Today we are talking about health and how to give your body the best chances to fight off winter bugs. A bit of background about me. I have suffered from a few illnesses, which have given my immune system a good hammering. I have had swine flu and glandular fever. These were within a couple month of each other. I have also been tested for Lymes disease on numerous occasions.  My doctor is sure I had it but UK tests aren't the best at picking this up. It is harder to test for if it is not caught at the time of infection. I also had the lowest level of iron that my doctor has ever seen in his over 25-year career. This all left me with a very weak body and a diagnosis of Chronic Fatigue. I also have adult-onset asthma and IBS.

Since finding all this out I have been on a quest to make my body the strongest it can be without relying on medication. I want to make my immune system better and this, in turn, will improve my quality of life. I like to think of my body as a machine. My machine (body) needs certain things to keep it healthy vitamin minerals etc. So I want to keep my machine run as best as it can. I need to get these vitamins and mineral from somewhere as they are not all located in my diet. 

Winter is the worst time for picking up bugs. There are numerous colds and flu doing the rounds and I want to make sure I am as healthy as I can be to make sure if I do pick up any of these bugs my body is equipped to fight them off. It is so important to prepare your body. You wouldnt workout without stretching? You always have to make sure you body is ready for anything right? We all need to do this more with vitamins and minerals too. If our bodies are strong we can handle any infections that come at us better. It just makes sense. 

I want to introduce you to The foodstate company. This is a company with similar beliefs as me. They have done years of research into our bodies and what we need to make it better and work properly. The more I learn about The Foodstate Company the more I know this is a company I trust to help me on my journey to make my body better and stronger. 

What The Foodstate company says

In nature, plants don’t inherently contain nutrients, instead they extract them from the soil in an inorganic form, and convert them in to food nutrients. We eat the plants and get the benefit. So plants are only as nutritious as the farm soil in which they grow, and sadly that farm soil is now 70% - 80% deplete of vital nutrients. The human body needs in excess of 60 minerals, yet only 8 exist in any kind of quantity in the food we eat today.

So people turn to supplements in the belief that they provide a viable alternative to inadequate food. However, virtually all supplements are created in synthetic, chemical form. We refer to them as “isolated” nutrients because they don’t have any of the food factors attached to them that nutrients in the plant have. This poses a problem because we have only evolved to recognise and absorb food nutrients.

Foodstate supplements are re-natured to create fully formed food nutrients with all of the delivery food factors provided by the plant, making them much easier to absorb, use and retain than ordinary supplements.

At this time of year, it is really important to prepare my body for cold and flu season. I know that a cold can really affect me. I always take these things harder than most people. So to give myself the best chance I have to prepare. I am taking  The foodstate company Immune Boosting Package. 

Supplementation Becomes Necessary: This is where choices become very important. Nature has not created us to recognize nutrients in a chemical/synthetic form, yet virtually all so-called “natural” supplements are created this way. None of these so-called “natural” vitamin and mineral supplements exist anywhere on this planet in live food and that should concern us. We can only truly benefit from nutrients in a food form, and that is exactly what we create with the foodstate products, making them much easier to absorb, use and retain in the body

What is in the Package. 
The package has four products. Multi Vitamin/Mineral, Multi Antioxidant with Co-Q10, Vitamin C with Bioflavinoids, Probiotic E505. These are crammed packed with all the vitamins and minerals my body needs to make it as strong as it can be. This is putting me in the best possible place if I do come in to contact with any winter germs. 

Product Benefits: The combined benefits of the ingredients are:

• May help with a general sense of wellbeing
• May contribute to improved energy levels
• May support the normal function of bones, teeth, hair & nails
• May help to improve muscle function

May support reproductive health Why Foodstate Multi vitamin/mineral? Vitamins and minerals play an essential role in providing us with health and vitality, in fact without them we simply could not survive. They work in close partnership with other nutrients to enable the body to function normally, for example the body absorbs iron through the help of vitamin C, Vitamin D helps the body absorb phosphorus and calcium, etc., etc. In the isolated forms in which they exist in ordinary supplements, they cannot achieve this, but in our foodstate form they work in harmony with each other 

 Next, we have Multi Antioxidant + Co Q10

• Vitamin C: Contributes to the normal function of the immune system, the normal formation of collagen and the normal function of bones, teeth, gums, cartilage, skin and blood vessels
• Vitamin E: Helps protect cells from oxidative stress (free radical damage)
• Selenium: Helps normal thyroid function, helps to maintain hair & nails, supports the  immune system
• Zinc: Supports cognitive function, fertility and reproduction
• Beta-Carotene (BC): Biological facts: BC is a precursor to Vitamin A found in plants and is enzymatically converted in to Vitamin A in the body as it is required. It is safer than taking Vitamin A because the body only converts the amount it needs at any one point in time. BC that is not converted helps prevent oxidative stress (free radical damage)
• Co-Enzyme Q10: Biological facts: Co-Q10 is essential for cell energy release in human tissue. As we age our ability to produce it diminishes. It may help stimulate mitochondrial function and as such, improve energy metabolism

Why Foodstate Antioxidants? Our product contains amino acids that can assist proper absorption and comprises a food base of citrus pulp, yellow pea, carrot concentrate and lactobacillus bulgaricus, a native friendly bacteria within the gut that acts as a natural carrier to improve absorption and utilisation of the nutrients

 Here we have Vitamin C with Bioflavonoids

• Vitamin C helps to maintain the normal function of our immune systems especially during and after intense exercise
• It contributes to the normal formation of collagen and for the normal function of cartilage, bones, skin, gums, teeth and blood vessels
• It also contributes to normal energy-yielding metabolism

Biological facts: Vitamin C is recognised as an antioxidant and helps to protect against oxidative stress caused by free radicals. The build-up of these free radicals over time may contribute to the ageing process. It may also contribute to the development of serious health conditions such as heart disease and arthritis. It plays a role in the growth and repair of tissues in all parts of the body. Vitamin C helps in the absorption of iron, the metabolism of fat and the maintenance of normal cholesterol levels

 Lastly but not least Probiotic E505
This is the only one which is not a tablet. This is a little drink you have to make. You must take it on an empty stomach I take mine before bed. 

• This blend of native bacterial strains is designed to be active throughout the whole GI tract, both the distal end of the small intestine and throughout the colon
• These specially cultivated strains will survive the challenges of stomach acid and bile in the human GI tract
• Comprising pure naturally fermented bacterial strains, antibiotic-resistant and stable at room temperature - so no need to refrigerate
• The strains in this supplement will replace native bacteria when such levels are too low to perform important functions
• One Acidophilus Plus portion provides on average 35mg of Prebiotic and a culture of 3.5  billion live native bacteria (live viable dehydrated bacteria)
• The 8 native bacterial strains in this supplement are ideal for children aged 4 years upwards
• Prebiotics are dietary substances such as fructo-oligosaccharides or Inulin, which stimulate the growth of bifidobacteria and other healthy native bacteria in the gut
• The probiotic ingredients are Inulin (fructo-oligosaccharides) plus a complex of 3 billion live bacteria (live viable dehydrated bacteria) per 3ml teaspoon
• Comprising pure naturally fermented bacterial strains, antibiotic-resistant and stable at room temperature - so no need to refrigerate
• This is our most ‘active’ live bacteria supplement