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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