Enhancing immune function

Training Bodybuilding
21

hi there seminole chick,
just wondered what was wrong with flax oil. i know it tastes nasty but i gotta say i feel better taking it than not. also why do you reccomend eating liver? doesnt it process a lot of ingested toxins? i could be way off here? as far as boosting the immune system i ahve got to agree with every other poster on this thread and say sleep is numero uno. i can often feel a cold coming on if you know what i mean and ifind a couple of early nights will see it off before it takes hold.

thanks
bikeboy

22

DonM, you want to enhance your immune function?-then keep cortisol levels down by not worrying so much about what percentage of your fats come from monos, polys or saturates. I would have a nervous breakdown trying to figure out that only 6% of my fats should be from polys, which is 6% of my daily fat intake of 40%, which means that 40% of 4500cals is 1800cals, of which only 102 should come from polys based on the fact that 102 is 6% of 1800, which is 2.3% of total calories, therefore in my case 2.3% of my total calories should come in the form of polyunsaturated fats and so figuring that 15ml of fish oil has 14g of poly fats, which is 126cals, I should limit my daily intake to 12ml of fish oils which is 80% of 15ml or in other words, 4/5ths of a tablespoon. Perfect. Now I know that 4/5ths tbsp is the perfect amount of polyunsaturated fat for me. Phew!, and to think I was using a whole tablespoon before. What was I crazy?

23

Bikeboy,
the liver is the bodies detoxifier. it neutralizes most toxins and the allows them to be excreted through the urine or feces. it’s possible for some toxins to accumulate in the liver, but if you get it from healthy animal these should be extremely minimal. so, that being said, liver is a great food to eat because it has large amounts of awesome vitamins for your health all around. venison liver if you got some or calf liver from the store are good. even better than the store bought would be some liver from a grass fed, free ranging animal if you have access to such a thing. lamb is almost always grass fed, by the way, which makes it a better meat as far as fat ratios are concernred. but we’re not talking about that :wink:

as far as flax seed oil, it’s ok, but other oils are more superior in my opinion. not to mention, if you’re taking fish oil or cod liver oil, plus eating nuts and some fish and other sources of unsaturated fat, i would not take flax oil. i’m sure you feel better taking it than not, because you might have been deficient in some of your essential types of oils. check the rest of your diet and see how it is, you never know if maybe you’re back on track now and yo ucan refine your diet even more. flax isn’t bad in small amounts, i’ve heard it recommended elsewhere as part of salad dressing, but i don’t eat salad every day so it wouldn’t be much. although, i tossed my flax oil after my doc said he didn’t think i needed it. besides, it goes rancid so easily, and how could i trust that thepeople who made it really did a good job? you know? whole (ground up) flax seeds mixed into food might be ok, as it seems like a bit more natural way to get the oil, rather than a refined product which is subject to spoilage.

thanks for listening y’all. i have a few links i’ll post about the ratio of fats thing. i’m not a pro and i hate trying to explain it cuz i get a bit mixed up sometimes. i’ll let you read about it for yourself. i know not everyone agrees with me, but after almost two years of eating this way, i’ve never felt better in my life. i wouldn’t tell other people about it if i didn’t think there was merit to it. do what makes YOU feel good. everyone’s body is different and differnt amounts of foods are going to make each person well. but there are guidelines that i think we all need to follow for optimal health for the rest of our lives. sorry for the rant :wink:

here’s those links:

http://westonaprice.org/know_your_fats/skinny.html

here’s an article about fats that discusses each type of fat, and where you can get it from and what types are healthy. if you are intrigued or even concerned, read some of the other links on this page:

http://westonaprice.org/know_your_fats/know_your_fats.html
and please noticed there are no ads or popups or anything else obnoxious on there.

24

loopfit,
i think i was confusing. if you eat 4500 calories, that would be 6% polyunsaturated fat calories at about 270 calories or 30g of unsaturated fat. i think before what i said ended up meaning 6% of your fat. this would actually very, but end up being probably between 5 and 8% of your total fat intake, from calculations i did of my own fat intake on different days. i hope i did the math right on that one. at least, it sounds more reasonable that 4/5ths of a teaspoon of fish oil. how many grams is that equal to?

some days i eat only maybe 120g of fat, some days more like 200g of fat, depending on my total calories. anywhere around 60% of total cals. for me.

if you use www.fitday.com you will find that foods you didn’t even realize had some polyunsaturated fats in them! it doesn’t take long for those fats to add up… and then if you’re taking tablespoons of flax oil, fish oil, nuts etc. on top of it, you could easily get up to your 30% of your calories as polyunsaturated fats. wow, that’s too much IMHO. way tooooo much.

25

OK. you definitely got me thinking real hard about it! I am in school working on my 2nd degree in nutrition (1st one in kinesiology). It should be interesting when I bring it up in the classroom…

26

thanks for taking the time to answer my question seminole. i will take on board what you said about flax oil.

bike boy

27

Seminole Chick

where would i get coconut oil? which brand? I do actually like coconut but never really knew the benefits of consuming it. All i heard was that it had too much saturated fat. Thanks. You certainly helped out alot. Thanks.

Tungsten

28

Tungsten,

If you have Vitamin Shoppe where you are from they have great coconut oil. You can get it from them online also. It has great flavor too.

Just make sure you get a brand that is not highly processed.

I take it you have read the previous thread on cocnut milk and such?

Phill

29

Thanks guys for listening. I know there’s places online you can get coconut oil. they’re rather pricey.

what Phill said was true, you should be careful to get the virgin coconut oil or least processed. if it smells like coconuts it’s probably pretty good stuff. if the jar says for skin and hair, LOL, then it’s probably been pretty refined. i wouldn’t eat it. but it is a great moisturizer!

here are a few sites, you can do a search and find many more.

30

You might try echinacea, it’s supposed to be good for immunity. Try to lower your stress levels since that can adversely affect your immune system. Vitamin C is good too. Whenever you get a cold, take a 500 mg tablet each hour. Vitamin C is water soluble, so you won’t get sick from upping the dosage.

31

  1. Foods - I would say more vegetables is a top priority. Eat some green veggies at every meal, except during and immediately post-workout. I think you need a lot more fiber, too.

  2. Supplements - high-potency multi with antioxidants to cover all the bases. I use Whitaker’s Forward formula.

Also, don’t overlook the need to wash your hands and all the disgusting germy equipment at the gym. With all your training, you’re exposed to more gym germs. Be extremely careful not to touch your face while you’re at the gym. Bring disinfectant wipes and wipe down the handles of the rower, etc. Bring Purell to rub on your hands.

32

Andersons - Thanks for the heads-up on the germ issue. It’s a good point and I’ve started to pay more attention to washing my hands after training.

I don’t think fibre or veggies are an issue! Here are the fruits/veggies and high-fibre carbs I consume every day:

  1. 2 apples
  2. Whole wheat bread for sandwich
  3. Veggies (lettuce,tomato, cucumber, cabbage) on sandwich
  4. Huge portion of mixed veggies (broccoli, carrot, snowpeas, cauliflower) with dinner each night.
  5. Can (250g drained weight) of kidney beans, broad beans, chickpeas, or butter beans each night with dinner.

In addition to this, my evening carb treat is often whole wheat pita bread with honey. Probably not the optimum thing to eat at this time, but fibre-containing nonetheless.