎12‎/‎12‎/‎2009 at 5:11 AM, Elite said:

I am a walking virus and germ hotel. If there is some form of illness knocking about, I will get it.

 

I don't eat as much fruit and veg as I should.

 

Other than that I am healthy enough.

 

Any vitamins or minerals I could take that will stop me getting as ill as much?

My GP gave me some advice a few years back which I've stuck to:

Eat plenty of fresh garlic - daily. It kills bugs/bacteria. Unfortunately, it doesn't just kill baddies, it kills goodies. So eat plenty of fresh ginger - daily. It replaces the goodies.

[Red Shift]

1 hour ago, Remmie said:

Anyone looked into taking turmeric and manuka honey?

I use Turmeric - it apparently has anti-inflammatory properties, but I've not seen the science. Manuka get's a good rap, but once again, the actual empirical evidence is scarce.