Can you boost your immunity? Apparently not!
That's what I found out this weekend whilst lying in bed with covid. My rabbit hole research took me down a long line of immune boosting "superfoods" and supplements only to discover it is not at all possible to "boost" your immune health.
If you could boost your immunity you would end up with a hyperactive immune system where the body attacks itself. It's what people with all kinds of autoimmune diseases have explains Dr. Ken Pelletier, professor of medicine at UCSF.
Because of Covid we have been bombarded with a litany of pop it, guzzle it, eat it immune booster products. But immunity is far more complex than these products suggest and is actually something you want to balance rather than boost.
It turns out the best way to support your immune system is with the core pillars of wellness: exercise, diet and enough good sleep.
One of the biggest lessons from Covid has been the importance of our metabolic health. If you are experiencing metabolic ill health you are also likely experiencing immune dysfunction.
Metabollic ill health means your regulation of lipids and blood sugar is out of whack and there is chronic inflammation. Metabolic dysfunction leads to obesity (and its related cancers), diabetes, heart disease—and many more conditions.
Globally, people with metabolic health issues have statistically been more likely to get very sick or die from covid. As Dr. Frank Lipman, a functional medicine leader, puts it: “The COVID-19 epidemic was superimposed on an epidemic of metabolic ill-health. If we talk at all about strengthening our immune systems, the #1 issue we must tackle is rampant metabolic ill-health—for our own personal health and as a culture.”
To strengthen immunity it is key to focus on sensible and scientifically backed strategies that drive metabolic health.
Diet
Stop consuming so many highly-processed, low-fiber foods with high amounts of sugar, bad starches, refined grains, and unhealthy fats. These contain empty calories that immediately flood your body with glucose (sugar).
Eat a far more varied, colorful diet of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, healthy fats (like omega-3s), high-quality proteins, nuts, seeds and legumes— foods that nature makes. Think the mediterranean diet. Fiberous foods impact the microbiome in the digestive walls and keeps pathogens moving through the gut.
70% of your immunity is in your gut. So, it’s important to take care of it. Fermented foods, pre-biotics and probiotics help to bring balance to the microbiome.
Staying hydrated is also important to make sure you’re digestive organs have the moisture needed to transform food into fuel.
Exercise
Evidence that regular exercise benefits the immune system is incontrovertible—no matter your age, your condition, and even if it’s just walking 10 minutes a day. Regular exercise is shown to significantly lower inflammation; contractions of skeletal muscle produce proteins which fight infection and increase the power of the immune system’s natural killer cells. Moderate exercise is linked to lower rates of respiratory infections from viruses.
Over the last 2 years my opportunities to exercise have been limited. I’m quite active but never do exercise that would increase my heart rate. The best I do is to jump on the trampoline with my kids. I’ve definitely noticed it is more difficult for my body to fight respiratory viruses than it was able to in the past. Fortunately, my case of covid has been quite mild and I haven’t been in any respiratory distress. Note to self: get back into more regular exercise.
Sleep - How is your Circadian Health?
You need 6-9 hours of sleep a night.
When the biorhythms induced during sleep are disrupted, the immune system cycles get out of whack, so the sleep-deprived are more susceptible to viruses and flus. Just ask every sleep-deprived mother who has a child in childcare and she'll tell you this is true. It’s the perfect inflammation storm - interrupted sleep, lack of time to exercise and perhaps energy levels supported by caffeine and sugar.
The circadian rhythms control almost every system in your body including your immune and metabolic systems. It means that every cell in your body has a functional clock. If sleep is disrupted so is the function of the circadian clock and this can lead to metabolic disorders.
Positive Stress
I'm sure we all know that chronic stress is an immune killer because it causes higher levels of inflammation. But, have you heard of positive stress? It can actually support immunity. Hot/cold; fasting; breathwork; high-intensity, short bursts of exercise—are proven to have a short-term, positive immune effect and research is underway on whether these stress practices have long-term immunity benefits.
It’s important to regularly participate in activities that help reduce stress. Our busy lifestyles keep the body’s fight/flight response engaged. Over time this makes it more and more difficult to switch off and relax.
Body therapies like Shiatsu provide the opportunity to release stress and tension and switch on your relaxation response allowing the autonomic nervous system to return to normal. It calms, grounds and cools the body.
Supplementation
If you're wanting immune-modulating supplements Dr Lipman says they are a good insurance policy. Your best options are vitamin D, a glutathione activator (which is a powerful anti-oxidant that reduces inflammation) and the anti-inflammatory compound quercetin.
Your immune health should not be based on the latest trend. You cannot “boost” your way to good health. Get back to wellness basics and preventative medicine.
To read more on this topic I highly recommend the following article: https://www.globalwellnesssummit.com/trends-2021/the-future-of-immune-health-stop-boosting-start-balancing/