How to Boost Your Immune System — Part 2

Mushrooms are known to have certain health benefits. Supplements are now available which contain a number of useful types, especially Asian fungi with special properties.

Typical mushrooms for helping the immune system along are, maitake, cordyceps, shiitake, hericeum and reishi.

A mineral, often deficient in older people, is zinc. It can be found naturally in red meat, nuts, wholegrains and fish.

As a supplement it’s often taken with selenium, a combination used to combat infections.

How to Boost Your Immune System — Part 1

Astragalus root is a herb used in traditional Chinese medicine where it has been used for centuries to boost the immune system and treat a variety of ailments. It is derived from a perennial plant that grows in northern China and Mongolia.

Practitioners of Chinese medicine use astragalus to enhance the body’s energy, or Chi. The ancients used astragalus root to enhance strength and regulate metabolism. The herb has only recently gained popularity among herbalists and practitioners of alternative medicine in the West.

Astragalus comes in a number of forms, including capsules, tinctures and topical ointments. Choose the form most suited to your condition. Use for two or three weeks when feeling run down. Repeat as necessary.

Safety Precautions: The American National Center for Complementary and Alternative Therapy considers astragalus root can be used safely with few side effects.

However, as it may increase the effects of some antiviral medicines and interfere with anticoagulants and immune suppressants, anyone taking such medications should consult a doctor before using the herb.

Nowadays, both women and men are advised to moisturize their face twice a day after cleansing. Is this wise for the older person?

Tracey Chappell, a skin expert, says, “Often we allow ourselves to be pigeon-hole into a standard routine and stop listening to what our skin is telling us.

“The idea that we should moisturize twice a day is traditional beauty lore and does apply to a great many of us. But it’s not necessarily the best thing for everyone.

“The belief probably came about because our desire for squeaky clean skin has meant that traditionally cleansers are quite stripping and leave skin feeling tight and dry, making us reach for the moisturizer both morning and night after we wash our faces.

“Only you can know what your skin feels like on a day-to-day basis. Occasionally it is wise to let the skin breathe, particularly as over-using creams that are too rich can make the skin “lazy”, taking over from its natural functions and leaving us dependent on lotions and potions. We get trapped in a vicious cycle.”

A recent study at Tel Aviv University in Israel, tested 60 volunteers using a brain exercising computer program, MindFit, for 30 minutes, three times a week, and compared them with another 60 playing sophisticated computer games.

The results showed that although all benefited from playing on the computer, those on MindFit had better improvement in short-term learning, visual and spatial learning and focused attention.

These findings are especially relevant to those of a certain age and show that exercise can stave off the reduction of mental faculties. It seems that very few golden agers realize that giving the brain a workout is just as important as physical exercise.

Susan Greenfield, a neurologist and Director of the Royal Institution, is supporting the use of computer brain games to tackle mental decline.

She believes that with no cure for Alzheimer’s disease on the horizon, these exercises are a good way of staving off dementia and keeping the mind alert.

Baronness Greenfield will launch MindFit in the House of Lords in October. She says, “There is now good scientific evidence to show that exercising the brain can slow, delay and protect against age related decline”.

Nintendo, the computer console company, is behind another product, the Brain Training computer game. The Brain-Master keeps the mind agile by testing logical analysis, memory retention, coordination and concentration.

The developer of the software, Professor Ryuta Hawashima of Japan’s Tohonu University, said the games increase the delivery of oxygen, blood and amino acids to the brain, leading to the creation of connections between brain cells.

MindFit is a new rival, developed in Israel and already available in the U.S. Baroness Greenfield is involved with the company producing the software and her name will be used to promote it in Britain, where it will cost £70 ($140).

The software claims to improve short-term memory by 18 percent, eye-hand co-ordination by 16.5 percent, memory recall by 14 percent and reaction time by 12.5 percent.