Need another reason to exercise? Do it to boost your immunity this winter! But, beware -- exercising too much can actually have the opposite effect.

Exercising too much and too intensely can cause upper respiratory infections -- which makes me wonder if all my years of playing basketball and volleyball had anything to do with my yearly bout with bronchitis, which tapered off when I entered college.

Basically, you want to exercise enough to maintain a healthy weight, which will in itself help you battle colds and flu, and you'll sleep better. Body + Soul magazine also recommends managing your stress as much as possible by eating well, getting some probiotics, taking the right supplements (like astragalus) and making sleep a priority.

If you aren't much into calorie restriction in your pursuit of a long life, there are other practices you can adopt. Mark Liponis, M.D., says in his book Ultralongevity that the best way to live a long and healthy life is to have a healthy immune system. Translation: You want a quiet, peaceful immune system, not an overactive one. In the spirit of longevity, then, here are seven steps for soothing your system.

• Breathe. Yes, if you're reading this, you are in fact breathing. But are you doing it right? The goal is to calm your breathing to two breaths per minute or less. Learn how to master this step here.
  
  

• Eat. Eating is stressful to our immune systems. Germs, parasites, toxins, poisons, and other dangerous stuff gain access to our bodies when we eat. Grazing on healthy foods is the preferred eating pattern. More here.

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Peanut allergies may soon be a thing of the past, says Dr. Wesley Burks, a food allergy expert at Duke University Medical Center.

"I think there's some type of immunotherapy that will be available in five years," reports Burks who says ideally, this therapy would change a person's immune system response to peanuts from an allergic one to a nonallergic one.

This would be great stuff, given that peanut allergies are growing more and more common. And while many kids grow out of other food allergies -- milk and eggs, for example -- only 20 percent ever lose their peanut allergy, which often appears in the first three years of life and manifests itself in range of symptoms, from minor irritation to the whole-body allergic response called anaphylaxis.

Stay tuned for more on peanut immunotherapy. And be on the lookout for news on the genetic engineering front. Burks says genetics may one day produce an allergen-free peanut.

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According to a Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) study, one in four toddlers are improperly vaccinated. Missed doses or improperly timed doses make up for the majority of immunization errors in children who are 19-35 months old.

Though immunization rates in the US remain good overall -- and the rates of children who are immunized by kindergarten age are higher than ever -- the CDC recommends children being vaccinated at the proper, recommended times. So, in addition to relying on your pediatrician's recommendations, it's important for parents to do their own homework.

For more information, see the CDC's information on vaccines.

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A new trend is hitting California, the home of all thing chic and urban when it comes to food. It has to do with marketing the food at restaurants. Entrees are boasting certain markings on the menu which claim they help boost immune systems for people consuming the food.

Many people in the region are flocking to do whatever they can to boost their immune systems. Ever heard of Jamba Juice? Those guys helped spur on the movement a while back. Now, restaurants are taking on the charge by marketing certain foods over others as being better for your immunity. Some establishments even take a crack at cancer by loading up dinners with minerals and phytochemicals.

Even certain alcoholic beverages boast healthy benefits (antioxidants from goji berries, for example). Does this make it a marketing fad? Perhaps not, but a professor at Harvard contests the claims by saying there's no proof that any single food can boost people's immune system. At least you'll know which items are healthier than the others on the menu!

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New research out of Britain this week as researchers there stated that they have identified immune system proteins that may end up becoming early warning indicators of impending lung cancer.

Prevention and testing are generally keys to surviving any ailment, but those two terms are especially important in cancer cases. The ability to have an operable tumor or body-wide cancer spreading are in two completely difference universes -- and early detection is a large key in many cases.

The research centered on the detection of several 'autoantibodies,' which are used by the immune system as a precursor to certain bodily ailments. Researchers found that very high levels of at least one autoantibody were found in nearly 80 percent of the blood samples from lung cancer patients who participated in the study.

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FitSpirit explores the mind-body connection and the intangible benefits we gain from our efforts to stay physically fit.

I once sat in a job interview just after college and listened to two young employees talk about their boss. She has great balance, they said about the woman I might work for. A great supervisor, a super mom, a valued member of her profession, this woman had it all together. What I heard was compelling. It made me want the same. Now, 13 years later, I still want the same thing. Sometimes, I think I have it. Sometimes, the balls I'm juggling seem to be tumbling down around me.

Perhaps it's not so much about balancing everything all at once. Maybe it's more about working on one item at time. Building a solid foundation is necessary for any structure that follows to have stability, right? First things first. Take the human body. If we wish to have successful jobs, happy families, and rewarding lives, our immune systems must be in good working order. So before you try to keep your balls in the air, consider laying your own solid foundation. Here's how:

• Breathe. Learn to breathe properly for a healthy immune system.
• Eat. But only small, frequent meals.
• Sleep. Studies show women who sleep only six hours or less per night are 20 percent more likely to suffer heart problems.
• Dance. Rhythmic exercise is more beneficial to the immune system than other kinds of exercise.
• Love. It's the antidote for negative emotions. Find ways to cultivate love in your life.
• Relax. A calm environment is soothing for your immune system. Listening to music can modulate immune system response.
• Enhance.Take vitamins and supplements appropriate for you. Vitamin D is a good one -- it promotes immune-system health.

I never did get that job. But I got something from the interview that's kept me thinking for a long time now. For that, I am grateful.

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Now more than ever, we know that certain diseases can be stalled, even prevented, by a healthy lifestyle. There was a time when a cancer diagnosis, for example, could be traced to nothing concrete. Today, women who drink as little as one drink per day increase the odds they'll develop breast cancer. That's pretty concrete.

Times have changed. And now that we're in the know, we really must know how to live life so our future days are more of a guarantee. So here's a little cancer butt-kicking know-how for you, compliments of Men's Health magazine.

1. Drink Pomegranate Juice. It contains polyphenols, isoflavones, and ellagic acid. If this means nothing to you, that's OK. All you need to know is that this juice -- try 16 ounces per day -- bolsters your body's defenses and has been shown to inhibit cancer growth.

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April 21 through 28 (yep, that's this week) is National Infant Immunization Week (NIIW). The U.S. HHS Dept and the CDC are coming together along with hundreds of communities across the country to support and educate regarding getting infant and childhood vaccinations.

Sadly, as many as 20% of American children are not up to date on vaccinations at age 2. That's a huge number, especially considering that enough unpreventable and uncurable diseases and threats exist against a child's health without putting them at unnecessary risk for additional avoidable illnesses.

This week's official theme, per the NIIW:
"Love them. Protect them. Immunize them."

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New research has linked the stress of being unemployed to decreased immune function, and therefore increased illness. And if you're all pale and sickly then your chances of landing that awesome new job get slimmer, which makes you sicker....wow, that's one vicious circle!

Good news is that when the stress is decreased by getting a job (or winning the lottery!) the immune system will rebound and recover. That is good news because can you imagine how sick we'd all be if we didn't at least partially recover from stressful periods? If it all just piled up and accumulated over our whole lives? Yeah, all my hair would have fallen out long ago.

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Ever thought about color coding your food to gain optimum health benefits? As a past chef we always emphasized making plates appealing to the eye as well as the taste buds. Now it seems that a rainbow array of food colors daily not only is pretty to the eyes inviting pleasures of the pallet but eating 5 or more servings of colorful fruits and vegetables a day can give you the benefits of better health. So the next time you are making that platter of food for a party, or special gathering, keep these food colors in mind to not only make a beautiful table but to give your guests some healthy choices to eat. Remember to buy organic foods for the healthiest intake of nutrients and vitamins.

Blue and purple foods like blueberries, raisins, plums, and eggplant help with urinary tract health, memory function, and healthy aging. Green foods like avocados, green apples, cucumbers, and honeydew help your vision and give you strong bones and teeth. White, tan, and brown foods such as bananas, garlic, mushrooms and ginger keep the heart healthy and help keep cholesterol levels normal. Yellow and orange foods such as cantaloupe, peaches, sweet potatoes, and lemons help boost the immune system and also help your vision and keeping a healthy heart. Eating red foods like strawberries, raspberries, watermelon, and tomatoes keep the urinary tract healthy and aid in memory function and also a healthy heart.

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Working out before you get your flu shot may help you get better results. In a study of 60 college students, the women who worked out by lifting weights 6 hours before receiving their flu shot developed more antibodies over the following 5 months than the women who didn't do any strength training. And the men who lifted weights had a greater cell-mediated response over the following months, but didn't have any more antibodies.

Why the difference between men and women? Researchers aren't sure, but with this in hand they are sure now that exercise stimulates antibody production, and that they've got a good start on finding simple things people can do to boost vaccination results.

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