The First Thing I Do When I Feel a Cold Coming On
It happened
Well it’s here…the first little cold.
Summer made it almost 7 months without being sick, and now she has her first runny nose and little cough. I haven’t been sick for 3.5 years, but today I woke up with that annoying drainage irritation in the back of my throat.
Noooooooo!
I mean, I can’t say I’m shocked. We’ve had a very stressful, albeit, exciting time these days — between plane travel, moving across the country (again), getting into our brand new home, ordering and opening a gazillion amazon packages, still breastfeeding, still getting up multiple times a night, sleeping on an air mattress, disrupted routines…I’ve been asking a lot of my body, and Summer’s.
(She can sit up on her own now, and LOVES riding in the cart at the grocery store. And despite my efforts against it, she also loves putting her mouth on the cart handle, yuck! That’s probably where she picked this up. Sigh.)
So when I started feeling something coming on, one of the first things I did was increase my Immune Intel AHCC. I normally take 2 Immune Intel capsules per day. Right now, I’ve increased that to 6, spread throughout the day.
6 capsules (4.5 grams) is my sweet spot when I feel my body fighting anything
When I say I haven’t been sick in 3+ years, it’s not that I haven’t felt that “uh oh, am I getting sick?” feeling. But when I blast my bod with 4-6 capsules for a few days, that feeling just floats away, usually after 24 hours. I never get to the point of feeling full on sick. I’m hoping that’s the case this time too! TBD.
Why Stress & Poor Sleep Matters
Studies show that when we are stressed — this includes all types of stress, even the fun stuff, like moving into your brand new home — our immune system assassins, the Natural Killer (NK) cells go in the tank.
Your immune system is super intelligent and there are systems to keep things in check. For example, certain cells like dendritic cells function as sentinels, surveilling the environment, capturing anything suspicious, and presenting it to the lymph nodes for further action.
NK cells, on the other hand, act as assassins, never needing “permission” from the immune system to take a pathogen out. These are very important players in the fighting off sickness game. They recognize and eliminate things like viral particles, bacteria, and other suspicious pathogens on the spot. If NK cells go to zero, we die. That’s how critical they are!
And looky looky here, AHCC® has been shown in clinical trials to increase the number and activity of NK cells up to 800%!
All this contributes to a more informed and capable immune response, even in times of stress, when NK cells should be negatively affected.
So What Exactly IS AHCC®?
Here’s a little AHCC® 101, but I’m going to keep it concise because I've covered AHCC extensively elsewhere.
It's a cultured extract derived from the mycelia of shiitake mushrooms and contains alpha-glucans and other compounds.
But AHCC® isn't simply another random mushroom powder. Its manufacturing process and resulting composition are patented, distinct and unique. The ingredient has been evaluated in piles of human research, and is currently the world’s most clinically researched specialty immune supplement.
If you want to learn more about AHCC® — dosing, research, history and indications — download my free Immune Intel AHCC® Playbook below. It’ll answer so many questions that may be bouncing around in your head right now.
AHCC® doesn't “kill” a cold — so what does it do?
The wonderful thing about AHCC® is that it amplifies the innate intelligence of your own body and immune system. It’s enhancing your body’s ability to do what it’s meant to do. Your body is already the most magical thing on the planet — AHCC® enhances that magic.
Here’s how:
If your immune system is like an army, AHCC® isn't the soldier. Think of it more as supporting communication between different parts of the immune army.
Four critical components:
Dendritic cells: The “sentinels.” Surveillance & communication cells that help recognize potential threats and communicate that information to the adaptive immune system.
Natural killer (NK) cells: The “assassins.” part of innate immune defense that recognize and respond to certain abnormal or infected cells.
Cytotoxic T cells: The “trained snipers.” They're highly targeted. Once activated and trained to recognize a specific antigen, they seek out cells displaying that target and kill them.
Helper T cells: The “commanders/coordinators.” They send signals that help direct and amplify other parts of the immune response.
AHCC® has been studied and shown positive effect on these immune functions rooted in both branches of the immune system — innate and adaptive. This is worth bolding because it’s rare for a supplement (or pharmaceutical) to positively affect both branches. It’s usually one or the other.
So you see, AHCC® is not adding any functions that don’t already exist. It’s amplifying your body’s perfect design.
When I Increase My AHCC® Dose
I take Immune Intel AHCC® year-round because I want the immune optimization every day of the year. Normally I’m taking 2 capsules per day, usually in the morning, but there are certain times when I increase my dose to 4-6 capsules per day:
- When I feel my body fighting anything. I wake up with a scratchy throat, or feel run down, or start sneezing too much, etc etc.
- When I’m traveling on a plane
- When I’ve been around anyone who is sick
- When I feel particularly stressed
- When I have multiple nights of poor sleep
This strategy has worked very well for me — before this little sniffle, I hadn’t been sick for 3.5 years! I think it caught up to me because I was literally experiencing each one of these simultaneously.
Here’s What Else I Do
Taking Immune Intel AHCC® obviously isn’t the ONLY thing I do to support my immune system. Here’s some others:
Flush my nasal cavity 2x/day. I have a few different flushes, but any saline flush will do.
Prioritize sleep! Uninterrupted sleep isn’t really possible with a breastfeeding 6 month old, but I do go to bed early (like 9 pm) and sleep as long as I can.
Get enough food. Don’t skimp on the nutrient dense foods, even if you don’t really have an appetite.
Hydration & Electrolytes. I like Instant Hydration. (Discount code: MEDICIN)
I love this brand because they source high quality French Grey sea salt rather than table salt like most electrolytes out there!
Can AHCC® Really Keep You From Getting Sick?
Don’t just take my word for it. Here’s a butt load of reviews from just a few of our very real customers.
“Something about taking this AHCC, I feel so grounded when I am taking these consistently, plus I don't get sick!” —Kelsey
“Better skin, our cats love it! Helps us stay healthy during sick season and traveling! —Emily
“I love these!! I haven’t been sick since I began taking them. I know have both my kids on them as well. We love them.” —Jennifer
“During the pandemic, I never once had Covid and I can honestly say I’ve only been sick twice in the ~4 years I have been taking this product. I increase my dosage when traveling or when I’m starting to feel sluggish and I swear what could turn into a head cold just moves right on by. My husband on the other hand would get sick every 3 months like clockwork (and of course I would never catch it) until finally this year he decided to start AHCC with me!” —Celia
“I have been taking 2 capsules everyday for a few years now and I don’t get sick!” —Sarah
“With AHCC I never get sick including Covid even when all of my coworkers had it. Also my baby hasn’t gotten sick while I’ve been nursing him so I assume it also helps his immune system. I don’t miss a day of taking these!” —Jena
“I started taking AHCC because I had a cold that I had a hard time getting over. I had become frustrated because I thought I was taking all the right supps, but I still felt like I was unwell even after the majority of my symptoms had subsided. Within a few days of using Immune Intel AHCC I feel much more whole, I have slept better (which definitely was a missing link while I was sick), and the moons on my fingernails coming back. That’s what I’ve noticed so far; I’m looking to continue to take it and level up my health.” —Sandra
“Helped me to clear/keep viral stuff at bay; also I never got sick!” —Samantha
Staying illness free is not always easy, but I’m so glad I have Immune Intel in my cabinet for year round support as well as acute, targeted help when I feel something coming on.
And as an entrepreneur, it feels REALLY good reading reviews knowing our product is also helping so many others!
If you have any questions, leave them in the comments!
