ERSOY: Strengthen your body enough to handle disease, Part 1

We all want the same thing, to stay healthy and to live as long as possible. However, how many of us really pay close attention to our health? Many of us prefer choosing comfort and pleasure instead of eating healthy foods and taking regular exercise. I think that we all know what we need to do, but actually doing it is often not so easy.

In this new article series, that is especially relevant for the situation that we are in at the moment, I would like to just remind you what you can do to be strong and healthy so that your body can better handle whatever comes in to your life — such as bacteria, virus and toxins. Of course this is not one miracle solution that will guarantee that you will never be sick. However, there are many things that you can do to keep yourself in good health or to help you heal yourself sooner.

We are surrounded by billions of microorganisms, mostly bacteria and viruses but also single-celled fungi. Bacteria are living organisms that can invade the body, where they produce toxins that can cause illness and sometimes serious diseases. Bacteria treatment may need antibiotics. A virus, on the other hand, does not possess the features we attribute to living organisms. They consist of a nucleic acid core that contains either DNA or RNA. They cannot multiply and divide on their own, they don’t have metabolism, and they need a host cell in order to live. They can invade cells, causing disease. Viruses generally do not respond to antibiotics but are normally naturally removed from the body via the immune system.

We are surrounded by many kinds of toxins, some water soluble, and some fat soluble toxins which means that some of them can live for decades. We can take in toxins through the water that we drink, the air that we breathe, the foods that we eat, our household products, cosmetics, and pharmaceutical drugs. Fortunately, our body is capable of getting rid of most toxins on its own. Some of them, however, are very hard to remove from the body and accumulation of these toxins can make us sick. How many toxins we are able to remove from the body depends on our individual health measures and how much we are taking them in.

You may have heard that if you get a disease then it really does not make any difference what type of diet you follow, the only way to treat it is with conventional care, which includes drugs. I find it sad that so many people believe that this is true. Surely it makes sense that when we’re eating natural foods with enough micro and macronutrients, and doing regular exercise which makes us sweat to get rid of part of the toxins, that this will at least in part prevent us from getting disease?

I always believe that first we need to look to our lifestyle. Even if there’s no question that we may also need to use drugs to heal ourself, we still need to improve our lifestyle to give us the best strength to fight back. Of course I am not saying that even if you are doing everything perfectly you will never get any disease. But I am saying that whatever health problems you have, now or later, there’s at least a good chance that if you keep yourself strong you will be able to heal a lot faster than other individuals with a weak immune system.

Our body works as a whole, however there are still some specific nutrients that are more essential than others in achieving optimal immune system function. In the following articles in this series I will go through these nutrients, where you can find them, any how much you need. I’ll also look at which herbs you can add to your diet, as well as the importance of digestion and the relationship with sleep and strengthening your immunity. I will also share what I do to strengthen my own body, and how we can help in strengthening the mind too. I think that we especially all need a strong mind as well, so that we are able to make correct decisions for our healthy life.

References:

• Chiras, Daniel D.. Human Biology

• https://www.genome.gov/genetics-glossary/Bacteria

• https://www.genome.gov/genetics-glossary/Virus

• https://health.clevelandclinic.org/how-environmental-toxins-can-impact-your-health/

• https://www.epa.gov/environmental-topics/chemicals-and-toxics-topics

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Ayda Ersoy, Nutritionist (Dip.C.N., Dip.S.N.), Master Trainer (CPT ACE, NCSF, CanfitPro), Registered Yoga Teacher, Founder, Health Angel Nutrition, Fitness and Wellness, Founder, SMS (Stability, Mobility Strength) Intuitive Training System.