It’s that time of year again when we see an increase in cold and influenza infections. Interestingly, some winters seem to be worse than others, and from what I have seen this last couple of months in the clinic, this year seems a particularly nasty one.

So, what can you do about it?…

Fortunately there is much that can be done, firstly to avoid infections totally, and secondly, if you do fall ill, to shorten the duration and severity. As with many health concerns however, the unpredictable nature of life does influence our susceptibility.

 Tips for avoiding infections this winter

Improve Gut Health.

70% of our immune system is located in our gut, so it makes sense to support digestion. Probiotics and a diet low in sugar and refined carbohydrates are important factors in optimizing our immune system. Staying away from sugary comfort foods during winter can be difficult, however important during this time.

Vitamin D

It’s no co-incidence that as our exposure to the sun diminishes during winter, our susceptibility to infections increases. Much research has shown how important Vitamin D is for immune health. Optimizing your vitamin D levels with greater than a 1000iu per day is essential.

Garlic

Raw or aged garlic extracts have a wonderful traditional use in preventing infections. Over the last decade, many studies have confirmed its immune potentiating activity. Add it to your food or try the aged Kyolic garlic extract

Zinc and Vit C

There are a range of nutrients that have a positive impact on the immune system, none more important than Vitamin C and Zinc. If your Vitamin C and Zinc are low, the immune cells become sluggish and don’t activate efficiently leaving your very susceptible to an infection.

Activity/sleep/Good food/Stress

While we know how important nutrition is in the prevention of infections, all this good work counts for zero if your lifestyle doesn’t support good health. Quality sleep, regular activity, good stress management and a clean low sugar diet are critical for optimal immune function. By not paying attention to these elements will ultimately result in sub-optimal health and poor immune function.

 Tips for fighting an infection this winter

 If, for whatever reason, your immune surveillance is low this winter and a virus passes your immune defenses, time is of the essence as a quick and targeted nutritional response can shorten the duration and severity of the infection.

Olive Leaf Extract

A large bottle of olive leaf extract has lived at my home since I have had children. I have found this product fantastic at supporting the immune system of my children and family. Especially good at shortening the duration of infections.

Echinacea/Andrographis/

Again, excellent herbs at stimulating immune activity, however the key here is they both work best taken early in the infective stage and I have found them less effective if the infection has taken over.

 Medicinal Mushrooms

Mushrooms have been used medicinally for thousands of years. Of these, the types of mushrooms most commonly studied include, Cordyceps, maitake, reishi and shiitake. While they can work quickly, I find medicinal mushrooms best for chronic infections where someone has been unwell for several days or weeks. Mushrooms have a wonderful capacity to restore and strengthen the immune system during times of low immune activity.

Vitamin C/Zinc

As mentioned previously, the immune system requires a range of nutrients to work optimally, none more important than Vitamin C and Zinc. Low levels of these nutrients will result in poor immune response and slow immune recovery. Supplementation is important in chronic infections.

Gas, bloating, pain, altered bowel function?

What is irritable bowel syndrome?… it’s a word used loosely to explain many a digestive complaint, but is it actually a medical condition with key medically diagnosable features?,… I’m not so sure.

Often, a diagnosis of irritable bowel syndrome is a convenient way to say “I don’t know what is causing your digestive discomfort’… “you must have irritable bowel syndrome.”

For me in clinical practice, too often I see this term used to explain a whole range of digestive symptoms without any understanding of potential drivers….

Yes, the bowel might be “irritated” as the term states, but what drives this irritation?

There are many potential drivers of Irritable bowel Syndrome… careful examination and prudent testing can elicit data that allows us to successfully understand and treat IBS.

Below you will see my top drivers of Irritable bowel syndrome and what you can do about it to re- gain control of your digestive health.

FODMAP (Fermentable Oligo-, Di- and Monosaccharids and Polyols)

FODMAP describes a condition characterized by the impaired intestinal absorption of dietary sugars. It includes fructose found in fruit and vegetables, lactose found in dairy, sorbitol found in a range of fruits and vegetables. The symptoms are very much irritable bowel syndrome like with pain, bloating, gas and altered bowel function. A simple hydrogen and methane breath test will show if this condition is driving your irritable bowel syndrome.

You will also note your symptoms aggravated by fruit intake and often onions and legumes, however at times it can be difficult to relate symptoms to certain foods.

Very relevant at the moment. In fact, more than half of the people I see in my clinic with digestive symptoms have FODMAP issues.

SIBO (Small intestine bacterial overgrowth)

In certain individuals, bacteria can migrate from the large intestine up into the small intestine where they are not supposed to be. Dietary sugar and starch are then fermented by these bacteria causing an irritable bowel.

Again, a simple hydrogen and methane breath test will show if this condition is driving your digestive complaints.

You will also note your symptoms aggravated by sugar or starch intake, again however, at times it can be difficult to relate symptoms to certain foods.

Food Sensitivities/Intolerance’s

70 % of our immune system is located around the intestines, so it makes sense that people can develop immune responses to certain foods, especially if the intestinal lining has been damaged in some way by things like excessive alcohol consumption, poor diet, antibiotics, parasites etc.

Certain molecules found in food can react in the gut lining causing a range of irritable bowel symptoms. Common sensitivities include eggs, diary and gluten. A simple IgG food sensitivity panel will show if this is the cause of your digestive symptoms.

Yeast/Parasites/Bacterial infection

Changes in gut ecology can have a profound effect on not only the digestive system, but health in general. Yeast infections due to a diet high in sugar and overuse of antibiotics will cause a range of digestive symptoms as will parasites and bacterial infections.

I recommend a CDSA (comprehensive digestive stool analysis ) for this, especially if there has been a history of overseas travel or a high level of antibiotic use. This test will provide information on all the good verses bad bacteria living in the large intestine, plus how well you are digesting your food. An excellent test for those with chronic digestive symptoms.

Stress

Stress is a known trigger of digestive complaints. We know that the brain communicates with the digestive tract. We often note that when we are under acute stress, the digestive system can become overactive. While a careful case history taking should show the correlation, a saliva hormone tests will show if the stress hormone cortisol is impacting health.

Esta De Araugo is in the most part, your typical everyday mum dealing with the daily challenges of life, whilst raising a family of three kids. Overlay that with the fact that all three of her kids suffer from life threatening food allergies and this is where the comparisons end.

Growing up on a nut farm in regional Victoria, the last thing that Esta thought about was anyone being allergic to nuts. Coming from a Greek family and the never ending entertaining, socialising with the children became increasingly fraught, as they got older as did the need to be hyper-vigilant around food.

Esta’s kitchen is the heart of her home. Before her children came along, she entertained endlessly. Her only concerns around food back then were, whether she had enough, and what wine to match with which course. When her eldest daughter had an anaphylactic reaction to eggs at six months, it turned her world upside down. She thought that all she had learned growing up would be irrelevant if she couldn’t use eggs and nuts. However like any parent she adapted.

When her second daughter was diagnosed with severe egg and nut allergies, her world was rocked further given the important part nuts had played in her life. So when her son was born, the chance of allergies even greater, with in fact a total of 7 allergens. Esta suddenly found herself being very concerned about food, the ingredients, the labels, what additives they contained and those little warnings that start with ‘May contain…’. In Esta’s words

“The list of prohibited foods in our home is so long, you would be bored long before you reached the end”. Children’s parties were a major challenge. The kids would feel left out as most other children enjoyed chocolate, creamed cakes and all sort of nut desserts without a care.

Friends would go out of their way to cater for the kids, however they still wanted to have the same birthday cake as everyone else, not Esta’s ‘safe’ version, despite how enticing it looked. Esta and her husband Steve were extremely vigilant on these occasions ensuring their children neither touched nor ate anything that may harm them.

Their vigilance however was not enough. The near death experience of her two youngest children at Easter 2013 changed all that. A simple incorrectly labelled pack of hot cross buns by a leading supermarket, lead to two of her children having an anaphylactic reaction within minutes. Fortunately she knew what to do having experienced this numerous times before. But it got her thinking, what would others do? How would they know what was wrong?

This drove Esta to look for a way to increase allergy awareness in the community. Talking with friends and family about her thoughts, two ideas came to mind. Firstly the idea for AlertBand. A family run business that produces wristbands with alert messages on them, to help people identify adults and kids with health conditions.

They are perfect for schools, childcare, camps, parties, sleepovers, holidays and nursing homes. Allergy and medical Alertband’s were designed for both kids and adults

Secondly, coupled with her love of food and her passion to ensure her children ate well and learned to enjoy food, the idea for her cookbook was born. “I wanted it to be full of easy to make recipes for the whole family, that were not only healthy, but were allergy friendly too” says Esta. “It is important to me that my kids know what good food is. We spend a lot of time in the garden growing our own fruit and vegetables, going to farmers markets and using wonderful fresh, organic produce.”

Esta has made a real difference to her kids and many other people’s lives through her wristbands, and her use of clean, organic, natural ingredients for the recipes in her cookbook.

To find out more or purchase any of these products log on to www.alertband.com.au