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A healthy diet for those living in a temperate zone consists of a large variety of fresh vegetables, whole grains, legumes and fresh seasonal fruits along with moderate portions of fish and poultry. |
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In the winter, many people's resistance goes down, leading to colds and flus. This is one of the primary times that people reach for echinacea. The increased susceptibility to winter illness can be minimized by maintaining a healthy diet with specific avoidance of cold, mucus-forming foods and drinks such as milk and cheeses as well as cold foods in general during the coldest months. This is especially important for children. Eating cold foods in a cold climate causes the body to work extra hard to maintain a constant 98.6° body temperature. The extra energy expended by the body would be better used to keep immune defenses up, but it is squandered in trying to counter the ice-cold fruit juices consumed straight out of the refrigerator. |
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Many skin conditions are also associated with an overconsumption of animal fats, fried foods and refined carbohydrates. While echinacea can be effective for dealing with conditions such as psoriasis, eczema and boils, the skin will respond much more rapidly if the appropriate dietary changes are made. It is especially important in psoriasis and eczema to decrease the amount of saturated animal fats and alcohol consumed and increase the amount of essential unsaturated fatty acids either through the increased consumption of fresh vegetable oils or supplementation with oil of evening primrose, flaxseed oil or borage seed oil. |
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Many natural health care practitioners believe that a high level of animal proteins and fat, especially from animals raised commercially with antibiotics |
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