How to Boost Your Immune System

April 17, 2012 – 5:00 PM

I am frequently asked about what supplements are useful for building a strong immune system and relieving general fatigue.  I first want to emphasize that I am not a medical practitioner and am not licensed to give specific medical advice, but my background in biology and my personal interest leads me to keep up with the current research on nutritional supplements and their role in improving overall health.

 

There are many reasons for someone to experience an imbalanced immune system.  It may be triggered by infectious agents, mental or physical stress, nutrient deficiencies, immune system abnormalities, allergies, hormonal abnormalities, heavy metal toxicity and oxidative stress.    Recommendations to help relieve some symptoms include ruling out allergenic foods, avoiding food additives, removing sources of toxins (including heavy metals), candida (yeast) overgrowth, viral or bacterial infections, hypothyroidism, hypoglycemia, anemia, and impaired adrenal function.  Of course, it is always best to work closely with your healthcare provider at all times.

Experts in nutritional medicine now frequently recommend adding supplements to a healthy diet to support overall health and alleviate common nutritional deficiencies.  Your doctor may want to test you for certain deficiencies that may be   contributing to your specific symptoms. This could help guide your supplement therapy and dosages.  Laboratories such as SpectraCell provide comprehensive testing of micronutrient levels, providing you and your physician valuable information as to your specific needs.

That being said, I believe strongly that everyone should be taking a quality multivitamin/mineral supplement.  However, not all supplements are both safe and effective.  The FDA has been sending warning letters to supplement companies all across the nation concerning violations of current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMPs).  How will you choose a multivitamin that works?  Basically, you should look for third party verifications of safety, purity, efficacy and potency of both raw ingredients and the finished product.  Ask your supplement provider if they use Pharmaceutical model Good Manufacturing Practices, and ask them about third party verification of these practices.

When considering individual supplements, you and your doctor should think about what symptoms impact you most and then look for supplements that help with that symptom. When starting supplements, it’s important to only start one new one at a time, then wait a week or two before introducing another one. That will give you a chance to see what effect each supplement has on your body.  The following are some excellent choices that have the potential to improve both your immune system and energy levels.

 CoQ10

The energy that every cell needs to function is produced through a complex process in the mitochondria, organelles within the cell.  When combined with alpha lipoid acid, CoQ10 assists in ATP (energy)production and also helps to regenerate and recycle other antioxidants, including vitamins  E and C.  CoQ10 is also a powerful antioxidant that helps protect against the damaging effects of free radicals.

Vit D

Low levels of vit D has become wide-spread here in America, and is indicative of many chronic conditions.  The only way to determine you are getting enough vit D is with a blood test, now fairly commonly prescribed by physicians. The normal range of 25 hydroxy vit D in the blood should be 30 to 74 ng/mL.  Vit D is important for our immune system and proper inflammatory response.

 Fish Oil (Omega-3 Fatty Acids)

Studies have shown that omega-3 fatty acids, in the form of fish oil supplements, have great benefits for your overall health, including maintaining a normal, healthy inflammatory response.  It is important to ask that your fish oil supplement be produced from cold-water, deep sea fish, and that it be guaranteed free of contaminants such as heavy metals, PCBs, pesticides, and organic residues.

 Vit C/Grapeseed extract

Grape-seed bioflavonoids and vitamin C work together to provide advanced antioxidant protection that supports a healthy immune system.   USANA Health Science’s unique formulation, Proflavanol® C-100, combines the highest quality grape seed extract with USANA’s proprietary Poly-C, a blend of mineral ascorbates.

Supplements for Healthy Digestion

Poor digestion leaves the body and the immune system in the same predicament that poor nutrition does – a lack of nutritional factors that support immune functioning and the function of the entire body. This is because a poor functioning digestive system has lost some of the ability to turn what’s consumed into a form the body can use.  If we’re not healthy in our gut, the probability of health issues throughout our body increases.

  • Digestive Enzymes- enzyme supplements are especially important as we age and our natural enzymes decrease.
  • Probiotics- probiotic dietary supplements replenish beneficial microflora, which are vital to the proper development of the immune system.

Dietary supplements generally are better tolerated and have fewer risks than prescription medications, but it is always prudent to pay careful attention to the quality of individual supplements as you would any drug.  Just because a product is natural doesn’t mean it’s safe and won’t interact with other supplements or medications. You should talk to your doctor and pharmacist about what you’re taking, the dosages, and potential interactions. If you have sensitivities to any foods,  you need to be aware of what inert ingredients are in the supplements you take.  Again, it is best to purchase supplements that have a written guarantee of potency and purity.  You and your doctor will then be able to determine  the  supplements that will work best for you.

 

Live Well!

Robin Thomas

This article was originally published on The Health Matters Show on April 3, 2012

The information listed above is provided for educational purposes only. This should not be used as a substitute for professional medical advice, nor is this information meant to treat, diagnose, cure, or prevent any disease. Always seek the advice of a physician or other qualified healthcare provider before starting or discontinuing any treatment or supplement regimen. 

By Robin Thomas | Posted in preventative care, supplements | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (6)

Play in the Dirt

April 10, 2012 – 4:41 PM

Kevin (at 3 yrs ) getting up close and personal with the garden.

I always heard that kids need to eat a pint of dirt by the time they are five.  No problem in my family, as my two boys spent most of their youth outside playing in the garden.   Kevin, in particular, loved to smear his whole body with mud- the messier, the better.

Scientists have suggested that exposing people to germs (i.e. dirt) at an early age helps build proper immunity.  They have called it the hygiene hypothesis, and it doesn’t mean you don’t have to take a bath or wash your hands before supper. (sorry, kids)  Rather, it supposes that the overuse of antibiotics and antibacterial cleansers reduces our exposure to microbes that are involved in the proper regulation of immune cells.

Recent research on mice published in Science on March 22, 2012 by scientists at Brigham and Women’s Hospital brings evidence to the hygiene hypothesis.  Mice raised in sterile environments had an abnormal quantity of specialized immune cells called iNKT cells.  These cells help fight infection, but can also turn against the body, causing autoimmune diseases such as allergies, asthma and colitis.  Mice re-introduced to the proper bacteria reduced their symptoms of inflammatory disease and lowered their iNKT cell population.  But this only happened when the mice were young.  Once they were adults, exposing them to the microbes did nothing to reduce inflammatory effects.

So let your kids play in the dirt.* It’s good for their immune system.  And, it’s fun, too!

Live Well,

Robin

Olszak, T. et al. Science http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.1219328 (2012).

* my environmental chemist husband warns us to make sure it is good, clean dirt.  Not a joke!  Inner city kids may be exposed to high levels of lead in dirt, and rural kids shouldn’t play near fields treated with sewage sludge or persistant toxins from pesticides. So sad, what we have done to our planet.

If you didn’t have your time in the dirt, or even if you did, and you still have allergies, you will be interested in my post Natural Allergy Relief for some great hints on how to manage your allergies without drugs.

By Robin Thomas | Posted in Healthy Living | Tagged , , , | Comments (0)

Scientific Method: Good Science Springs from Collaboration

April 9, 2012 – 4:00 PM

By David Baker

Science seems a scary, incomprehensible idea for some. In truth, it is nothing more than the quest for understanding. Today, scientists are simply using the corner pieces of previous scientific discovery as a starting point to complete the puzzle of existence.

“We  want to stay on the  cutting edge of nutritional research. That means  we need to have a  direct connection to the places where the  groundbreaking research is  being done.”
—Brian Dixon, Ph.D., USANA  director of product innovation

USANA is a science company. Our lab-coat-clad scientists are interested in a particular section of the larger puzzle—developing a better understanding of how supplementation can promote optimal health. This understanding can lead to more effective products and help spread true health around the world—a worthy, if imposing, goal.

Luckily, USANA isn’t searching for puzzle pieces by itself. Although USANA’s team of scientists is second to none, good science often springs from collaboration. That’s why USANA also reaches out to the scientific community to build symbiotic research relationships with a variety of prestigious institutions and organizations.

“Solid science is the key to everything we do,” said USANA’s Director of Product Innovation Brian Dixon, Ph.D. “We want to stay on the cutting edge of nutritional research. That means we need to have a direct connection to the places where the groundbreaking research is being done.”

Dixon is talking about places like the Linus Pauling Institute (LPI) at Oregon State University (OSU). This world-class research institute—named after Dr. Linus Pauling, a pioneer in nutritional science and the only person to win two unshared Nobel Prizes—shares USANA’s mission to help people live healthy and productive lives through their research in vitamins, essential minerals, and phytochemicals. At LPI, USANA has funded and collaborated on research involving vitamin C and lipoic acid interactions, zinc and DNA damage, the role vitamin D plays in immune function, an assessment of the micronutrient status of children, and numerous other projects.

He is talking about places like The Orthopedic Specialty Hospital (TOSH). Since 1991, TOSH has been an international leader in orthopedics, sports medicine, and sports science—providing surgical, physical rehabilitation and medicine, and sports and nutritional science under one roof. USANA began partnering with TOSH in 2009. The relationship has yielded one study about vitamin D in patients with osteoarthritis symptoms, and four other human clinical studies involving USANA products and joint health, strength recovery, and performance in athletes.

And Dixon is also talking about places like Utah State University (USU). On the Logan campus—about two hours north of Salt Lake City—USANA and USU are examining the role of supplementation in counteracting the negative health effects of exposure to polluted air. Such exposure is the 13th leading cause of mortality worldwide, so this research could have a huge positive impact.

Partnering with research entities like LPI, TOSH, and USU—as well as others throughout the years—greatly benefits USANA. It allows the company to continue to produce the most effective, science-based products in the industry, and provides the extra layer of credibility that comes from working with some of the best researchers in the world.
But these research partnerships are mutually beneficial. The help USANA provides—monetarily and otherwise—gives partner institutions the ability to carry out important research that wouldn’t be possible using traditional channels, like the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

“The kind of cutting-edge research that’s unconventional and breaking new ground is often funded by non-NIH sources,” said Balz Frei, Ph.D., director and endowed chair of LPI and OSU distinguished professor of biochemistry and biophysics.

Grants from the NIH are part of a traditional, government-centric framework for research funding. Government grants typically pack a lot of zeros, but they are hard to come by, especially for work that isn’t a sure thing.

“They’re hesitant to put money into anything too risky,” said Adrian “Fritz” Gombart, Ph.D., an associate professor at OSU and an LPI principal investigator. “Somebody gets an out-there idea—and they may have good reasons for it—but the people giving out the money are conservative in their views and they may say, ‘Well, I don’t know. You might be wasting taxpayers’ money.’”

Some of the more unconventional, cutting-edge research gets dismissed, because the NIH and other traditional funding sources need to see significant evidence showing the possible viability of a study before they open the funding floodgates. As a result, this approach leads to only incremental scientific advances.

“Without preliminary data, you can’t get any funding from NIH,” Frei said. Unfortunately, without money you can’t get any data, which has sent scientists scrambling for other ways to pay for their research. That’s where partners like USANA come in, providing the dollars to do pilot studies that accumulate the evidence needed to secure government funding.

“Even great scientists are having trouble getting money,” Gombart said. “So any source of money—whether it’s the government or a partnership with a company that has an interest in an area of research—is really important.”

Frei estimated that currently less than 10 percent of proposals to NIH are being funded. “We need to diversify,” he said. “And we need to have funding from the private sector as well, because the government is not providing enough funding for all the interesting ideas and projects we have in the Institute. Certainly, that’s where USANA is a big help.”

Being part of the advancement of nutritional science wholly aligns with USANA’s founding principles. Collaborating on studies and funding groundbreaking research is another way—using the vehicle of solid science—to spread true health.

“As a science-based company, we have a strong interest in having access to cutting-edge scientific data,” said Dixon, who spent time at LPI before coming to USANA. “But it’s important to help fund and collaborate on studies that lead to cutting-edge results. I’m excited to be supporting and working with other scientists who are doing important work that can have a positive impact on people’s lives.”

In the coming weeks, look for more Scientific Method stories for additional in-depth information on USANA’s research partnerships. Next week’s story focuses on the research and relationship between USANA and LPI.

Copyright © 2012 USANA Health Sciences.

By Robin Thomas | Posted in scientific studies, supplements | Tagged , , , , , | Comments (0)