Gillian McKeith's Food Bible (337 page)

Take vitamin C supplements. Those with poor, sugar-laden diets tend to be low in vitamin C.

Take vitamin A, but not if pregnant. But instead of preformed vitamin A, I would prefer you to take beta-carotene. This converts into vitamin A once in the body.

Suck on zinc gluconate lozenges. They dissolve naturally. You can get them from health-food stores.

Take goldenseal tincture. Keep doing this until you get some relief, and then follow with echinacea. There’s nothing

to stop you from gargling with this, too.

Once you have recovered from the sore throat, go on a six-month course of the herb astragalus to help to raise immunity. Also take spirulina, the green superfood.

EXTRA TIPS

Make sure that you floss and clean your teeth regulary to prevent infections in the mouth and throat.

Chronic sore throats are a common side effect of glandular fever. You also sometimes have a sensation of a ball or marble in your throat. Get it checked by your GP. You may need a blood test.

STRESS

Stress is the manifestation of how you respond to and handle stressors in your daily life. Some people are better at dealing with stressors than others, as they are less reactive. This is important, as stress causes a pumping out of toxic substances into the bloodstream, which can leave you tired, irritable, and angry. Stress can also play havoc with your digestion and weight balance, impede your organ function, and raise blood-sugar levels to an unnaturally high level. Poor response to stress causes a damaging, excessive secretion of the hormones adrenalin and cortisol. These hormones, produced by the adrenal glands, are designed to help your body respond to emergency situations such as running for your life or fighting. If they stay in your system for a long time, they will give your brain a toxic bath. At the same time, your heart rate will increase, blood-sugar levels will elevate, blood vessels will constrict, breathing will get heavy. All of this is fine if it is only temporary and the situation warrants such a physical response.

Your ability to keep your weight balanced depends on the adrenal glands producing balanced levels of hormones 24 hours a day. When your body is continuously pumping out excess hormones at inappropriate times and for prolonged periods, eventually these critical glands are unable to perform at all.

Weight problems, canker sores, blood pressure problems, stomach ulcers, gastrointestinal disorders, muscle weakness, clogged arteries, impaired memory, colds, flus, skin disorders, even repetitive strain injuries have all been connected with high levels of the stress hormone cortisol over a prolonged period.

Stress places unnecessary pressure on your entire endocrine system. Stress impairs this system’s immune function and can thus trigger illness.

CAUSES

Nowadays, the slightest non-physical problems are causing this “fight or flee” reaction in our bodies. Ordinary stressors like a baby crying, arguments, unhappiness, relationship issues, sexual performance worries, marriage, the workplace, upsetting phone calls, traffic jams, frustration, anger, fear, isolation are
triggering an unnatural, prolonged surge of these hormones. If you don’t indulge in a form of physical exercise at that moment to “burn off” these excess hormones caused by your negative stress response, your brain ends up getting fried, adrenal glands get wasted, and you feel totally wiped out. The body is not designed to neutralize excess hormones when no physical action is called for.

Action plan

You can teach yourself to be less reactive and the right food choices can dramatically assist the body to handle stress.

EAT/DRINK

Green asparagus, which helps in the formation of red blood capsules. Asparagus is also high in the antioxidant enzyme glutathione, which helps the liver to function at optimum levels, and anything that has a positive effect on your liver has a positive effect on your mood and your ability to deal with stress.

Garlic, which contains a detoxifying chemical called allicin, a powerful antibiotic with both antiviral and antifungal powers as well as cholesterol-lowering, blood-pressure-lowering, and mood-boosting effects.