Here in Auckland, New Zealand we just had the coldest winter in 90 years. It actually snowed slightly in Auckland which has only happened twice in 100 years.

On top of this there were three nasty strains of influenza going around including swine flu. I would say roughly half the people I know had the flu this year and because of the weather it was particularly hard to shake.

Not having had the flu for a few years and without a vaccination, with my intense strength/endurance training of late, I was vulnerable to getting the virus.

I got the flu three times this winter. It kicked my ass. In all I spent an entire month sick as hell in bed. While outside it rained and froze. Now that really sucked and wasted much time.

The probiotics I was taking did not help and in fact probably contributed to the dreadful diarrhea I had with the final flu bout. I was taking lifestream probiotics which have a variety of bacterial strains.

Some of the probiotic strains do not mix well with cold and flu while others are helpful. After this experience I have decided not to use probiotics ever again.

It was bad trust me.

OK so what I needed as I kept falling ill and not shaking the virus off fully was an immune boost. Here in New Zealand Bovine Colostrum is in ample supply so I got some and there was an immediate improvement in my health.

Now I am also taking Beta Glucan to further strengthen my immunity. I got 500 gms from purebulk.com. Enough to last several years on a 100 mg dose. But it expires 2014 so I will just use it all by then.

Now both of these substances are proven to greatly enhance immunity. Beta Glucan can even protect from cancer and radiation poisoning. I made a previous post about barley beta glucan but my present batch is derived from yeast.

I will keep you guys posted as to the effectiveness and as I ramp up my weight vest and kettlebell training in the coming weeks.

I am now snatching 200 reps with a 20 KG kettlebell having managed 500 with the 16 KG.

I also bought a 140 lb weight vest from MIR and will get some steel for that soon I will get a set of their weighted shorts too which will take it close to 200 lbs.

In short with this kind of training your immunity takes a big hit without adequate nutrition and supplementation

You probably have not heard of Beta Glucan yet but you will be hearing much about it in the future. It is by far the most effective immune boosting nutritional compound.

It blows acai berries, echinacea and all others far into the dust. Better Glucan is a soluble fiber derived from barley – as such it is a food compound not a herbal derivative.

Here are a couple of videos on Beta Glucan…

NOW – do not fall for all the crap supplement companies selling 200 mg capsules – research has proven that 2-5 grams of beta glucan are required per day for a substantial immune response.

Perhaps grapefruit juice can alter this requirement (I dont know) but because beta glucan is available in western nations in bulk only to food manufacturers as an additive you will need to import it from china if you want it in therapeutic quantities.

Links:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beta-glucan

http://www.betaglucan.org/