Immune System
Your immune system holds the key to optimum health. It determines if you will get the flu, how long your allergy symptoms will last, and even if you will succumb to the ravages of cancer or AIDS. In large part, your immune system will dictate how you live and how you will die.

The immune system has a lot of responsibility and it becomes even more challenging in today's society. Illnesses that result from a weakened immune system continue to increase dramatically. Cancer, which is presently the most expensive and most feared disease of our time is expected to surpass heart disease as our number one killer disease within the next few years. And it is understood that cancer cannot thrive with in the confines of a strong, healthy immune system.
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Excerpted from Activate Your Immune System;
Natural Substance Provides Ultimate Support
by Leonid Ber, Karolyn Gazella and Ray Sahelian.
Copyright © 1998. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved

An immune system functioning at peak performance is also able to protect us against viruses, bacteria, yeast, fungi, parasites, and a host of toxins. If your immune system is not up to the challenge, these toxins can make you sick. The immune system has the power, it has the system and it has the players. But the task is still daunting. Consider this:
* The overall incidence of cancer has increased by 44 percent since 1950, with breast cancer up 60 percent and prostate cancer up an amazing 100 percent.
* It is estimated that 25 percent to 50 percent of the American population suffers from allergies.
* We live in a toxic world. At least 20,000 of the 70,000 known chemicals we are continually exposed to have been proven to cause cancer. America sprays 1.2 billion pounds of pesticides on the foods we eat, while nine millions pound of antibiotics are pumped into our meat and poultry supply. Every year 90 billion pounds of toxic waste are dumped into 55,000 sites throughout the United States.
* Artificial colors, flavors, and preservatives are key ingredients in the increasingly popular "convenient foods" that line the shelves in grocery stores. We are discovering the long-term damage these processed foods can have on our health. Recently, Harvard-trained researcher Kilmer S. McCully, M.D., confirmed that food processing and preservatives cause heart disease by creating vitamin deficiencies of folic acid and vitamins B6 and B12 thereby raising homocysteine levels in the body. Homocysteine is a non-essential toxic amino acid that leads to heart disease. Dr. McCully says he will soon be able to prove the connection between food processing and cancer as well. This will firmly establish that consumption of these foods can lead to a weakened immune system.
* Resistance to antibiotics is becoming a very real concern. "The age of antibiotics is fast coming to a close," writes Michael Weiner, Ph.D., in his book, Maximum Immunity. "Because of their great numbers, viruses and bacteria have quickly evolved resistant strains for almost every major man-made pharmaceutical."
It's easy to see why the immune system has its work cut out for it. Protecting us from illness is no easy task.

"With the increasing levels of carcinogens in our environment, our bodies' demand for effective immune elimination of newly formed cancer cells is at an all-time high, and based on the increasing incidence of cancer, more and more of us are failing to meet the challenge," explains Joseph Pizzorno, N.D., president of Bastyr University and author of Total Wellness. "Another 20th-century problem is the growing number of bacteria that have become resistant or immune to the available antibiotics. Establishing and maintaining an effective immune system has never been more important.

Childhood ear infections are a prime example of the importance of an immune system response and the overuse of antibiotics. While studies indicate that 90 percent of all ear infections heal entirely on their own without antibiotic treatment, prescription antibiotics continue to be some of the most popular drugs available. According to author and clinician Mary Ann Block, D.O., giving antibiotics early during an ear infection is likely to cause more recurrences and lead to more bacterial resistance.

"Even if the antibiotic does not help us get well any faster, there is a tendency to want that antibiotic prescription anyway," explains Dr. Block. "This attitude may have actually put our future health in jeopardy."

It's up to our immune systems to help protect us from the new, "super" germs being created through antibiotic resistance. Some of the simple bacteria that were easily treated with a commonly prescribed antibiotic no longer respond. Other infectious bacteria, such as tuberculosis-once thought to be under control-are recently resurfacing and are more challenging to treat than ever before. And the issue of bacterial resistance is just one of the many serious health concerns the body's immune system has to deal with.

It's clear that keeping the immune system healthy and strong should be our first priority if we are to avoid disease and achieve optimum health. How we age and the quality of our life depend largely on the health of our immune system.

By reading this book, you are taking an important step toward developing your ultimate immune system potential. You are making a commitment to your health-your most important and irreplaceable asset.

This book will explain how you can stimulate a positive immune system response. You will discover how an impressive scientific breakthrough can safely and naturally activate your immune system. You will be sure to get all of your questions answered in chapter four. Most importantly, you will be given the knowledge you need to protect against cancer, AIDS, allergies, chronic colds and flu, candidiasis, and much more.

But first, let's unlock the mystery of the human immune system. Discover your own power to be healthy. It exists within each one of us.

Read Article: Researchers Identify A Key "Brake" Of The Immune Response

Ray Sahelian, M.D.
"Reading Activate Your Immune System will start you on the path to exploring the fascinating field of immune improvement. Together, Leonid Ber, M.D., and Karolyn A. Gazella provide an interesting perspective on some of the different ways to enhance immune function."
Book Description
Today's headlines paint a sobering picture of how overwhelmed our immune systems become:
* Rising cancer diagnoses and deaths
* Antibiotic resistance
* Dramatic increases in allergies, parasites, and infections
* More environmental toxins than ever before
In Activate Your Immune System: Natural Substance Provides Ultimate Support, medical professional Leonid Ber, M.D., and research journalist Karolyn A. Gazella have teamed up to bring you critical information on building immune-system health.

From the Back Cover
In an almost magical fashion, trillions of specialized cells work around the clock to keep us healthy. The workings of this internal army-the immune system are nothing short of spectacular. Unfortunately, sometimes our army fails to conquer the enemy. Today's headlines provide a sobering view of how overwhelmed our systems can become:
* Rising cancer diagnoses and deaths.
* Antibiotic resistance.
* Dramatic increases in allergies, parasites, and infections.
* More toxins than ever before in the foods we eat, the water we drink, and the air we breathe.
Your health and the quality of your life depend on the strength of your immunity. Activate Your Immune System provides a fascinating and easy-to-understand explanation of how the immune system works - and how you can intensify its effectiveness.

Researcher and immunologist Leonid Ber, M.D., has joined forces with experienced health writer Karolyn A. Gazella. Together they provide crucial information on how you can Activate Your Immune System with a powerful natural substance known as beta-1,3-D-glucan.

The mind-body connection can be felt perhaps most dramatically when it comes to the immune system. The difference between suffering from a miserable cold for a week as opposed to a day, says health reporter Norman D. Ford, is often determined by the mind. He says more serious health problems, from heart disease to cancer, can also be prevented or alleviated with his "18 Immune Boosters," which include eating the right amount of protein (too much may hinder the immune response) and simply having a laugh a day.
Ford prefaces his 18 steps with an overview of the workings of the immune system, and he does get a bit technical at times (you'll learn the differences between interleukin-1, -2, and -3; between helper, suppressor, and killer T cells; and between hormones, neuropeptides, and neurotransmitters). But this is your health we're talking about here, and knowing how this all fits together is empowering and fits into Ford's focus: "immune-destroying habits--from sedentary living to being overweight to eating a high-fat diet or not getting enough sleep--are all things over which we have direct personal control." Supercharge Your Immunity is a fine and potentially life-changing guide to a fascinating topic.

The author, Norman D. Ford , December 31, 1997
Supercharge Your Immunity--The All-Natural Way
How would you like to develop an immune system so powerful that you may easily shrug off a viral infection that would keep a person with average immunity in bed for a week? As a health reporter, I've discovered you can do exactly that. Not by taking some over-hyped nutritional supplement. But by harnessing your own natural powers of body, mind and nutrition to bolster your immunity to cancer and infections. For instance, when I analyzed major studies from leading medical centers, I found a simple technique documented in medical journals that can significantly boost your immunity in just 30 minutes. I also discovered powerful natural antidotes (not supplements) you can use to beat downers, depression, anxiety, stress and low self-esteem -- all factors that cause your immuno-competence to plummet. I also discovered miraculous healing chemicals in plants and herbs that help to double your immunity to cancer and a host of common infectious diseases. If you really want to supercharge your immunity, the 18 natural techniques I describe in this book should help you develop a scrappy immune system that can really fight back whenever foreign microbes threaten.

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