Always picture your immune system as strong, tough, powerfully aggressive, invincible, indomitable and unconquerable. Make sketches of your killer T cells and macrophages with wolflike fangs and jaws, and of die antibodies with sharp, dart-like points. See them rush at any virus and tear it to shreds.

Or you can symbolize your white cells as fierce white dogs or white tigers or as any fierce and aggressive animal that always wins.

Visualize the cold or flu viruses as small, weak, disorganized and disoriented. Never picture your ailment as strong, powerful, magical, evil, monstrous, gigantic or fear-inspiring. People who have symbolized a cold or flu as a lion or tiger, a giant or a monster, or a powerful spreading tree or rock have proved to be fearful of the ailment and to have a low level of confidence and belief in their immunocompetence.

Next, make a rough sketch of yourself in perfect health, free of all cold and flu symptoms. Sketch yourself as you were at the healthiest, fittest time of your life. Draw yourself loping along a beach, inhaling great quantities of pure air through unblocked nostrils. Feel complete faith in your ability to destroy any invading virus or bacteria.

Create clear, strong, vivid pictures of your white cells and of yourself in perfect health. Not only see yourself running along a beach but feel, hear, smell, taste and touch the scene. Experience each sensation. Smell the salty tang of drying seaweed, hear the scream of gulls and the roar of surf, feel the sea breeze in your face, the sun on your body, and the grains of sand under your bare feet.

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C and other essential nutrients by approximately forty per cent while caffeine also causes a zinc deficiency. Beverages containing caffeine include coffee, black and green tea, hot chocolate, cocoa and most cola drinks. The Pill, diuretics, anti-hypertension medication, prescription and “recreational” drugs and medications may also interfere with absorption of nutrients essential to the body’s cold-fighting process.

Also ranking high among foods to avoid are fats of all types. A high dietary intake of fat, especially polyunsaturated fatty acids (pressed vegetable oils) and hydrogenated vegetable oils, has been shown to result in lymphoid atrophy and suppressed antibody response to antigens in lab animals. All indications are that fatty acids enhance synthesis of prostaglandins, a surfeit of which are believed to directly suppress the immune system.

However, there are several different types of prostaglandins and certain prostaglandins are utilized by the immune system itself to create inflammation. Prostaglandins are manufactured from linoleic acid, a fatty acid which is transformed into arachidonic acid in the body and is stored in the body’s fat cells.

Linoleic acid is supplied by legumes and whole grains such as oatmeal. If, however, you do not eat a sufficiency of these two foods, you can obtain sufficient linoleic acid by adding one teaspoon of cold-pressed sunflower or saf-flower seed oils to your diet each day. These oils can be used as a dressing on salads or can be used in cooking or in baked goods. (Olive oil or peanut butter are not considered good sources of linoleic acid.) Nonetheless, a single bowl of oatmeal will usually supply our entire linoleic acid needs for the day.

A high-fat diet also inhibits production of “Intrinsic Factor” in the gastric juices which is needed for the absorption of vitamin B12. This nutrient, as you may recall from Chapter 5 is one of a variety of R-complex vitamins which aids the immune system in battling colds and flu. Others include vitamins A, C, E, the entire B-complex and the mineral zinc.

It is foods of animal origin, particularly meat, whole milk dairy products and eggs that are high in fat and low in many vitamins essential to immunocompetence. Refined carbohydrates, such as white flour, sugar and sweeteners of all kinds, are also almost valueless in providing nutritional support. All traces of zinc and other nutrients have been refined out of them. Another problem is that these are all acid-forming foods which interfere with absorption of zinc, and they restrict availability of zinc to the body.

The best nutritional support is provided by eating the 80-10-10 way, meaning that 80 percent of our calories should come from complex carbohydrates (fresh, unprocessed vegetables, fruits, whole grains, nuts, seeds and legumes); not more than ten percent should be derived from fats (preferably from unprocessed fats contained in whole grains, avocados, nuts and seeds); and ten percent should come from protein, preferably from legumes, nuts, seeds, whole grains, white or oily fish, egg whites or very low fat dairy foods such as plain yogurt and cottage cheese.

Eating the 80-10-10 way provides a diet high in vitamins A, C, E and the B-complex and in zinc and most other essential minerals. It also provides sufficient protein for antibody production.

However, it’s important that your diet contain an abundance of deep green and yellow vegetables plus green leafy vegetables and both fruits and vegetables which are yellow-to-red or bright orange in color. These foods art all high in beta-carotene, a precursor of vitamin A which is essential to the integrity of mucous membranes lining the nasal air passages.

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The consensus of many similar studies is that vitamin C stimulates production of interferon; that it enhances the ability of the thymus gland to produce T cells; that it helps detoxify surplus histamine; and that it bolsters bacterial phagocytosis (ability of phagocytes to destroy bacteria). Doses of 2 to 3 grams have produced significant increases in immunocompetence.

As a result, vitamin C has become the best known dietary factor affecting immunity. On coming down with a cold, many people are now taking C instead of aspirin. Which is understandable when you consider that several carefully-conducted medical studies have shown that a mild viral infection, such as a smallpox inoculation, causes a significant depletion in vitamins A and C in the bloodstream.

While the results of studies like those just quoted have confirmed the benefits of vitamins A and C, and of zinc in treating colds, the lack of any large-scale scientifically endorsed proof seems due more to the nature of the scientific method than to any doubt about the nutrient’s effectiveness. Any study is limited to testing only a single variable. Thus only a single vitamin or mineral can be tested at a time. By contrast, vitamins and minerals interact biologically, and work synergistically with each other, to produce results far greater than that of any single nutrient acting alone. Taken together, vitamins A, C, E and the B-complex plus zinc and other key minerals, appear to complement the other to produce overall results far in excess of any single nutrient studies so far recorded.

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By comparison, the onset of flu symptoms are more sudden and severe. Fever may quickly soar to the 102° to 104°F range. Headaches are common and prolonged. Muscular aches and pains appear throughout the body. A sore throat is a frequent symptom. Bouts of chill and shivering often alternate between periods of sweating. The eyes are sore, the face is often flushed, and the skin hot and moist. The victim feels weak and fatigued and appetite may fade. Almost 90 percent of flu victims are afflicted with dry, hacking cough and, often, a chest discomfort also. Existence of a local flu epidemic supports the probability that the diagnosis of influenza is correct

Alarming as they may appear, flu symptoms pose little risk to a healthy adult or child. In any case, medical science is unable to cure or alleviate either a common cold or flu since antibiotics are ineffective against viruses.

Because both cold and flu viruses may create raw, irritated tissue, and also overload the immune system, a bacterial infection of the nose, sinuses, throat or chest may follow a cold or flu.

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Careful diary-keeping is a great help in identifying the exact nature of tension or migraine headache triggers. Women should include exact dates on which menstruation begins and ends. After three months, you should begin to see a pattern which can help to identify migraine triggers and to avoid them.

Diary-keeping coupled with careful observation also can help identify tension headache triggers. For example, you may find that it is not typing that causes your headache but the way you sit or slouch over the typewriter. Or it could be due to inadequate lighting. Identifying and avoiding headache triggers has brought relief to many.

Here is a brief rundown of the principal categories of headache triggers.

Physical and environmental triggers. Smog-containing sulphur dioxide, commonly emitted from refineries, steel and paper mills or fertilizer plants, has been scientifically confirmed as a common migraine trigger. Fumes and odors from soap, detergent, perfume, after-shave lotion, and household chemicals and pesticides, when inhaled in an enclosed room, can set off migraine in some people.

Other common environmental triggers include glaring or flickering lights or bright outdoor sunshine (wear sunglasses and a hat with a brim).

Stale air in offices and rooms, especially if smoke-filled, is a potential headache trigger. Others include: odorless carbon monoxide leaks from car exhausts or heating equipment; rapid decreases in barometric pressure; wearing a swim mask or goggles—this can set off a headache one to two hours later, sudden weather changes, especially onset of a hot, dry wind. Loud, jarring noises keep the body continually stressed, while a constant noise prevents relaxation. Temporary headaches due to high elevation are also common among mountain hikers and climbers. Usually mild, the headaches customarily affect the entire head. Occasionally, an altitude headache is confined to one side, and can become as severe as a migraine. Altitude headaches normally disappear on descending.

Long distance flights, especially from east to west, can trigger migraine in susceptible persons. To help avoid headaches when flying, drink frequent glasses of water, avoid alcohol, eat lightly, sit in an aisle seat so that you can stand up and stretch, and rest upon arrival. OTC painkillers are freely available on most flights.

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