by Dr. Ben Lerner

I was loved by medicine. As a child, if I fell ill, my parents loved me back to health with something from the "magic cabinet." The magic cabinet, of course, was a small cabinet in the kitchen filled with prescriptions and over-the-counter drugs. I grew to have a love affair with medications and was thankful to have them when I was sick.

This childhood handicap eventually led me to believe that there was a medical solution to every symptom life brought me. Then, something occurred to me; I was eighteen and finally realized I was always sick. Therefore, I thought, the drugs must not be doing a whole lot of good.

The final straw occurred when I suffered a painful and life-threatening side effect to doctor prescribed painkillers. Finally, I saw that prescription drugs and pills were not a good solution to medical problems, and desperately began to look into why I was always having health issues. Intrigued, I started an intensive search for the cause of pain and disease.

Through my research I eventually learned that we're born with our own defense system, strategically planted inside of us, called immunity. To survive here, this defense system must maintain normal and optimum levels of function as it's constantly being bombarded with germs, allergens, and foreign substances. Believe it or not, immunity is also tied very closely with things like skin health. This is the medical logic behind doctors' prescription of antibiotics for acne--something I definitely do not recommend.

Germs, those tiny, non-seeable entities floating around out there, are not the enemy. The problem stems from an inability to adapt and cope with your environment and all that floats in it. The truth is, most of us spend an entire day unknowingly straining our immune system due to stress and environment, rather than working on behalf of immunity to strengthen it. You're in charge, not some microscopic speck.

Here are some ways you can take charge of your immunity:

1. Scientists agree that exercise increases immunity to cancer, infection, allergens, and most common illnesses from 30 to 80 percent. Therefore, if you're inactive, your immune system could be up to 80 percent depleted, making it less active and much more inefficient.

2. Sugar, caffeine, chemicals, refined carbohydrates, fast and fried foods, and any processed foods all deplete the immune system. Additionally, they lack any real nutrients, so they do not give the organs of immunity the nutrition they so desperately need. On the other hand, fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans, nuts, and seeds all support and boost immunity and pack it full of vital nutrients.

3. Negative stress can zap nutrients from our immune system and dramatically depletes immune energy. A double dose of immune damage.

4. Antibiotics, while killing bacteria, also destroy important bacteria necessary for a healthy, immune body. While they help to temporarily relieve symptoms, they also cause a decrease in helpful immune system bacteria.

5. All chemicals can have negative impacts on your body, and prescription drugs and pills have greatly increased the amount of dangerous chemicals we consume. For example, flu vaccines contain significant amounts of harmful ingredients such as mercury and aluminum. The use of these medicines should be kept to a minimum, only to be taken if your body is significantly immune-compromised. The less you use medication, the better care you are taking to protect your body and promote a healthy immune system.

Once I started working toward attaining and maintaining a healthy body, I stopped getting sick.
While I advocate abstaining from the use of drugs, it is not to say that they will never play a role in caring for your health. I myself needed the assistance of drugs once in the last twenty-two years, but only after being bitten by thirty-two ants. Deathly allergic, I'm known to swell up like a pumpkin with just one bite and refuse any drugs that may "alleviate" the inflation. After being bitten by such a substantial amount, though, I was happy for an over-the-counter remedy for which I only took half a day's dose. It then took me two weeks to overcome the negative impacts the drug had on my health.
Aside from my ant bites, I managed to live free of aches, pains, and symptoms for nineteen years. The only time my health was compromised was when I suffered from a substantial lack of sleep--my Achilles heel. With a few days rest, however, I was back to optimum health without popping any dangerous pills!