How to Keep Your Family Healthy All Winter

Our Immune System is structured like an onion, because it provides numerous external and internal layers of protection. [18]

And as we just learned, foods high in cholesterol, sugar or alcohol, along with a life filled with stress, can also depress our immune function. This is why we must eat a diet rich in plant-based proteins, fruits and vegetables, and supported by a sensible supplementation program.

THAT is what supports immune function, thereby reducing the incidence of infection in the short term, and development of chronic disease in the long term.


So, let’s start peeling back the layers of our Immune Onion.




The External Immune Barrier

The first layer of the Immune Onion includes our skin and the mucous membranes that line our nose, throat and lungs. [19] They are the first barriers against viral and bacterial invasion.   Our digestive and respiratory tracts are hollow tubes, lined with hard-working goblet (mucus-producing) cells.

Besides making it easier for us to swallow and breathe, these cells also produce an enzyme called lysozyme, which destroys the cell walls of bacteria, killing them before they can induce an infection. [20]

Our skin also protects us from invasion by maintaining the acid mantle, a low pH (or acidic) environment that is hostile to most pathogenic bacteria. [21] The skin also secretes natural oils called sebum to lubricate and waterproof our skin. [22]

Functional Breakdown

When the temperature drops, so does the humidity. This is why you see your breath when it’s cold outside ... cold dry air leaches away moisture from your respiratory tract, thinning and stressing the mucous membranes. While we remain indoors, constant exposure to dry-heated air accelerates this process. This drying process also happens to our skin, causing chapping and cracking, further compromising our external immune barrier.

Soaps and detergents also assault our skin, because lye-based soaps are very alkaline. These soaps neutralize the protective acid mantle, while also stripping away protective skin oils. [23]

Dr. Shaklee was brilliant at creating skin care products that avoided the use of harsh alkaline soap.

Protecting Our External Immune Barrier

The original Meadow Blend Soap-Free Cleansing Bar is a
nutrient-enriched, biodegradable, and pH balanced solution for skin
cleansing, while helping to maintain the protective acid mantle.

Hand Wash Concentrate [a liquid version of Meadow Blend]
provides similar skin protection at the bathroom sink and shower, and
Dish Wash Concentrate can provide similar protection at your kitchen sink.
As a side note, you can also protect the integrity of your respiratory tract by keeping an old pot of water boiling in the kitchen. Rediscover that lost humidity of summer. It’s more convenient and cost-effective than running a filter-based home humidifier system.   Now let’s review




The Internal Immune System

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