Immune Boosters

Cold and flu season is here. If you have children, are recovering from illness, or come in contact with tons of people during the day, this probably conjures up visions of fevers, aches, pains, bed rest, tissues and chicken soup dancing in your head.

The cold and flu culprits are unhealthy germs floating through the air. It's hard to control whether or not you'll come into contact with them, but you can have an effect on your immune system. A weak immune system can make a cold or flu worse because it lets the germs in easily, whereas a strong immune system can fight them off.

So, the best way to beat cold and flu season is to give yourself an immune boost and that's where the green drink comes in. Green drinks (sometimes called green juice and green drink powder) are chock-full of immune boosters and anti-oxidants. Really, it's quite incredible how many potent immune fighters high-quality green energy drinks contain.

So Many Immune Boosters, Such a Little Scoop of Green Drink Powder

You'd have to eat tons of veggies, grasses, teas, algae and more just to get the immune boosters you get from one scoop of a green juice powder like EnergyFirst's Greenergy, for example,

Here are some of the ingredients in this type of green drink powder that help fight colds and flus:

Echinacea Purpea Juice -- Before antibiotics came on the scene in 1940, echinacea was the top cold and flu remedy in the U.S. Today, echinacea is the number-one herbal remedy for immune boosting, with fresh pressed echinacea purpea juice (as found in green energy drinks ) being the most potent form with the most active compounds. Echinacea adds to the green energy drink boosting power by strengthening white blood cells and stimulating the lymph system.

Barley Grass -- Grasses are complete foods that can supply all your nutritional needs. After all, cows, horses and many other large grazers live on it! (And studies have shown that grazers do better on grasses than other veggies.) A rich source of chlorophyll, green drink barley grass provides vitamins and minerals and is a complete protein -- all things necessary to keep your body healthy, and when it's healthy, it's primed to fight off invading viruses. Several of the barley grass anti-oxidents and enzymes have been shown to fight cancer and improve longevity as well.

Wheat Grass -- Wheat grass is another amazing source of chlorophyll, the basis of all plant life. Chlorophyll helps provide the oxygen that the brain and body need to function properly, and research shows the chlorophyll stops growth of unhealthy bacteria, helps alkalize and rebuild red blood cells (cleans the blood), and helps cure infections and heal wounds. Having "clean blood" means that you have plenty of red blood cells to carry oxygen in and metabolic waste out. Chlorophyll also neutralizes environmental pollutants and helps purify the liver.

Spirulina and Blue Green Algae Powder -- Fresh water algae and spirulina, a form of algae, stimulate killer cells that can fight everything from cancer to HIV to the common cold. Research studies show that spirulina protects against pathogens, parasites and infectious micro-organisms.

Chlorella Powder -- Green drink chlorella powder is a tiny, one-cell algae that has tons of chlorophyll. It also has carbs that help balance blood sugar and keep your body metabolizing smoothly; vitamins E and C; all the Bs; trace minerals; beta-carotene; and amino acids.

Broccoli Powder -- Loaded with phyto-chemical sulforaphane, this star green is famous for fighting cancer (and therefore other unhealthy invaders), providing immune-boosting beta-carotene and vitamin C.

Spinach Powder -- This famous rock star green is a fabulous provider of the antioxidant lutein, iron, and folate and is vital in the creation of red blood cells as well as cell division and protein metabolism.

Green Tea Leaf Extract -- This green drink star is also famous as an antioxidant but research is now showing that it's a star as an immune booster as well. Scientists report that green tea can boost immunity in several ways: promoting creation of immune-fighting cells, stimulating production of immune system supporters in the body and by actually fighting away viruses.

As you probably noticed, most of these green energy drink powder ingredients are power-packed antioxidants, which means that they neutralize free radicals (loose canon cells) that get in the way of normal cell functioning and growth and can lead to cancer, heart disease and premature aging. Keeping the body free-radical free frees up the immune system to fight the common colds and flu.

Green Energy Drinks And Then Some...

Getting a daily green energy drink works wonders on your immune system but there are a few other basics you need to do to keep your body and immune fighters on track.

Add these strategies to your green juice plan and you'll be well on your way to warding off colds and the flu this season:

Keep stress levels down. Ways to cope include doing one fun thing just for you every day, even if it's something silly like watching a sitcom or reading an article in a rag mag; exercising; taking walk-breaks during the work day; deep breathing; meditating; doing a half-hour daily workout; venting to a friend; laughing. Be sure you're taking your multi-vitamin when stress does creep in.

Have a weekly exercise plan and follow it. Even if it's a half hour walk in the morning, exercise has an exponential effect on everything you do to keep your body healthy.

Eat fresh greens every day (5 - 9 servings is ideal!). Green energy drinks count! One scoop equals two pounds of veggies. And green drinks are great on the go.

Eat fresh fruit or veggies that are high in vitamin C every day. Citrus fruit is your best bet. Red peppers are another tasty source of vitamin C.

Drink eight glasses of water a day. The purer the water the better. Thirst isn't a good guide; you're already dehydrated when you feel thirsty.

Follow the fist, thumb, fist rule at every meal. To keep your blood sugar stable and your body metabolizing steadily so that your body and brain getting a steady supply of energy, eat the following at every meal:

• a fist of low-fat protein (lean chicken, whey protein shake powder
• a thumb of healthy fats (fish oil , olive oil, nuts/seeds)
• a fist of complex carbs (leafy greens, green drink powder, oatmeal)

EnergyFirst's Gerry Morton has a great smoothie recipe to mix your green drink powder into called the "Ultimate EnergyFirst Shake" (courtesy of Gerry Morton’s "Energy Guidebook"). It’s easy to prep for those on the go and still contains everything you need for a nutritional meal. You can also click here for more great shake recipes.

The Green Drink Cold and Flu Solution

One of the key tricks to a healthy immune system is to keep your body well-nourished, and getting fresh, organic greens is critical to doing so. Eating enough green veggies every day, however, is tough, and green drinks offer a fabulous solution.

While some people blend their own green drinks and some buy expensive green juice pre-made, one of the quickest, easiest and most cost-effective way to do your green drink plan is by using high quality green drink powder. Green drink powder is easily mixed with water or added to yogurt, a shake or another liquid.

You can take advantage of EnergyFirst's current money-back guarantee on its green drink powder, Greenergy , to get started today before those little cold and flu bugs come buzzing by.