Introduction 1 About This Book 1 Conventions Used in This Book 2 What You''re Not to Read 3 Foolish Assumptions 3 How This Book is Organized 4 Part 1: Getting to Know Your Immune System 4 Part 2: What Happens When Your Immune System Gets Off Track 4 Part 3: Laying the Groundwork for Super Immunity: Nutrition, Lifestyle, and Detox 5 Part 4: Cooking Up Recipes for Immunity and Wellness 5 Part 5: The Part of Tens 5 Icons Used in This Book 5 Where to Go from Here 6 Part 1: Getting to Know Your Immune System 7 Chapter 1: Immunity: Your Ticket to a Stronger, Longer, and Healthier Life 9 Super Immunity 101 10 Starting with your immune system 10 Boosting your immunity with nutritional excellence 10 Considering super immunity and modern medicine 11 Living Longer, Stronger, and Healthier 12 Focusing on healthy cells 13 Turning on your "super immunity" genes 14 Choosing health 15 Boosting Your Immunity to Look and Feel Amazing 15 Looking younger 16 Increasing vitality 17 Getting a good night''s sleep 17 Clearing up skin and digestive issues 18 Chapter 2: Understanding the Parts and Functions of Your Immune System 21 Introducing the Key Players: Your Immune Organs 22 Bone marrow 22 Thymus 22 Spleen 24 Lymph nodes 24 How they work together 24 Meeting More Players: All the Different Cell Types 25 Phagocytes 25 Lymphocytes 25 How they work together 28 Tracking How the Immune System Really Works 28 Establishing surface barriers and mucosal immunity 29 Accepting normal flora 29 Complement system 30 Relying on innate immune response 30 Acquired immune response 31 Considering Vaccinations and How They Work 34 Teaching your immune system to remember and fight 34 Weighing pros and cons of vaccination 35 Making an informed decision about flu shots 36 Part 2: What Happens When Your Immune System Gets Off Track 39 Chapter 3: Strengthening Your Allergy Defense System 41 Battling Sneezes, Sniffles, and Itchy Eyes 42 Getting to the root of the allergic reaction 42 Pinpointing causes of allergic rhinitis 43 Diagnosing allergic rhinitis 44 Using conventional medicine treatment for allergies 45 Choosing natural medicine treatment for allergies 47 Catching Your Breath Again: Asthma 48 Diagnosing asthma 49 Using conventional medical treatment for asthma 49 Choosing natural medicine treatments for asthma 49 Soothing Scaly, Itchy Skin: Eczema 50 Diagnosing eczema 50 Using conventional medical treatment for eczema 50 Choosing natural medical treatment for eczema 51 Distinguishing between Food Allergies and Food Sensitivities 52 Immediate/Acute food allergies 52 Delayed food-allergy reactions and food sensitivities 54 Chapter 4: Autoimmune Disorders: Dealing with an Overactive Immune System 57 Getting to the Root of a Confused Immune System 58 Uncovering a genetic predisposition 58 Weighing the impact of gender 59 Factoring in the environment 59 Blaming immune dysregulation: Imbalance of Th1 and Th2 60 Contributing Factors Essential to the Autoimmune System 60 NF-kB 61 Inflammatory cytokines 61 Free radicals 61 Cortisol and the stress response 62 5-MTHF 62 Pinpointing Dietary Influences on Autoimmune Conditions 62 Lower arachidonic acid 63 Higher omega-3 intake 63 Vitamin D 64 Gluten 64 What Do You Mean My Gut is Involved? 65 Developing increased gut permeability and antibody formation 65 Fixing your gut to fix your immune system 66 Estrogen: A Hormone, a Helper, and a Potential Time Bomb 68 Influencing estrogen breakdown products 68 Processing chemicals and estrogens in the liver 69 Modifying liver activity and the amount of estrogen to process 69 Mercury and How It Wreaks Havoc on the Immune System 70 Scaling back on mercury-heavy fish 71 Dealing with mercury in dental work 71 Testing for mercury toxicity 72 Nutrigenomics: Using Food Nutrients to Modify Autoimmunity Specifically 72 Caffeine 73 Hops-derived compounds 73 Omega-3 fatty acids 73 Curcumin and rosemary 73 Selenium and zinc 73 Vitamin D 74 Considering Specific Autoimmune Conditions 74 Rheumatoid arthritis 74 Autoimmune thyroiditis 76 Chapter 5: Cancer: When the Immune System Takes a Vacation 81 Understanding the Changes in Cells that Lead to Cancer 82 Tracking dangerous cell mutations 82 Skipping apoptosis: Planned cell death and how it relates to cancer 83 Weeding out cancer cells 83 Realizing that even a good immune system can''t always keep up 84 Reducing Your Chances of Recurrence after Chemotherapy or Radiation 84 Making dietary interventions specific to cancer 85 Managing stress: Cortisol and cancer prevention 87 Cleaning up your environment 88 Taking Supplements Post-Treatment: Possible Drug Interactions 89 Omega-3 fatty acids 90 Probiotics 90 Vitamin D3 90 Vitamin C 90 Calcium and magnesium 91 Zinc and selenium 91 Aloe vera 91 Astragalus 91 Cat''s-claw 92 Echinacea 92 Ginseng 92 Nettle 92 St John''s wort 92 Viewing Cancer Treatments from around the World 93 Traditional Chinese medicine 93 Ayurveda 95 Chapter 6: Immunodeficiency Disorders: When the Immune System Slows Down 97 Uncovering Inherited Immunodeficiency Disorders 98 B cell immunodeficiency syndromes 98 T cell immunodeficiency syndromes 99 Combined B and T cell deficiency 100 Problems with phagocytosis 101 Problems with complement proteins 101 Testing for inherited deficiencies 102 Exposing Acquired Immunodeficiency Disorders 102 Identifying the main culprits leading to deficiency 102 Diagnosing acquired deficiencies 104 Treating Inherited and Acquired Immunodeficiency Conditions 105 Nutrition and stress management 106 Antibiotics, antifungals, antivirals 106 Interferon 107 Immunoglobulin infusions 107 Bone marrow transplant 107 Chapter 7: Uncovering the Influence of Immunity in Other Conditions 109 Chronic Inflammation: From Achy Joints to Alzheimer''s 109 The inflammatory process 110 Achy joints 110 Heart disease 111 Diabetes 111 Alzheimer''s disease 112 Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), or Leaky Gut Syndrome 113 Diagnosing IBS 115 Treating IBS 116 Acne and Chronic Skin Conditions 117 Acne 117 Psoriasis 119 Eczema 120 Contact dermatitis 120 Part 3: Laying the Groundwork for Super Immunity: Nutrition, Lifestyle, and Detox 123 Chapter 8: Improving Your Immunity with Nutrition 125 Calling in Nutrition''s Big Guns 126 Powerful protein: Making you healthy (and thin!) 127 Healthy fats: Protecting your body 130 Carbs your body will love: Getting your charge back 133 Building Your Plate for Everyday Wellness and Robust Immunity 137 Finding the right portion sizes 137 Satisfying your thirst 140 Staying Away from Foods on the Proceed-with-Caution List 141 Unhealthy grains 141 Beans and legumes 142 Dairy and stuff 143 Avoiding Certain Foods at All Cost 145 "Frankenfoods" 145 Sneaky food additives 147 Sugar: The monkey on your back 149 Having to Say Goodbye to Foods You Love, or Do You? 151 Salt: Friend or foe? 151 Are desserts on the menu? 152 How about happy hour? 153 Restarting Your Health and Nutrition with the "Boosting 30" 154 Chapter 9: Tapping the Immune Properties of Superfoods 155 Getting the Scoop on Superfoods 156 Separating superfoods from the rest of the pack 156 Tacking on a superfood bonus: Weight loss 159 Robust, Everyday Superfoods with the "It" Factor 160 Dark chocolate 161 Fruits 161 Nuts and seeds 164 Spices and herbs 166 Teas 168 Vegetables 169 Chapter 10: Getting an Extra Kick from Supplements and Herbs 173 Adding Supplements for Better Health 174 Fish oil 175 Magnesium 176 Probiotics 176 Vitamin C 177 Vitamin D3 178 Zinc 178 Mixing in Medicinal Herbs 179 Aloe vera 180 Astragalus 180 Cat''s-claw 181 Echinacea 182 Elderberry 182 Ginseng 183 Hyssop 184 Licorice root 184 Nettle 185 St John''s wort 185 Seeking Out a Few Exotic Superfoods 186 Acai berries 186 Goji berries 187 Sea vegetables 188 Chapter 11: Living an Immunity-Friendly Lifestyle 191 Getting More from Your Daily Routine 192 Sleep 192 Sunshine 194 Water 198 Exercise 201 Exploring Ways to Reduce Stress 203 Massage 203 Yoga and meditation 204 The HeartMath solution 205 Chiropractic 206 Naturopathy 208 Energy work 209 Chapter 12: Exploring Detoxification to Refresh Your Immunity 211 Deciding to Detox 212 What is a.