I was having a conversation with someone who is very casual about casual sex.  He thinks that it is OK, because these days, the HIV medication is so good that there is no problem being HIV-positive.

I was aghast.

He laughed at me.  He said, “Haven’t you heard of PrEP?”

PrEP, or pre-exposure prophylaxis, is the tablet you take before high-risk sex to minimise the risk of contracting HIV.

We agreed to disagree. I, for one, am of the belief that we should cultivate a healthy immune system, even if there are medications for compromised immune system.

According to Allan Greenberg, “As a retired physician, I can honestly say that unless you are in a serious accident, your best chance of living to a ripe old age is to avoid doctors and hospitals, and learn nutrition, herbal medicine and other forms of natural medicine unless you are fortunate enough to have a naturopathic physician available.  Almost all drugs are toxic and are designed to only to treat symptoms and not to cure anyone.”

On the other side of the same coin, I know a few mothers whose children are sick more than usual. The more medication the children take, the sicker they get in a few weeks/months time. And the thing is, I noticed that the frequently sick children come from super-clean homes with anxious mothers.

So obviously, there is a balance to be struck between cavalier and paranoia when it comes to immune systems.  A lot of it is down to luck, too.

But we can do our best to tip the odds in our favour (and taking supplements is not one I advocate).

  1. Good nutrition – lots of greens and bone broth;
  2. Befriend bugs – get dirty
  3. Exercise to get things moving
  4. Get enough sun – Vitamin D is important
  5. Get enough sleep
  6. Don’t stress – stress can weaken the immune system transiently but significantly
  7. Meditate, meditate, meditate!
  8. Be happy inside – will write a long post about this later.

A week ago or so, I cut my thumb quite badly when I was trying to remove the battery from my rusted motorbike. The cut should have been stitched up, but I was in a foreign country and to be honest, I couldn’t be bothered to take myself off to hospital to have a stitch put in.  Being based on my thumb, the cut did get slightly infected.

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But it healed in a week.

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But it’s NOT all about boosting immune activity. Many common conditions are caused by the immune system reacting to things it shouldn’t. When it attacks parts of the body the result is autoimmune disorders like multiple sclerosis, type 1 diabetes, inflammatory bowel disease, asthma, eczema or allergies.

Staying healthy naturally is down to all the other systems in our body being in balance.  All parts of that makes up the whole person – mental, emotional, physical and spiritual – have to be in balance and happy, too. That’s the only way to wellness without medication.

So here’s to a functioning immune system. Help yours by following my brief list above x

From New Scientist:

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