The True Power of Good Nutrition – January 2008
This month’s case study is ‘Anne’ who came to the Clinic with recurrent colds and infections.
Anne’s story:
Since I reached my thirties I suddenly started becoming susceptible to coughs, colds and infections. I had always been quite well and hardly ever had a sick day until now. Not only was I getting these infections it was becoming increasingly difficult to ‘shift’ them in spite of regular trips to my GP! I was so fed up of feeling run down and realised that in spite of all of the antibiotics I was given it wasn’t helping me at all – in fact I think it was actually making me feel worse.
Every time I went to my GP it seemed that I was given a different antibiotic to try and then sent away with no real support. A new symptom that I started to develop was thrush which I had never experienced before and I had to keep using pessaries which cleared it at the time but it just kept coming back!
I was looking through a magazine and I read an article on ‘Boosting your Immunity Naturally’. It talked about foods to eat more of to provide your body with all the essential nutrients and specific vitamins, minerals and herbs that could be incorporated. It had a very interesting section on the ‘over-use’ of antibiotics and how in the long term we can become resistant to them and they don’t work. It also said that if an infection is viral then antibiotics would not work at all!
This really resonated with me. There was a contact number at the end of the article for The Dr Marilyn Glenville Clinic to book a consultation with one of the Nutritionists. I decided this was the best thing to do because I wanted to get a tailored programme rather than just taking ‘random’ supplements and trying to help myself!
My first consultation was one hour and the nutritionist took a very detailed medical history and went through my ‘typical’ diet. She commented on the lack of fresh fruit and vegetables and the abundance of ‘ready made’ meals and alcohol! I explained that because I worked long hours I had little time to prepare fresh food so I had to rely on prepared meals. The nutritionist explained how important it is to include plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables each day because they provide the body with immune boosting vitamins A, C, and E which are classed as antioxidants
These antioxidants protect the body from damage by ‘free radicals’ which can lower our immunity. She asked me to eat more vibrant coloured vegetables like sweet potato, butternut squash, red and green peppers and carrots which contain amazing amounts of these antioxidants. I was advised to eat more garlic as this has amazing abilities to boost the immune system because it is naturally anti-viral, anti-bacterial and anti-fungal. I didn’t realise just how unhealthy some of the prepared meals could be as she explained they are often high in salt and very low in vitamins and minerals. She gave me recipe ideas and menu suggestions which really helped!
The nutritionist wanted to check my mineral status, particularly concerned about my zinc and selenium levels as these are vital for immunity. I performed a Hair Mineral Analysis which was a very simple test I collected at home and then sent to the lab. It gave valuable information about my mineral levels over the last three months. The test picked up low zinc which is a vital mineral for the production of white blood cells. It was recommended that I eat plenty of seeds, especially pumpkin which are rich in zinc and shellfish – including oysters!
The nutritionist explained how damaging alcohol is on our immune system by stressing the detoxification processes and causing vital nutrients such as zinc, B vitamins and Vitamin C to be depleted from the body. Alcohol is also very high in sugar which adds more burden to our immune system. She advised me to avoid it altogether for three months to get the best out of my programme. I knew it would be difficult but I was determined to get my health back.
She also talked in depth about antibiotics and how they eventually have a damaging effect because we become resistant to them over time, plus they destroy our ‘friendly’ bacteria which she explained would be the reason for why I was getting recurrent thrush. I did not realise how linked our gut (bacteria) was to our immune system and that we need a good supply of the ‘friendly’ bacteria to keep our gut in good order and boost our immune system. The bacteria in our gut provide our system with our first line of defence against viruses and harmful bacteria.
The nutritionist also recommended me specific vitamins and minerals to boost my immune system which included a good quality multi-vitamin and mineral, an antioxidant complex with Vitamin A, C, E, selenium and zinc, together with a friendly bacteria supplement and the herb echinacea. Echinacea has been used by herbalists for years for it’s ability to increase white blood cell production and it is the white blood cells which keep our immune system strong by ‘clearing up’ the bacteria and viruses.
Within the first month I was generally feeling stronger and had not had thrush for the first time in about 12months! I was really enjoying the new way of eating and found that it wasn’t as difficult to cook from fresh as I thought. One of my favourites was roasted butternut squash with garlic and olive oil in the oven which was so easy and tastes delicious!
Six months on and not a cold in sight and I was feeling great! I had not even had a day off work! All my friends and colleagues commented on how well I looked and asked what I was doing! I hadn’t even been near the GP’s surgery! I continue to eat well and take all my supplements and am really motivated to keep it up to keep strong and healthy in the long term. I do have alcohol, but occasionally rather than every day as before. In fact when I do drink now I feel very lethargic and find it then triggers my thrush so that’s motivation in itself not to drink!
All I can say is I wish I’d found the Dr Marilyn Glenville Clinic sooner.
Marilyn’s comments:
Anne’s story is a perfect example of how important a healthy diet is to boost our immune system and a few simple changes can make such an enormous difference. We see it all too often where people are given antibiotics as a ‘blanket’ treatment and ultimately they don’t work and can in fact create more health problems as we have seen with Anne.
This time of the year it is increasingly important to think about eating to nourish your immune system with coughs and colds being more prevalent. If this story resonates with you and you are forever coughing and sneezing and seem to catch everything around you, you may like to think about seeing one of my nutritionists at the clinic.
If you are interested in having the test mentioned here please see the resources page.