Kick the Sick Series- Sugar and the Immune System. Happy Halloween!

It happens every year. School starts, the season's change, and your child gets sick. Perhaps it’s just a cough and runny nose. Maybe they are sneezing, possibly even have a fever. Whatever symptoms your child experiences, it’s uncomfortable. For everyone around them. They may be acting out more or maybe they want to cuddle more, needing that extra comfort. Typically your child has less energy, which means you aren’t as active as normal. Fewer errands get completed, which means more to do later on. If your child stays home from school, you may need to take the day off work to be with them.

And then we add on immune-stifling holidays like HALLOWEEN! Trick or treating- if is so fun, but growing research is coming out on just how much sugar weakens our immune system. "Too much sugar in your system allows the bacteria or viruses to propagate much more because your initial innate system doesn't work as well. That's why diabetics, for example, have more infections," Dr. Michael Roizen, MD

This can last anywhere from a couple of days to a couple of weeks. It depends on how long your immune system takes to recognize the infection and fight it.

One of the first immune responses by your body is for 2 types of white blood cells to secrete substances to destroy the infection. Another type of white blood cell creates a memory of this infection and response so your immune system can recognize it and fight more efficiently in the future. The antibodies produced from that infection allow your body to respond faster and more effectively the next time you become sick. Your immune system may even become so efficient that it fights and destroys an infection before you even know you’re ill! Each time you contract a bacterial or viral infection, your immune system learns and adapts to fight the current and future infections, becoming stronger in the process.

Your immune system needs to be able to adapt to the constantly changing environment. It needs to learn how to recognize and fight various infections and illnesses. It needs to be able to adapt quickly, faster than the infection can adapt and change to avoid being recognized and destroyed.

In order for your immune system to adapt and quickly respond to an infection, your parasympathetic nervous system needs to be fully functional. Chiropractic adjustments stimulate the vagus nerve, which triggers the parasympathetic pathways that activate your immune system. The vagus nerve also recruits lymphocytes, a type of white blood cell that fights foreign viruses and bacteria.

When the inevitable happens, you and your child catch a common cold or the flu, schedule a boost adjustment. That way you can ensure your immune system is extra ready to battle the infection and you can get back to your daily routine quickly.

In the meantime, join us for our Kick The Sick workshop to discover how to strengthen your immune system naturally!