Ever thought what it takes to have a healthy immune system? We know that to have a healthy diet accompanied with regular exercise goes a long way to achieving good health, but that’s only part of the story. When we are young we seem to have a lot more resilience when disease knocks on our door but as we age a bit we seem to be more prone to the many ailments that abound in our society.

 Around the age of forty we usually find that we need reading glasses and we don’t have as much puff as we used to. Sure, you have the two fruit and three veg a day and you walk the dog around the block every evening after work, but this is simply not enough anymore.

Today we are living in a very toxic age. Every day our immune systems are bombarded by petro- chemical toxins. You might be entering  into the new car that has been locked up in the hot sun only to breathe in the formaldehyde through the fumes, or our furniture, curtains and carpets that have been treated with mouldicides and fungicides whilst at the same time we have the house sprayed against vermin and we breathe in the fumes and the dust from these applications. This is not to mention the traffic fumes and if we are unlucky enough, the general pollution in the air found in any large city.

 There’s no getting away from the toxic influence in our lives these days as some chemically sensitive people can attest to. It is very, very difficult if not impossible to escape entirely.

The food we eat is contaminated with pesticide and herbicide residues. Our food is grown in mineral deficient soils as the farmer uses yet more chemical fertilizers to grow the next crop. Our soils are being degraded at a rapid rate here in Australia and unless the soil is nourished and fed with organic matter, it simply can’t meet the requirements for our nutritional needs. It is often said that we need to take  supplements to make sure we cover any shortfalls as we can’t achieve all our nutritional needs through food anymore.

This surely is a sad state of affairs- welcome to the twenty-first century!  Unfortunately the general public hasn’t yet caught up with this information and although we may suspect these things a bit, we are often so distracted by the demands of our daily lives that we are unwittingly caught up in the maelstrom.

Ignorance however is no excuse. We are all bound by nature’s laws and if there are cracks in the  immune system due to lack of nutrition and toxic overload, we will eventually pay the price. This is just the way it goes and no amount of arguing can deny it.

There are however different  tolerances within individuals as one person’s immune system can be genetically stronger than that of another and this explains why some people can totally abuse their health and get away with it for awhile; and then of course the   consequences are reaped later. 

So this explains in a nutshell why there is so much incidence of  cancer in our society today. The statistics still stand that one in three people will have cancer in their lives but this is forecast to be for every individual in the not to distant future.

We still don’t see it as a wake up call. Individuals fall by the wayside whilst the rest of the population carries on regardless.

We can however be pro-active about this modern day dilemma. As individuals we can take matters into our own hands by taking the bull by the horns so to speak. Let’s take a closer look at what makes our immune system strong and resilient.

Our immune system is part of a very complex network and it is not my intention to be too scientific about it. If we get right down to the nitty- gritty aspect of what we can do for ourselves then this will be entirely practical and beneficial for the individual. We need to look at what it takes to build up our immune system and to make it so resilient and strong, that    disease can’t find a toe hold. By strengthening our immune system we will also be doing the best we can to heal ourselves from cancer.

The immune system is very much influenced and strengthened by two factors. The first one is healthy gut bacteria, our inner health. When we have an abundant population of healthy bacteria in our digestive tract then assimilation of our food is optimum and new vitamins are created in our nether regions. These healthy bacteria help to keep us in good check and help to keep the nasties away

It is quite well known that if you have been diagnosed with cancer that you will do best to switch over to organic food exclusively, and this alone will go a long way to overcoming this insidious disease. That says a lot doesn’t it?

Now there’s something else to look out for. Food that has been organically grown is food grown in the absence of chemicals. This does not guarantee that it has been grown in biologically active soil. Such chemical free food can still be mineral deficient. The difference is that the minerals made available to the crops grown without chemicals, and grown in biological active soil (soil that is rich in organic matter,) will then impart the full quota of  minerals needed to sustain optimum life. This is exactly the quality of food we should be aiming for to achieve a vibrant and robust immune system.

Another couple of hints to add to this little piece of advice is to minimize sugar in the diet. Increased insulin levels in the blood due to a high sugar intake will do a lot to sap our immune system and also contributes to aging and diabetes. Being physically active is also a great way to keep the blood oxygenated and add to general well-being.

To finish of with I’ll give you one more really good hint for a strong immune system. Start a veggie garden. Growing your own healthy organic food in biologically active soil and then taking it to the kitchen and turning it into living food abounding in lactic  bacteria and enzymes by way of   fermentation, will give you a whole new reason for living. You are activelyinvolved in feeding yourself with the best food money can’t buy. It is the most cost effective, rewarding, tasty, alive and fresh food you can ever hope to eat.