"My symptoms were apparently the same as for regular flu: coughs,
sneezes, high temperature, sore throat and headache." she says. But
when her boyfriend took her to the doctor, her diagnosis was a little
little bit of a shock. "I had the swine flu!"
Although the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has stopped counting the
number of reported H1N1 virus incidents in this country, the American
Medical Association says many of its members are starting to see more
cases of the illness, along with early bouts of seasonal flu and colds.
It's just that time of year when a lot of nasty bugs are out there. So
the question is, what's the best way to protect yourself?
Health
experts will tell you the most effective way to fight the flu,
including the H1N1 virus, is to get vaccinated, which causes your own
body to make antibodies that target specific illnesses. After
immunization, it takes up to 10 days for the vaccines to take effect.
But there are other ways to boost your immune system to ward off being
sick during the winter.
Why boost your immune system? It's what protects you from diseases.
It's designed to defend the body against millions of toxins, parasites,
bacteria and microbes that would love to invade the body and make it
their home.
But in order to protect you, your immune system
has to be healthy. If it begins to break down, then germs can attack
and cause you to become ill. That's why taking care of your immune
system, especially this time of year, is a must. And the best way to
start is with good nutrition. You need to eat the right foods.
"Your nutrition profoundly affects your ability to fight these
diseases," notes Katherine Tallmadge, national spokesperson for the
American Dietetic Association. That means fill up your plate with lean
protein, including chicken, fish and fat-free dairy products.
Why protein? "The molecules that fight disease are made of protein," Tallmadge says
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