Maintaining A Healthy Immune System

Weight
Exercise
Fluid Intake
Pathogen exposure
Diet
Immune support - acute and long term
Supplements

Weight (top)
Being excessively thin or severely overweight (obesity) are associated with impaired immune responses. However, attempts to lose weight through dietary restriction may actually be harmful to the immune system unless careful attention is paid to the levels of essential nutrients in the diet. People who go on a restricted diet may benefit from taking a multivitamin and mineral supplement, to ensure intake of the Recommended Daily Allowance of Vitamins and Minerals - the minimum amounts required to avoid deficiency.

Exercise(top)
Regular physical activity is important in maintaining your best possible immune function - people who exercise at a moderate level are far less likely to succumb to illness that those who are very inactive or sedentary in their lifestyle. However, very intense and prolonged exercise, such as running a marathon or over training, can, in the short term, actually increase the risk of developing infections.

Fluid Intake(top)
When you are unwell it is very important to maintain your fluid levels, and increase the amount of fluids that you drink. This is because we lose considerably more body fluids that normal when we are ill - this may happen through elevated temperature, vomiting, diarrhea or increased mucous production.

Reduce exposure to pathogens(top)
There are many different possible routes of infection for bugs (pathogens), but most are transmitted primarily through the air, ingestion, and direct or secondary physical contact.

If members of your family or friends are suffering from a cold or flu, encourage them to make good use of a handkerchief when coughing or sneezing - this reduces the number of pathogens expelled into the air

The easiest and most effective way to reduce exposure to many pathogens is to ensure that you wash your hands frequently - many bugs are collected on objects like door handles or other items that an infected person may have been in contact with. Frequent hand washing can reduce the chances that you will transfer those pathogens to your mouth, eyes, or nose where they can enter your body and infect you.

Diet(top)
Ensuring that you follow a balanced and varied diet will help to keep your immune system healthy, and ensure that your intake of essential nutrients meets minimum recommended levels (see Recommended Daily Allowances for Vitamins and Minerals).

People who are highly physically active or are on a restricted diet may benefit from taking supplements as their needs may not be adequately met through diet alone (see Nutritional Supplements for Immune Health)

Supplements To Support Immune Health

Acute and Long Term Support

Multivitamins
Zinc
Selenium
Bovine Colostrum
Glutamine
Probiotics
Omega 3 EFAs

Nutritional Supplements - Acute and Long Term Support(top)
Whilst a healthy, balanced and varied diet is sufficient to maintain health in our day to day lives, we do not always consume the right nutrients in the right balance.

This may be for reasons of choice (eg avoidance of certain foods), following a weight loss regimen, or pressures of lifestyle where there is a reliance on convenience foods:- whatever your reasons, you may wish to supplement your diet to ensure that your diet provides optimal nutritional support for your immune system.

There are two types of Immune System Support that can be considered

Acute or short term supplementation during an existing acute infection such as a cold or 'Flu, to help support immune system activity.

Long term nutritional support and supplementation to help maintain Immune System health

Multivitamins (top)
Any significant nutritional deficiency can impair functioning of the immune system, and taking a complete multivitamin and mineral supplement and/or a product containing a natural balance of multivitamins and minerals such as Bovine Colostrum for Immune support can be helpful in people who are run down and suffering from repeated minor infections. A medical check up with your health professional is essential in anyone experiencing repeated minor infections, as this may be symptomatic of an underlying medical cause.

Most studies have shown that elderly people have better immune function and reduced infection rates when taking a multivitamin formula, and certainly there are minimum vitamin and mineral levels that are necessary for maintaining general health. The EU Recommended Daily Allowances are summarised in this link, and represent the amount that you need in your diet everyday to avoid a deficiency.

Zinc (top)
Zinc supplements have been reported to increase immune function, and this effect may be especially important in the elderly. Some doctors recommend zinc supplements for people with recurrent infections, suggesting 25 mg per day for adults and lower amounts for children (depending on body weight). However, too much zinc (300 mg per day) has been reported to impair immune function.

While zinc lozenges have been shown to be effective for reducing the symptoms and duration of the Flu in some controlled studies, it is not clear whether this effect is due to an enhancement of immune function or to the direct effect of zinc on the viruses themselves.

Selenium (top)
Selenium is a building block of one of the body's key antioxidant enzymes, Glutathione peroxidase and is thought to also play a key role in helping immune system cells protect us from invading viruses and bacteria.

Bovine Colstrum (top)
As well as being a natural and balanced source of vitamins and minerals, Bovine Colostrum is also rich in probiotics, immunoglobulins, lactoferrin and other essential nutrients intended by nature to provide additional support for the immune system of the newborn infant, with benefits that are transferable to humans at any age.

Glutamine(top)
The amino acid Glutamine is also important for normal immune system function

Probiotics (top)
There is significant evidence that supplements of probiotics (friendly bacteria) such as Lactobacillus acidophilus, or the growth factors that encourage their development in the gastrointestinal tract may help protect the body from harmful organisms in the intestine that cause local or systemic infections. The effective amount of probiotics depends on the strain used, as well as the concentration of viable organisms. Infectious diarrhea in children has been successfully reduced with supplements of friendly bacteria in several trials using Bovine Colostrum

Omega 3 EFAs (top)
Research on the effect of the omega-3 fatty acids that are abundant in some fish oils, and perilla or flaxseed oil is conflicting. Liquid diets containing omega-3 fatty acids used in hospitals for critically ill people have been shown to improve immune function and reduce infections. However, in one controlled study in healthy people, a low fat diet improved or maintained immune function, but when fish was added to increase omega-3 fatty acid intake, immune function was significantly inhibited.

This is not clearly understood, but may be due to the bodies requirement for Omega 3 ALA (alpha linoleic acid) in supporting immune function which is not found in fish oil (which is instead rich in DHA and EPA , two other forms of Omega 3 Essential Fatty Acids).