As we enter cold and flu season again, I found some helpful strategies to share with you. Obviously, avoiding contact, washing your hands frequently and using hand sanitizer is important.

Immune System Boosters

1. Regular exercise: If you want to boost your immune system, get active. Getting your heart rate up for just 20 minutes just three times a week is associated with increased immune function, and a brisk walk five days a week can help reduce your risk of catching a cold. Regular exercise increases the level of leukocytes, an immune system cell that fights infection. Exercise also is associated with increased release of endorphins, natural hormones that pump up your sense of well being and improve sleep quality, both of which have positive effects on your immune system.

2. Get more antioxidants in your diet: A diet rich in antioxidant vitamins and nutrients can boost immunity to help fight infection. Your body produces free radicals -- molecules that can damage cells. Antioxidants help neutralize free radicals so they can’t do any damage. Researchers believe that when the balance between free radicals and antioxidants is upset, it can contribute to developing cancer and heart disease, as well as age-related diseases.

• Top antioxidants include vitamins C and E, plus beta-carotene and zinc. To get enough of these antioxidants in your diet, experts recommend eating an abundance of brightly colored fruits and vegetables, including berries, citrus fruits, kiwi, apples, red grapes, kale, onions, spinach, sweet potatoes, and carrots.
• Other immune-boosting foods include fresh garlic, which has claims of antiviral and antibacterial properties, and old-fashioned chicken soup. A study showed that if you do come down with a cold or the flu, a bowl of steaming chicken soup can boost immunity and help you get well faster.
  In addition, mushroom varieties such as reichi, maitake, and shiitake may have some influence on immune function.

3. Adequate sleep: Fatigue increases your susceptibility to illness – you may have noticed you’re more likely to catch a cold or other infection when you’re not getting enough sleep. A lab experiment bears this out: When students at the University of Chicago were limited to only four hours of sleep a night for six nights and then given a flu vaccine, their immune systems produced only half the normal number of antibodies. Like stress, insomnia can cause a rise in inflammation in the body – possibly because lack of sleep also leads to an increase in the stress hormone cortisol. Although researchers aren’t exactly sure how sleep boosts the immune system, it’s clear that getting adequate amounts – usually 7 to 9 hours for an adult – is essential to good health.

4. Practice relaxation techniques: If chronic stress suppresses the immune system, then learning techniques to reduce stress should help return your immune system to health – and maybe even give it an additional boost. Reducing stress lowers levels of cortisol. It also helps you sleep better, which improves immune function. And some studies show that people who meditate regularly may be able to increase their immune system response. In one experiment, people who meditated over an 8-week period produced more antibodies to a flu vaccine than people who didn’t meditate. And they still showed an increased immune system response four months later.

5. Laugh: Comedy is good for you. Laughing decreases the levels of stress hormones in the body while increasing a type of white blood cell that fights infection. In fact, even just anticipating a funny event can have a positive effect on your immune system. In one study, a group of men who were told three days in advance that they were going to watch a funny video saw levels of stress hormones drop while levels of endorphins and growth hormones rose. Both endorphins and growth hormones benefit the immune system.

Immune System Busters
1. Lack of exercise: Sitting at your desk all day can not only make you feel sluggish, it can leave your immune system sluggish, too. Studies show that regular, moderate exercise – like a daily 30 minute walk -- increases the level of leukocytes, an immune system cell that fights infection. When you’re a non-exerciser, your risk of infections -- such as colds -- increase compared to those who exercise.
Being inactive can weaken your immune system indirectly, too. A sedentary lifestyle can interfere with sleep quality at night and can lead to obesity and other problems that increase your risk of illness.

2. Being overweight: Carrying extra weight puts you at risk of developing diseases such as diabetes, cancer, and heart disease. Part of the reason may lie in how excess fat cells in your body affect your immune system.
A high number of fat cells trigger the release of pro-inflammatory chemicals in the body, leading to chronic inflammation. When the inflammation is ongoing, healthy tissues get damaged.
Animal studies also show that being overweight or obese can impair the immune system. For example, studies have shown that obese and overweight mice make fewer antibodies after receiving common vaccinations. Antibodies are a measured immune response to vaccination.

3. Eating foods high in sugar and fat: Consuming too much sugar suppresses immune system cells responsible for attacking bacteria. Even consuming just 75 to 100 grams of a sugar solution (about the same as in two 12-ounce sodas) reduces the ability of white blood cells to overpower and destroy bacteria. This effect is seen for at least a few hours after consuming a sugary drink. A diet high in saturated fat has a similar effect.

4. Experiencing constant stress:

5. Being socially isolated: Having strong relationships and a good social network is important to your physical health as well as your mental health – and specifically your immune system. Several studies support the idea that people who feel connected to friends – whether it’s a few close friends or a large group – have stronger immunity than those who feel alone. In one study, freshmen who were lonely had a weaker immune response to a flu vaccine than those who felt connected to others. Another recent study found that isolation changed the immune system on a cellular level: Being lonely affected the way some genes that controlled the immune system were expressed.

6. Avoid caramel coloring found in soft drinks: Best to just avoid this.This chemical is used in Australia to treat people with autoimmune disorders (i.e. suppress the immune system) and is being implicated to possibly cause cancer. I wish I was making this up because I really love Coca Cola!! Click on the link to read more

A Good Laugh is Good For You

Laughter relaxes the whole body. A good, hearty laugh relieves physical tension and stress, leaving your muscles relaxed for up to 45 minutes after.

Laughter boosts the immune system. Laughter decreases stress hormones and increases immune cells and infection-fighting antibodies, thus improving your resistance to disease.

Laughter triggers the release of endorphins, the body’s natural feel-good chemicals. Endorphins promote an overall sense of well-being and can even temporarily relieve pain.

Laughter protects the heart. Laughter improves the function of blood vessels and increases blood flow, which can help protect you against a heart attack and other cardiovascular problems.

Stanley Tan and Lee Berk of the Loma Linda University School of Medicine find that people who laugh are less likely to suffer from colds and flu because laughter stimulates the immune system. This link between joviality and health is so well established that many doctors use “humor therapy” as part of a comprehensive cancer treatment program. Humor is good activity for the healthy as well. Consider:
• Laughing is a tension-buster. A good chuckle reduces stress and aids relaxation.
• One hundred laughs gives the same amount of aerobic exercise as ten minutes on a rowing machine.
• Laughing involuntarily exercises your abdomen as well as fifteen facial muscles.

Dr. Fry’s research at Stanford University in the 1970's revealed that:
• A healthy guffaw stimulates lungs, circulation, and muscle tone.
• Protracted chuckling “massages right down to the toes and fingertips.”
• Laughter works out the shoulders, back, and diaphragm.

According to tests done by Swedish psychologist, Lars Ljungdahl, laughter is good for mental health as well:
• Laughter is effective at combating depression.
• Laughter creates a heightened sense of mental well-being.
• Laughter helps the mind to think creatively.

I suppose it is possible to take anything to an extreme. Consider the following. I am not making this up:

Tanganyika laughter epidemic

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Tanganyika laughter epidemic of 1962 was an outbreak of mass hysteria – or Mass Psychogenic Illness (MPI) – rumored to have occurred in or near the village of Kashasha on the western coast of Lake Victoria in the modern nation of Tanzania (formerly Tanganyika) near the border of Kenya.^[1]

The laughter epidemic began on January 30, 1962, at a mission-run boarding school for girls in Kashasha. The laughter started with three girls and spread haphazardly throughout the school, affecting 95 of the 159 pupils, aged 12–18.^[2][3] Symptoms lasted from a few hours to 16 days in those affected. The teaching staff were not affected but reported that students were unable to concentrate on their lessons. The school was forced to close down on March 18, 1962.^[4]

After the school was closed and the students were sent home, the epidemic spread to Nshamba, a village that was home to several of the girls.^[4] In April and May, 217 people had laughing attacks in the village, most of them being school children and young adults. The Kashasha school was reopened on May 21, only to be closed again at the end of June. In June, the laughing epidemic spread to Ramashenye girls’ middle school, near Bukoba, affecting 48 girls. Another outbreak occurred in Kanyangereka and two nearby boys schools were closed.^[2]

The school from which the epidemic sprang was sued; the children and parents transmitted it to the surrounding area. Other schools, Kashasha itself, and another village, comprising thousands of people, were all affected to some degree.^[4] Six to eighteen months after it started, the phenomenon died off. The following symptoms were reported on an equally massive scale as the reports of the laughter itself: pain, fainting, respiratory problems, rashes, attacks of crying, random screaming.^[5] In total 14 schools were shut down and 1000 people were affected. ^[6]

^{Take a moment and check out this video about the Tanganyika incident}

^{Let me know if you are interested in attending a seminar to learn more.}

^{Dr Steve}

Nova Chiropractic Welcomes Dr Steve!

Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Steven Paliakas DC and I am a chiropractic physician and a new face at Nova Chiropractic in Wheaton, IL. Dr. Carlisle is moving to North Carolina and has brought me in to continue the tradition of excellent care at Nova Chiropractic.

I received my Doctor of Chiropractic degree with Acupuncture Certification from National University of Health Science in 2000. My clinical training was completed at the DesPlaines Salvation Army Clinic in Chicago, where I had the profound privilege to provide health care to men recovering in the drug and alcohol rehabilitation program. Many of my patients were right off the streets, homeless, or simply with no more options. It was humbling to witness firsthand how human suffering and brokenness can be transformed into greater good.

After graduation, my first year in practice as a chiropractic physician was spent as a volunteer in post-war Bosnia-Hercegovina. My wife, Wende, and I gave our time and talents at Majcino Selo orphanage, just outside the town of Medjugorje.

Wende taught English to the children and I  established a chiropractic practice within the multidisciplinary medical facility within the orphanage. The clinic  included physical medicine, physical & occupational therapy, dentistry, audiology, and psychology. I treated orphans and refugees, children, adults and elderly residents in a very medically under served region of the world.

 I cannot begin to summarize what this experience has given me, except to say that God will never be outdone in generosity.

Wende and I returned to the USA and began a family. I am now the father of 5 very energetic children. For the past 10 years I have practiced as a physician in a multidisciplinary setting in close collaboration with physiatrists, physical and occupational therapists, interventional pain management physicians, orthopedic and neurosurgeons.

My experience over the past 12 years has defined my passion: helping people become free of physical suffering, in the process helping them transform their experience of suffering into a greater good,  and help them step forward down their own path in wellness. I do this by successfully delivering chiropractic medicine in an ethical and effective manner with an emphasis on patient education and clearly defined treatment goals. You do not need to "believe" in chiropractic or biomedical acupuncture for it to work, nor should you have to "buy into" a healing model requiring treatments three times a week for the rest of your life.

I look forward to having the opportunity to work with you.