When boosting an imbalanced immune system may not be the best strategy, how to ‘reset’ and kickstart your immune system
The health of your immune system can make the difference between a mild infection that resolves in a few days or a severe infection that could hinder you for days and cause long-term ramifications.
While improving your immunity is particularly important to reduce the risk of severe viral illness, a robust immune system also reduces the deleterious effects of infection and the incidence of autoimmune diseases. Even when the risk of infection isn’t high, a strong immune system is vital for immune responses to turn on and off appropriately, clear infections quickly and completely, switch off the inflammatory response instead of letting it linger on, and avoid confusion that leads to autoimmune disease.
Understanding immunity
Your immune system provides three levels of defense against disease-causing organisms such as bacteria and viruses:
- At the first level are barriers that physically keep pathogens from penetrating your cells: your skin, the mucus membranes lining of your nose, throat, and bronchial tubes; your stomach acid, digestive enzymes, and the beneficial bacteria in your gut. Up to 80% of your immune system cells are in your gut, after all.
- To detect and destroy pathogens that make it past your barrier protections, the next level of defense is the white blood cells of your innate immune system (the one you’re born with). Neutrophils and macrophages (the sentinels of your immune system) engulf and destroy foreign invaders and your own damaged cells. Your innate immunity white blood cells can handle most invaders. Still, when the pathogen is a virus that replicates inside your cells or a particularly aggressive bacteria that multiply faster than your innate immunity can handle, your body mobilizes its adaptive immune system, also known as acquired immunity or specific immunity.
- The third, the adaptive immune system (acquired during your lifetime) response, is specific to the pathogen that’s attacking you. Specialized white blood cells called B lymphocytes (B cells) produce antibodies that attach to the surface of invading cells and target them for destruction by other immune cells. Other specialized white blood cells called T lymphocytes (T cells) stimulate B cells to make antibodies; they also produce cytokines that send chemical instructions to coordinate and intensify the immune response. When your body encounters a virus or bacteria for the first time, it takes some time — typically several days — for the adaptive immune response to kick in. However, the adaptive immune cells remember foreign invaders after their first encounter, so the response is much faster the next time you encounter the pathogen.
Immunity out of balance
The ideal response to infection begins with inflammation, then moves on to innate immunity, specific immunity, and resolution, ending with immune memory that protects you in the future.
Many factors can disrupt the smooth functioning of your immune system, however:
- Poor nutrition and a shortage of micronutrients such as zinc, for example, can lead to an imbalanced innate and adaptive immune response.
- Lack of adequate sleep weakens your adaptive immune system.[i]
- Developing immunosenescence or immune dysfunction as you age. Your T cells decline and don’t work as well for coordinating your adaptive immune response; your B cells don’t make antibodies as efficiently.[ii] Immunosenescence is closely related to more frequent infections, autoimmune diseases, and cancer.[iii]
Poor diet and lifestyle, along with inevitable aging, can lead to a sluggish or misdirected adaptive immune system. You’re more susceptible to getting sick and stay sick longer because your system is slow to clear the pathogen. You may develop food or environmental sensitivities, where your immune system decides that harmless food or other substances are a danger. You may also develop autoimmunity, where your immune cells get confused and start attacking your healthy cells. In the worst-case scenario, your adaptive immune system gets overwhelmed and can’t fight off an illness — or responds too intensely, leading to a dangerous and possibly fatal cytokine storm.
‘Reset’ or kickstart your immune system
When your immune system is imbalanced and overwhelmed with senescent immune cells, boosting it to achieve better function may not be the best strategy. Boosting your system when it’s already imbalanced will only perpetuate the dysfunction instead of restoring a better balance and replacing senescent cells with new ones.
Instead, a reset to kickstart your immune system and improve balance may be in order.
Fasting is a well-known method for stimulating the production of new immune cells and to reset and kickstart your immune system function. As you fast, your body uses autophagy to break down old and damaged white blood cells, discarding the damaged parts and recycling the remaining macromolecules throughout the body. The process stimulates the production of new, healthy replacement cells.[iv]
Similarly, the mitochondria within immune cells can become damaged and dysfunctional. Fasting triggers a different type of autophagy called mitophagy, where the old, dysfunctional mitochondria are broken down and removed, allowing the remaining mitochondria to function better.[v] At the same time, mitophagy helps reduce the production of inflammatory cytokines from the cell.[vi]
While some researchers recommend fasting for 24-48 hours to stimulate an immune system reset,[vii] I prefer regular intermittent fasting (14-16 hours daily). It provides many of the same benefits without the discomfort of a longer fast.[viii] This is easily accomplished by not eating after an early evening meal until later the following morning.
Exercise is another powerful way to kickstart your immune system and clear out old immune cells.[ix] The more intense the exercise, the more the immune system is stimulated to rejuvenate. Still, even moderate daily physical activity helps keep the immune system functioning well — yet another reason to get at least 30 minutes of moderate to intense exercise every day.[x]
Sleep and the immune system have a bidirectional relationship. Getting enough quality sleep every night profoundly impacts the immune system. Your immune system is active during sleep, producing cytokines associated with regulating inflammation. When the body is sleep-deprived, immune system activity is reduced, leading to decreased production of antibodies, cytokines, and other protective factors.[xi]
Boosting your immunity
Once you kickstart your immune system, it’s essential to support the growth of new immune cells and maintain their new level of readiness and activity.
Follow a supportive diet high in polyphenols from fresh fruits, vegetables, whole grains and rich in omega-3 fatty acids from cold-water fish. Avoid GPS: gluten, processed foods, and sugar. Also, avoid DNA: dairy, nicotine, and artificial sweeteners.
A low-carbohydrate diet reduces the damaging effect of glucose on your immune system. In contrast, the keto diet has been shown to improve immunity by boosting the activity of T cells.[xii]
Kickstart your immune system to prevent against COVID-19 variants
When it comes to COVID-19, you can’t control the virus, but you can control the host. One fundamental way is by boosting immunity and kickstarting your immune system to prevent infection, reduce the risk of serious illness, and lower the chances of acquiring long-haulers syndrome.
My protocol for patients with COVID-19 variants is as follows:
Foods and diet — Continue to follow a low-carb diet high in whole foods, continue regular exercise, and get adequate sleep. Because COVID-19 infection and long-haulers syndrome are both more likely and more severe when metabolic issues, particularly type 2 diabetes and obesity, are present, aim to improve your overall metabolic health.[xiii]
Nutrients and supplements — To give your immune system key nutrients, it needs to produce new immune cells; you need plenty of vitamin C, vitamin D3 with K2, and zinc. For protection against COVID-19 infection, high vitamin D levels are significant. Seven clinical trials have found that high vitamin D levels (50 ng/ml) are linked to lower COVID-19 mortality risk.[xiv] Supplemental vitamin D and fish oil have been shown to reduce the risk of autoimmune disease, particularly in adults over 50.[xv]
Curcumin — The active ingredient in turmeric, it is a powerful immunomodulatory agent that affects the activation of immune cells, including T cells, B cells, and macrophages. Curcumin at low levels has been shown to enhance the production of antibodies. It has also been shown to reduce the production of proinflammatory cytokines, which may help prevent or attenuate damaging cytokine storms in response to infection.[xvi]
Antioxidants and anti-inflammatories — Resveratrol, quercetin, and astaxanthin are well-known for their potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity. They also directly impact the immune system by modulating immune cell regulation, blocking the production of proinflammatory cytokines, and reducing the activity of the NF-κB inflammasome. Resveratrol has well-known antiviral and anti-inflammatory effects. When given to outpatients with mild to moderate COVID-19, it led to a lower incidence of hospitalization, ER visits, and pneumonia.[xvii] Quercetin can help improve viral clearance in people ill with COVID-19.[xviii] Astaxanthin influences your immune system by helping to activate T-cells and protecting your immune cells from excess free radicals and oxidative stress created by the immune response.
Melatonin — The hormone is often used as a sleep aid but is also essential for the immune system. Melatonin stimulates the production of progenitor cells for macrophages, natural killer cells, and T and B cells. It also enhances the production of cytokines from T cells.[xix] In cases of severe COVID-19 infection, it can help reduce the risk of thrombosis, sepsis, and death.[xx]
NAD+ and NAC — Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+), the central molecule in generating energy in cells and maintaining cellular health, is also involved in the immune response to viral infections, which must invade cells to reproduce. Fighting off the virus depletes cellular NAD+, while supplements that increase it can enhance antiviral responses.[xxi] N-acetylcysteine (NAC), a precursor of the antioxidant glutathione, can also boost the immune system, suppress viral replication, and reduce inflammation by inhibiting the NF-κB inflammasome. In IV form, NAC has been used successfully to treat respiratory symptoms of COVID-19.[xxii]
Pro-resolving mediators — Resolvins, also known as pro-resolving mediators (PRMs) or specialized pro-resolving mediators (SPMs), stimulate macrophages to clear away the debris from destroyed pathogens and damaged cells and counter pro-inflammatory cytokine production, which plays a crucial role in preventing cytokine storms. PRMs also promote antiviral B cell antibodies and lymphocyte activity. PRMs mediate their antiviral effects via directly inhibiting viral replication and thus export viral particles from infected cells.[xxiii] They ultimately allow for “inflammation resolution.”
Probiotics — The probiotic bacteria species Lactobacillus rhamnosus and Lactobacillus plantarum have been extensively studied for their role in improving the composition of gut bacteria. Recent research suggests they may also play a role in protecting against severe COVID-19 infection. In one study, people who had been exposed to COVID-19 and took L. rhamnosus supplements for 28 days were less likely to develop symptoms. They also showed a significant change in the overall structure of resident gut microorganisms.[xxiv] Another study showed that a probiotic containing L. plantarum improved symptoms and viral clearance in people with COVID-19; it was also associated with a significant increase in specific antibodies against the disease.[xxv]
The combination of lifestyle modifications, fasting, exercise, sleep, and pointed supplemental choices will provide transformative effects on and kickstart your immune system. Supporting immunorejuvenation leads to immune resilience, optimizes your health, and enhances your protection against COVID variants.
ROBERT G. SILVERMAN, DC, DACBN, DCBCN, MS, CCN, CNS, CSCS, CIISN, CKTP, CES, HKC, FAKTR, is a chiropractic doctor, clinical nutritionist, national/international speaker, author of Amazon’s #1 bestseller “Inside-Out Health,” and founder and CEO of Westchester Integrative Health Center. He graduated magna cum laude from the University of Bridgeport College of Chiropractic and has a Master of Science degree in human nutrition. The ACA Sports Council named him “Sports Chiropractor of the Year” in 2015. He is on the advisory board for Functional Medicine University and is a seasoned health and wellness expert on the speaking circuits and in the media. A frequently published author in peer-reviewed journals and other mainstream publications, he is a thought leader in his field and practice. His new book, “Superhighway to Health,” was published in June 2021. He can be reached at drrobertsilverman.com.
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