Naturopathy combines conventional scientific knowledge with traditional wisdom into a holistic natural medical practice. While understanding the symptoms of diseases and their treatment, a naturopath goes beyond specific diseases and disorders and attempts to help the body heal itself and to prevent disease from occurring by boosting the immune system.
What is the Immune System?
The immune system is there to prevent disease from occurring by creating barriers to pathogens (bacteria and viruses). When pathogens enter the body, the immune system works in two ways to prevent or minimise their effects:
- The innate immune system detects the presence of an invading organism and either eliminates it or prevents it from reproducing.
- The adaptive immune system recognises the return of previously present pathogens and adapts itself to their presence, creating even more effective responses to their presence.
As astounding as the immune system is, it does have its limits. When the system is overloaded, the immune system can become unable to cope or can even go into overdrive, creating inappropriate responses to attacks. This is where a qualified naturopath comes into the picture.
How Naturopathy Can Boost Your Immunity
If your immune system needs a boost, a naturopath will recommend dietary measures and herbal remedies:
- Fruits that naturopaths recommend for boosting immunity include red and purple berries, lemons, apples, oranges, grapefruit and papaya.
- Immune system boosting vegetables include carrots, celery, wheat grass, broccoli, beetroot, capsicum and onions. Garlic, turmeric and kelp are also excellent.
- Just a few of the herbs and other natural nutritional substances recommended by naturopaths include aloe vera, liquorice root, echinacea, rose hips, olive leaf extract and green tea.
In addition, a naturopath may recommend specific vitamins and minerals. Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Vitamin A, Vitamin B complexes and zinc are all immune system boosters or indirectly assist the immune system.
Aside from recommending healthy foods, herbs and supplements, a naturopath will also give advice about substances to avoid. This is an increasingly important issue because in our "convenience food" culture, we eat far too many processed foods. These foods often contain high levels of unhealthy sugars and fats and low levels of nutrients.
Stress, too, can have devastating effects on the immune system. A naturopath may recommend a number of stress reductions strategies to boost immunity. These may include regular exercise, meditation, diaphragmatic breathing or just time away from stress-inducing environments. A day out in nature, for example, can have a remarkably restorative effect.
Why Boosting Your Immunity is Important
Vaccines and other pharmaceuticals have their place, but their drawback is that they are designed to treat or prevent specific ailments. The beauty of the human immune system is that it is designed to prevent all kinds of diseases. It does need a helping hand, though. The role of the naturopath is to teach us how to take care of our immune systems so that our immune systems can take care of us.
Originally published on Mar 19, 2012
