Pesticides can damage and tax your immune system at the same time. The damage can be both acute and cumulative. If many toxic chemicals are entered in your fat cells and lymph glands, they can remain in the body for decades. Thus, health problems can build up over a long period in ways that science doesn’t yet fully understand.
One of the most dangerous effects of pesticides is that they weaken your immune system so you are less able to combat even ordinary infections.
Symptoms of a weakened immune system might like: frequent infections,nausea, skin rashes, depression,fatigue, leukemia, and fever.
How do you protect your immune system from pesticides? The best way, of course, is not to use them. But that may not be realistic in all circumstances. “We don’t need to abolish the use of toxic chemicals,” San Francisco immunologist Alan Levin, M.D. says.
“The solution is common sense.” That means:
- Wear gloves and a respirator.
- “Ventilate, ventilate, ventilate,”
- Dispose of the waste properly.
- Keep your immune system in top shape. Almost every nutrient is important for proper immune function but a few are key—vitamin C, vitamin A, and zinc. Good sources of C are peppers, broccoli, cantaloupe, cabbage, spinach, tomatoes, and strawberries. Sources for A include sweet potatoes, carrots, spinach, cantaloupe, kale, broccoli, asparagus, green beans, corn, parsley. You can get zinc from soybeans, lentils, pinto beans and sunflower seeds.
- Reduce stress. Research shows that people who have more anxiety and depression in reaction to change can weaken their immune systems. Start gardening. Not only is it relaxing and enjoyable but it gives you some control over your food supply.