Assist and Boost the Immune System!  Hello healthy friends!  Here we are again, the seasons are changing and its time to REV up that immune system! This incredibly complex system is fighting all day every day- FOR YOU.  Maybe it is time to learn more about what you can do for it!  Just like a soldier needs training and support before/during/after war, your immune system needs similar training and support!  Here is a brief insight on the immune system and what you can do to assist it and boost it!

A Brief Overview of the Immune System

Above is a picture that shows you the vast make-up of the body’s immune system.  This system is incredibly intelligent.  There are specific cells that travel around looking for any foreign invaders, i.e. bacteria, viruses, fungus, and/or in-organic material.  These particular cells are similar to military intelligence– once they discover an invader they will inform another type of cells (the soldiers) that there is a specific invader and they will give them information so that this body of cells, the fighter cells, will equip themselves and attack this particular invader.

Once these cells have disarmed the foreign invader, there is another body of cells that record the antigen for that specific invader and now there is a body of cells that can recognize this invader and will automatically be able to disarm them if they intrude again. (This is just a small part of how the immune system works). Here is a really cool video on the immune system in more detail (part 1 of 3).

If you can learn more about how it works, you’ll be better equipped to work with it and appreciate it for it’s brilliance! Can you believe that you have an internal system that is able to create it’s own medicine to kill organisms that try to harm us?  It can not do it on it’s own though– it needs proper nutrition and rest to keep up the hard work!

Weakened Immune System

Now, you may be wondering why do I STILL get sick or how could cancer be possible if this system is supposed to prevent it?  Well, there is a lot to that question, but broken down simply– our immune system takes time to get rid of ALL the bad things we interact with.  And as it goes to fight for us, it has to be able to keep up with producing MORE fighter cells, more antigens, and so on.

When our cells find an area of the body that needs attention it will go to work in that area– if another area is being effected at the same time this puts strain on the immune system and sometimes it can be hard for our bodies to produce enough of these fighter cells to keep up with the multiple areas effected or magnitude of intruders that may be present.  This is one example of what may happen when we get sick or experience dis-ease.

A great question to ask is– ask not what your immune system can do for you, ask what you can do for your immune system?

Boosting the Immune System

There are so many ways you can boost, assist, or repair your immune system.  This can be done through certain foods, supplements, and movement/lifestyle.

Immune Boosting Foods

• All Vegetables that are GREEN

  • Kale, spinach, broccoli, green lettuce, brussels sprouts– all of these vegetables are high in minerals and vitamins especially vitamin K.  Vitamin K helps keep the calcium in your bones.  If you keep the bones healthy, you’ll keep the bone marrow in tact– which is the primary location of your immune system/cell production.

• Protein

  • Peas, lentils, and/or nuts are great sources of protein that are needed for your immune system to respond and operate properly.  These amino acids will play a HUGE role in proper immune function.  The specific protein L-Arginine is also very helpful for the immune system.

• Fermented Foods

  • Fermented foods such as kombucha, yogurt, sauerkraut, or kimchi provide the body with probiotics. These good bacteria will help digest and assimilate food nutrients which will help provide all the key nutrients for your immune cells to work optimally.

• Berries

  • Berries like blueberries, elderberries, raspberries, and black berries all contain HIGH levels of antioxidants which are necessary for proper immune system function.  More on this below…

• Bone Broth

  • Making this nutrient dense soup is highly beneficial for the immune AND digestive system.  It contains minerals, vitamins, amino acids, glucosamine, and chondroitin.  Most stores will sell bone broth already made or you can get it in powdered form for convenience.  In the long run, you’ll be better off making it for top quality nutrients.  There’s lots of recipes online!

Immune Supporting Supplements

• Elderberry/Sambucus

  • This berry exerts antiviral activity through a number of ways.  It suppresses the entry of viruses into cells.  It can modulate the post-infectious phase, and prevents viral transmission to other cells.

• Echinacea

  • This plant is great for helping aid the immune system.  It has the ability to protect the healthy cells in our body like armor protecting the cells from bacteria and viruses.  When your cells are protected the immune system will not have to work so hard to fight off invaders.  One of our best selling immune formulas contains echinacea in combination with the many other supplements listed in this blog.

• Ginger

  • This warming root helps break down toxins in the body and helps stimulate the lymphatic system.  Try ginger tea for a calming and warming experience.

• Probiotics

  • If you are not into fermented foods, try a high potency probiotic to help restore and replenish your good bacteria and BOOST your immune system.  Read more about probiotics and gut health.

• Vitamin C

  • Vitamin C is another powerful antioxidant that also helps produce collagen.  Collagen increases production of healthy tissue cells.  Healthy tissue in the body helps resilience to pathogens or invaders from penetrating into the blood system, lymphatic system, bones, joints, etc.  Read more about the many benefits of Vitamin C.

• Vitamin D3

  • Vitamin D, which is more like a hormone than a vitamin, is CRUCIAL for a healthy immune system.  Simply put, the immune cells require vitamin D to do all their HARD work in disarming the bad guys.  Read more about Vitamin D3.

• Iron

  • Iron is an essential mineral that our bodies need to produce red blood cells.  Red blood cells are made in our bone marrow, which is the same area immune cells are produced.  There’s been some research suggesting that an ample amount of healthy red blood cells are integral for the immune system.

• Quercetin

  • Quercetin is known for its antioxidant activity in radical scavenging and anti-allergic properties.  It stimulates the immune system, has powerful antiviral activity, and inhibits histamine release.  It is very effective for seasonal allergies.  Recent studies have shown it to be very effective for fighting viruses.

• Plant based Protein

  • As mentioned above, protein plays a VITAL role for our immune system.  If you don’t eat meat or eat a small amount of meat, consider a protein shake to help receive the amino acids your immune system and body needs to function properly.

Other Immune Boosting Tips (movement/lifestyle)

• The Lymphatic System

  • This is another area where immune cells are produced.  It’s like a river of fluid that runs throughout the entire body.  This system is dependent on our movement to help keep it flowing so that it can get rid of residual toxins that accumulate.  How to stimulate the lymphatic system:
    • Light or vigorous exercise: if you don’t move your body your lymphatic system becomes stagnant– which is a bacteria or viruses breeding ground, similar to a puddle of water.
    • Take a cold shower or end your showers with cold water– this helps stimulate and gets the lymphatic system pumping as well.

• Meditation

  • Meditation has been proven to help boost the immune system.  This can be due to the relaxing properties it has on the nervous system which can help with stress management.  When the nervous system is stressed, hormone levels will go off balance and this can throw the immune system off.

• REST

  • Proper sleep and proper rest is an important factor to help your immune system replenish or perform. The BEST thing you can do for your body when you are experiencing any dis-ease or sickness is to surrender to your active mind and allow your body to rest.  Check out some sleep tips if you are having any troubles sleeping.

We hope you have a better understanding of how your immune system goes to fight for you every day.  It is impossible to avoid bad bacteria, fungus, mold, toxins or foreign matter.  But it is possible to support and equip your body to deal with all that chaos.  A strong immune system paves the way to an incredibly healthy and responsive body.  Focusing on boosting your immune system can also help tremendously with pain management. If you put attention to prevention you won’t have to spend the time, money, or stress on treatment– let alone fret about interacting with random bacteria and/or viruses.  We hope you learned lots of valuable information in this weeks blog on the Immune System: Assist and Boost It! As always, do what you feel is best for YOUR body– if you aren’t sure, ask your doctor. We are health ENTHUSIASTS not licensed practitioners.