Strengthening Your Immunity

Our immune system is complex and has many parts and each plays a different role. Imagine your immune system like it is our military, with different branches that serve different functions. Some are highly specific in what they do, they may only consist of small, specialized, tactical teams, and others are more broad like an infantry of men. The small tactical teams are much easier to mobilize, but for an infantry of men it takes more effort and time to mobilize. In this winter season, it is as important as ever to support your immune health. There is the new COVID-19 variant, Omicron, on the rise and recent news that the current flu vaccine is not very effective against this year’s dominant flu strain.

Antibody production is part of a specific immune response, but it takes time to make and mobilize antibodies in response to exposure to the microorganism, so it is not our first line of defense. The purpose of a vaccine is to create the antibodies before being exposed to the microorganism in order to have the ability to fight right at the time of exposure. It can be difficult to raise total antibody production without a vaccine, but it is possible depending on the virus. Eating higher amounts of protein daily can increase antibody levels. Antibodies, also called immunoglobulins (abbreviated Ig) are made of protein. The word immunoglobulin means “immune protein”. Therefore getting enough protein is important in building more immunoglobulins. There are 4 main types of immunoglobulins and we call them IgG, IgA, IgM, and IgE. They each serve a slightly different role. IgA is in your secretions such as saliva, tears, and mucus secretions of lungs and gastrointestinal tract and often comes in first contact with microorganisms. Probiotics, or beneficial bacteria, such as lactobacillus and bifidobacter and have been shown to help increase IgA production. 

Natural killer cells, unlike antibodies, are non-specific, but they are a first responder. These cells tend to target viruses and virus infected cells. Mushrooms have a special carbohydrate called beta-glucan that can actually stimulate the production of natural killer cells. Specifically shiitake, maitake, and turkey tail mushrooms are often used to stimulate production of these cells. 

The following passage contains more specific properties of other immune stimulating herbs and vitamins.

Astragalus

Astragalus contains polysaccharides that help to improve immune response. The polysaccharides stimulate lymphocyte production including NK cells. They can also stimulate T helper cells which are part of the specific immune response. 

Mushromms—shiitake, maitake, turkey tail, reishi, cordyceps

Shiitake mushrooms contain a substance called lentinan which has immune stimulatory properties. These mushrooms can help stimulate a NK cell activity and T cell activity.

Maitake mushrooms contain b-glucans and polysaccharides that stimulate NK cells and macrophages (1). They can also help to activate T-cells

Turkey Tail mushrooms contain a specific type of sugar called polysaccharide krestin. Widely used in Japan in conjunction with chemotherapy, it is known to stimulate the effects of T lymphocytes. 

Reishi mushrooms also contain polysaccharides that have NK cell and T lymphocyte stimulating properties (2)

Cordyceps is a type of fungus and is not a mushroom. Preliminary studies suggest that cordyceps help to stimulate the immune response by increasing NK cell activity (3) and increasing T cells. 

Echinacea

Echinacea has been used for many years to help with preventing and alleviating symptoms from the common cold and influenza. It appears to be effective against “enveloped” viruses which again include coronavirus and influenza virus (4). Echinacea contains polysaccharides and arabinogalactans that help to increase levels and activity of NK cells, T-lymphocytes, neutrophils, and macrophages. 

Elderberry

Elderberry is a dark purple berry from deciduous trees found predominantly in N. America and Europe. Since it is a berry, it has anti-oxidant properties from polyphenols and flavonoids. Elderberry has been shown to have effectiveness for the influenza virus (5).

Andrographis

Andrographis is an herb native to India. In Ayurvedic medicine it has been used for colds and flu. It has shown in-vitro activity against certain flu viruses (6). It may also help to stimulate macrophages and increase antibody activity

Vitamin C and Zinc

Vitamin C is a water soluble vitamin known for its anti-oxidant properties. It has been shown to improve the activity of NK cells and increase production of lymphocytes. Zinc can also help to stimulate NK cell activity (7).

References

1. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/p...

2. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4684115/

3. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1392475?dopt=Abstract

4. https://www.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/2012/841315/

5.  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9395631?dopt=Abstract

6.   https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28783743?dopt=Abstract

7. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/p...

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