Immune Support
What can we do to maximize our health and minimize disease? How can we support our immune
system so that it properly responds to potential infections, and diseases?
These are ideal questions to be asking in the current health climate in our country. The answers are
actually slightly different for each person, but there are underlying themes that apply to everyone. They
come back to the basics that we need to support our health.
First, we need to supply our body with what it needs to do its job! We need highly nutritious food that
does not increase our inflammation. Inflammation, especially chronic inflammation that often
accompanies poor food choices will cause our body to operate with less efficiency at the cellular level.
This slows our immune response. What foods are the most inflammatory? Typically, simple sugars,
alcohol, and dairy will cause significant inflammation in the body. Minimizing grains (many think of
them as carbs, which is true), with the exception of the three major non-inflammatory grains is ideal.
The non-inflammatory grains include quinoa, rice and oatmeal. Eat plenty of veggies, green veggies are
the best anti-inflammatory foods we can eat. Fruits are good, but do contain sugar so we need to eat
our veggies to fruits in a 3:1 ratio. This ensures we are not getting too much sugar. Clean proteins
include fish, eggs, and turkey. Others can be eaten in small quantities and at less frequency.
Sadly, our food supply is often limited in the amount of nutrient density it contains. This happens when
we farm the same land for over a hundred years, but do not replenish all the nutrients necessary for our
optimal health. This is where supplementation can benefit us. A good quality multivitamin with
activated forms of nutrients, high quality EPA:DHA fish oil (there are vegan options too), and Vitamin D3
can go a long ways in supporting our basic health. All support the immune system and can help to
minimize chronic inflammation. Specifically, Vitamin D modulates the innate and adaptive immune
response. Deficiency in Vitamin D is associated with increased autoimmune dysfunction and increased
risk of infection. Generally, we get Vitamin D from the sun, however I have never tested an adult to be
in the ideal range on a blood test who was not supplementing.
We need water! We often do not drink the proper amount of water in a day. The general guideline is to
drink about half your body weight (pounds) in ounces of water. So, if you weigh 150 pounds, try to drink
75 ounces of water per day. This allows your body to operate efficiently at the cellular level. Even being
slightly dehydrated has shown to reduce physical efficiency when exercising. The combination of proper
hydration with exercise is a powerful way we can support the immune system. Moderate exercise has
shown in the research to enhance the immune system. If you go beyond your limits, with prolonged or
high levels of intense exercise, it can actually reduce your immunological response. Hormone changes
are linked to immunosuppression through intense exercise, these same hormones are increased in a
dehydrated state. The proper amount of water, coupled with moderate exercise is a great way to stay
healthy.
What about sleep? The proper amount of sleep is often overlooked. We try to get by on as little as our
body will let us. If we have disturbed sleep in a night it can reduce our ability to process sugars by up to
30%. We have already discussed how sugar increases inflammation and reduces cellular efficiency, but
it also provides a food source for pathogenic bacteria and other harmful microorganisms. This is clearly
not supportive of good health and a strong immune system. However, if we do get the proper amount
of sleep and our body gets to enjoy the proper stages of sleep through a night, we will produce Human
Growth Hormone (HGH) and cytokines. HGH supports growth, cellular regeneration, and cell
reproduction. Cytokines are a type of protein that targets inflammation and infection, supporting a
healthy immune response. Chronic sleep loss has even shown to reduce the effectiveness of the flu
vaccine.
We need to support a healthy microflora in our body. Microflora?? What is that? These are all the
healthy bacteria and microorganisms that live in our body and contribute significantly to our immune
system and organizing a healthy immune response. Most of this is centered on healthy bacteria in the
gastrointestinal tract of our body, as this is a major way that pathogens can enter our system. However,
healthy bacteria and other microorganisms can be found to play a role in the immune response in other
areas too. This can include the mouth, the sinuses, our bronchial tubes and our lungs. If we have a
respiratory challenge to our immune system, our microflora may be able to limit the potential infection
in multiple ways. Possibly through limiting the ability of the pathogen to bind to a site and create a
pathogenic colony, or by binding to the pathogen itself and staying bound until it passes out of the body.
We can support a healthy microflora by doing all of the above listed things to support a healthy immune
response. Sometimes, we may need to supplement proper probiotics which are the healthy bacteria
themselves, or prebiotics that will be a food source for healthy bacteria. Either way, our microflora is
critical to a healthy immune response.
And last, but not least, we need to reduce our stress. Stress will cause our body to be chronically
inflamed. As with other causes of inflammation, stress will reduce our body’s ability to mount a proper
immune response. In a meta-analysis of over 300 research papers on stress and the immune system,
depending on the type of stress we are experiencing, we will impact our immune system in different
ways. Stress can even impact the health of our microflora.
In summary, what can we do to support our overall health and immune system?
Eat well, lots of veggies with some clean protein.
Supplement your nutritional intake appropriately, this may include probiotics.
Drink sufficient water.
Get moderate exercise.
Get enough quality sleep.
Reduce stress.
While nothing is a guarantee to maintain good health and never get sick. We can certainly optimize our
health and support our immune system to respond appropriately when challenged with infection and
disease.
Links to products mentioned or associated with article:
INH – Multi with Phytonutrients
INH - EPA:DHA 720
INH – D3 5000
UF – Immune Booster
Mushroom Immune Max
UltraPotent C Powder
Sources:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3166406/
https://ksi.uconn.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/1222/2015/04/Immune-Function-and-Hydration.pdf
https://www.sleepfoundation.org/articles/how-sleep-affects-your-immunity
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20020365
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4056765/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1361287/