Immune system and nutrition (vitamins and minerals)

[hummingbird]

2manyfibers, Thanks for the great post. Astragalus and reishi are also good for the immune system. Echinacea, when used properly can also be very helpful.
hummingbird

[Kritters]

How do you use echinacea properly, hummingbird? How do you use it improperly?

shall we ask Miss Manners?

Only having fun!

Kritters

[ladycolorado]

Originally Posted by kritters

How do you use echinacea properly, hummingbird? How do you use it improperly?

shall we ask Miss Manners?

Only having fun!

Kritters

isn't that a root powder used to dialate the bronchia? i knew a lady with asthma who swore by it. i have taken it with nil negative side effects in the past. you cap up the powder, the herb tastes like dirt with mint in it, lol. (LC)

[2manyfibers]

Hey bugs - I'm not a doctor (and don't even play one on TV) so anything I say here is an educated guess at best. I googled adderall - the info says it's an amphetamine that effects dopamine and serotonin (which are proteins created in the body). Both these chemicals affect sleep patterns and one of the noted side-effects of adderall is loss of appetite. This is speculation on my part, but it seems reasonable to believe that adderall may keep her from getting as much sleep as she should (which can make symptoms worse). From my experience, when you just don't want to eat, or don't feel like eating, you tend to eat things that aren't necessarily of good nutritional value (I lost about 120 lbs the first few months because I physically couldn't swallow food). I still have to somewhat force myself to eat (which is very unusual for me under normal circumstances) and I find that I eat what I want more than what's good for me (when you don't care about eating, you have to like what you're eating). I started back taking a good multivitamin a few months ago because of this. Based on this, I would think it could be possible that your mother may not be getting as much "proper" nutrition based on this "loss of appetite" side effect of adderall when she's taking it. The human body literally is a chemical factory (with the chemicals being the nutrients in foods), so if the right chemicals aren't available because you're not eating "right" I would think it could very well impact symptoms of any sickness. Again, this is only opinion, but hope it helps.

[unclear]

I am taking ritalin and I take it in the early morning, now my fatigue is so bad that I have taken a pill and fell asleep and stayed asleep. If it helps her function then please don't take it away. I am not read or write with out it. So if you take it away, you are taken some off her daily normal life away, as normal as we get. Just make just she takes some herbs to combat the Morgellons. I am using a new product called Theives Oil, I put it in a difusser and it cleans the air. I am sure that is what is making me get these things out of my body as I am herxing so bad, they even have a cleaner, I washed my hair with it last night and for the first time in a long time my hair felt a little better. Now mind you I am at the stage were the fibers are coming out of my hair, my eyes, ears and mouth real bad. Plus the smell this has makes me feel better mentally. Hope this helps, Pm me and I will give you more info on it. Aloha Unclear

[bugsonmymug]

Hello unclear, well the ony reason I am concerned with the adderall is because she takes a 3 month prescription in a month, that it like triple the dose. So I feel like it it doing more harm than good. She claims she can't even function with out it. dont get me wrong i believe her, i know she would be a reck with out it. but i also feel if she went off them she would get her health under control.

[ladycolorado]

Originally Posted by Franky

2manyfibers excellent information and I totally agree with your post. But as a reminder to everyone, be careful with the mega doses you take as well as how long you take these doses. You can overdose on vitamins. Hi doses over prolonged time can cause some damage.

As a side note i have taken supplements since i have been a kid and i truly feel its help me keep a strong immune system going. I hardly get a cold.

i agree with franky, some vitamins are dangerous to take maga doses of like iron potassium magnesium, too much vitamin a. make sure research which ones are safe to mega dose on before doing so(or with ANY HERB). for innstance too much potassium can stop the heart. b6 can kill you if take more tha daily amount., but b-12 and vitamin c are okay, you just pass the excess out of the system. too much ginko for depression can make one bleed to death during surgery, it thins the blood like aspiring does.of course, safety is always important, (LC).

[silverlark]

I have started to take Iron in hopes that i have Biofilm (i think thats right) read some artilce someone posted on it about how bacerteria build a special wall to protect themeselves.....REc doasge is 1 per day what is the max?????

Anyone on this..
better to PM me or email
silverlark@yahoo.com

[Kritters]

Silverlark,

Just my two cents on this, but iron is cumulative in your body and causes heart attacks. If you're a woman and have a heavy menstrual cycle, that may be okay, but after menopause and for men anytime, iron isn't good to take. I'd check with a naturopath first.

Kritts

[2manyfibers]

You are correct again Krits - most men's multivitamins don't contain any iron because it is cumulative (builds up and stays in the bloodstream). What little iron men need is usually contained in almost any diet with meat in it. Most of the metals needed by the body are more prevalent in meats than fruits and vegetables (iron, zinc, magnesium, manganese, copper, etc.). Although it is possible to overdose on potassium, it is quite rare. The RDA for potassium is 3,000 mg (if I remember correctly) and most potassium supplements are 99 mg per tablet. I have read of a couple of cases of potassium overdose, but they were from people taking many tablets a day in addition to what they got from diet. Potassium is a key electrolyte for the body. Electrolytes have a slight electrical charge and they regulate fluid levels in the body and they also regulate muscle activity (too much potassium can cause the heart to become so relaxed that it stops beating - muscle activity is driven by tiny electrical impulses in the body). The other main electrolytes in addition to potassium are calcium, magnesium and zinc. The levels of these electrolytes are very important to regulating blood pressure. There are some vitamin combinations on the internet recommended (by MDs) for regulating blood pressure and all of them include these electrolytes (just google "vitamins blood pressure regulation" if you're interested). I have a couple of friends that have tried this "blood pressure vitamin regimen" and they have seen reductions in their average blood pressure of 30 to 40 points after several months.

The body can get too much calcium and zinc as well so they should be used with due caution as well. The RDA for calcium is 1,000 mg daily and for zinc it is 15 mg for women and 18 mg for men. However, the national institutes of science placed the "upper limit" of zinc at 40 mg daily (this is the point where absolutely no negative side effects showed up in the studies). More than 40 mg of zinc daily CAN deplete copper (the point at which it actually does varies). Some studies have shown that as much as 75 mg of zinc daily has no negative side effects especially as we grow older. I've learned the hard way that vitamins are quite powerful and effective. The true power of vitamin supplements is in the combination of nutrients. DNA combines a variety of nutrients into chemical compounds to produce the proteins that literally construct and maintain the body - if any of the required nutrients are missing, DNA simply can't do what it needs to do as well as it should.