Your immune system plays two vital roles in your body:

• It responds to foreign organisms (germs, viruses, bacteria, etc.) by producing antibodies and stimulating specialized cells which destroy those organisms or neutralize their toxic products.
  
  
• It stands guard over the cells of your body to ensure that they are not abnormal or degenerating.

Problems that can occur with the immune system:

• the immune system is overwhelmed by too many invaders
  
  
• the immune system becomes weakened and vulnerable to attack
  
  
• the immune system becomes misprogrammed and loses the ability to identify invaders or mutated cells
  
  
• the immune system becomes misprogrammed and begins to mitakenly identify healthy body cells as the enemy and begins to attack them

• the immune system is compromised or missing some key component at birth
  

B. Program for Dealing with the Problem

To deal with these problems, we need to address two key areas of immune function:

• immune boosters: We need to improve overall immune function — to allow the body to better defend itself.
  
  
• pathogen destroyers: We need to specifically target (kill/destroy) invading bacteria, viruses, microorganisms and other related pathogens — to help out the immune system, as it were.

C. General Recommendations

Daily use of formulations comprised of the herbs discussed earlier have been proven to significantly enhance the immune system across the board — even in the face of aggressive chemotherapy:

• immune boosters: echinacea, pau d'arco, suma, reishi, maitake, cordyceps
  
  
• pathogen destroyers: garlic, onion, ginger, habenero juice, horseradish, apple cider vinegar

Note, however, that too many people think of the immune system as something existing in isolation, and that supplements alone are a sufficient address to immune system problems. That's a huge mistake! Let's take a quick walk through the "Baseline of Health" program and see how each system of the body impacts the immune system:

• Intestinal tract: How good can your immune system be if your colon is packed with 20 pounds of old fecal matter? A substantial portion of your immune system then has to combat the effects of self-toxicity. Clean up your intestinal tract, and you free up your immune system.
  
  
• Probiotics: Beneficial bacteria (if they're present) manufacture potent immune boosters such as Transfer Factor and Lactoferrin right in your intestinal tract. In other words, use a good probiotic and you substantially boost your immune system by increasing internal production of a number of powerful immune factors.
  
  
• Enzymes: Supplementing with digestive enzymes significantly reduces the incidence of Circulating Immune Complexes, thus taking enormous stress off the complementary immune system.
  
  
• Diet/Supplements: Proper diet and nourishment boost your immune system. Each and every immune cell in your body is manufactured from the food you eat. A good vitamin/mineral supplement enhances the production of your body's immune cells.
  
  
• Antioxidants: A good full-spectrum antioxidant boosts the immune system in multiple ways.
  
  
• Liver and blood: Cleaning out the liver with an effective "flush and rebuild" program improves the liver's ability to produce immune factors and remove bacteria from the blood. Cleaning out the blood with an herbal blood cleanser and balancing your blood's pH also helps improve immune function.
  
  
• The mind: The right mental exercises and visualizations can double immune function in as little as 24 hours.
  
  
• External contact: Keep in mind that the primary entry point for most pathogens is via the eyes, nose, and mouth, and through contact with the hands. Regular washing of the hands throughout the day (even with regular soap) can serve to take a considerable amount of stress off the immune system.
  
  

D. Recommended Products

• Echinacea Plus — Regular use of this tonic offers the following benefits:
  • Fights infection.
  • Strengthens tissues against assault by invading microorganisms.
  • Stimulates macrophage capability.
  • Increases T-Cell production and protects T-helper cells.
  • Complements the action of Interferon and Interlukin 1.
  • Assists the Cell Mediated Immune Response.
    
    
• Mega Garlic — Mega Garlic contains some of the most powerful anti-viral, anti-bacteria, anti-fungal, and anti-pathogen agents known to nature.