Immune Health during this COVID time
There is so much concern in recent months about viral infections. This concern is often rooted in fear, mostly fear of the unknown. Being in the midst of a pandemic is new for everyone on the planet, but viruses are not foreign to our bodies. As a matter of fact, we were designed to live in community with bacteria, viruses, and all sort of microscopic life. Most people don’t realize that we come into contact with bacteria and viruses that have the potential to kill us every day… and we never develop a symptom because of our immune systems. As a matter of fact, the foundation of our immune systems is this very contact with microscopic life! So, it just seems more logical to take care of our bodies and our immune systems than to live in fear of what may happen. Remember, the only true “prevention” of any viral illness is not coming in contact with it. This isn’t realistic, but I certainly do think that prudent handwashing and wearing masks when necessary may help limit some transmission. In the meantime, start taking care of your body now! If anything monumental is learned from this pandemic, I hope it is that we were given amazing gifts upon our birth and we need to provide loving care for these gifts, so that we can feel our best. It is never too late to start feeling better and improve your immune health!
Here are a few things that we can do to optimize our immune function:
1) Sleep- focus on both quality and quantity. Getting 12 hours of choppy, interrupted sleep isn’t much better that five or six hours of solid sleep. Remember, our immune systems release cytokines (signaling proteins) which increase during times of stress, or with infection or inflammation, to help fight disease. Without proper sleep, we can’t produce the necessary cytokines. One of the important jobs of cytokines is to make antibodies… so be sure to get plenty of rest!
2) Water- without proper hydration, our blood can’t transport nutrients to our different organ systems. Hydration is also important for detoxification pathways, increasing lymphatic drainage and making sure we are clearing out foreign invaders and other waste materials. As a general rule, drink half your body weight in ounces of water per day.
3) Nutrition- can I say it one more time?!?!? Colorful fruits and veggies, eat LOTS of them! They are packed with phytonutrients, vitamins and minerals that feed our body on a cellular level. If you love meat like I do, consider adding organ meat on a weekly basis. You will get the best quality fat and protein as well as tons of vitamins, minerals and other important antioxidants like CoenzymeQ10! Avoid anything with a nutrition facts label (pretty easy, huh?). This will steer you towards whole foods and away from processed foods.
4) Toxin Avoidance- we can start with the basics and plan to avoid toxins via tobacco and alcohol. But let’s not forget toxins on our foods (wash your fruits and veggies), use organic food and personal products whenever possible, invest in an indoor air purifier and water filter, and avoid plastics and heavy metals as much as possible. Reducing your overall toxic burden can help your immune system fight what is really important!
5) Exercise- it is well known that movement promotes good circulation, which keeps all of our cellular immunity flowing freely through our bodies and working efficiently. However, the new science of exercise immunology is uncovering many new and exciting ways that exercise enhances our immune systems. A short list includes how exercise helps to flush bacteria out of the lungs and airways, it improves the function of antibodies and white blood cells, it promotes improved immunosurveillance against pathogens and cancer cells, and decreases systemic inflammation.
6) Stress management- when we are stressed out, our body can’t fight off antigens as effectively. This is why we are more susceptible to infections during periods of acute stress. Cortisol, our stress hormone, suppresses the immune system by lowering the number of circulating lymphocytes (white blood cells that fight infection). Stress management is easy to talk about and really difficult to implement unfortunately. Sleep, hydration, nutrition and exercise are all important factors in stress reduction, but many of us will need to seek out more deliberate methods, including acupuncture, mental health counseling, and meditation.
7) Supplementation- supplements can be considered after all of the above interventions have been optimized. The simple truth is, our current American lifestyles may mandate that we supplement our diets to promote immune health.
*Vitamin D... Viruses, and Covid in particular, doesn’t thrive in a body with plump D levels, it is very well documented. Generally speaking, 35IU per pound of body weight will get most individual’s serum D levels to the high 60’s.
*Vitamin C… for prevention of illness, adults may consider 1000 mg twice a day. Consider increasing the dose based on your functional medicine provider’s recommendations if you develop viral symptoms or have a significant exposure.
*Elderberry syrup... for prevention take 2 teaspoons twice a day. With any significant exposure, or the onset of any respiratory symptoms or fever, increase to 2 teaspoons four times a day. Elderberry has amazing antiviral properties. While it DOES increase certain pro-inflammatory cytokines, it is THOSE cytokines that are important in our body’s production of antibodies.
*Turmeric... buy a high-quality supplement and take it once daily for prevention of illness. With the first onset of symptoms or significant viral exposure, increase to twice daily. I added this to help mitigate the severe cytokine response associated with covid and Elderberry.
*English Ivy Extract... this is for a cough. Covid cough. Bronchitis. COPD. I’ve seen it work wonders on them all. Don’t take it for prevention of illness. Start taking it three times daily with the first onset of lower respiratory symptoms (cough) or fever.
*Sinus rinse... I’ve always believed in using a sinus rinse to prevent and treat viral illness, but with covid being more lower respiratory than upper respiratory, I didn’t promote this right away. For regular folks not accustomed to high volume sinus rinse, just do a regular 8 ounce saline sinus rinse every day. If the virus is replicating in your nose, sinuses or oropharynx, you’ll rinse it out, little by little. If you get sick, the duration and intensity of the illness will likely be less severe. Continue aggressive sinus rinsing if you develop symptoms of lower respiratory tract infection. You really can’t rinse too much during acute illness, so 4-5 times a day or more is fine.
*Zinc. You've heard a lot about it lately, because covid really depletes our zinc stores. A common symptom of zinc deficiency is lack of taste and smell. Sound familiar? Here is something a physician colleague wrote about zinc and covid: “Zinc stores of the body are being used up by the immune system fighting the virus. Zinc helps stop viral replication, but only inside the cells. Zinc needs a transporter to get inside the cells. Hydroxychloroquine and Quercetin are both zinc ionophores/zinc transporters.” So, start taking a daily zinc supplement now, and continue until this pandemic is over. Remember that zinc and copper have an inverse relationship, so taking a zinc supplement for an extended period of time could cause copper deficiency. Look for a high-quality zinc supplement that also contains copper to avoid this problem. The zinc prescribed in hospitals is 220mg, and that is what is recommended in most current protocols. I'm not sure, but I think those are generally lower quality supplements, so they put more active ingredient in there... it's hard to say, but most good quality zinc or zinc/copper supplements are around 60mg of zinc, some significantly less. Remember that God made us to get nutrition from food, not pills. We don't want to overdo it, and I don't honestly know where "220 mg" came from. It seems excessive to me, but for a short period of time, it should be fine. My preference would be for you to take a more moderate daily dose regularly and double it up if you develop viral symptoms.
*Quercetin… in lieu of hydroxychloroquine as a zinc ionophore/transporter. It helps move the zinc into the cells, because the cell is typically disinclined to tolerate high levels of zinc due to concerns about its other actions. Take 500mg twice a day, or 1000mg daily.
*Melatonin… best known and most commonly used to boost sleep and reduce anxiety, both of which improve the immune system. It also blocks inflammasome activity, reducing inflammation in the lungs, and it reduces the risk of fibrosis, one of the most challenging complications for patients who have had covid disease. This should be reserved for use with a significant exposure and onset of symptoms, and for short term use only.
In summary, there are so many things that we can do to promote a healthy immune system in the midst of pandemic chaos. Start simple and pay attention to the changes you notice. You’ll probably realize that your headaches aren’t as frequent when you drink more water, and you sleep better on the days you exercise. We are complex creatures, and everything is related. Making a few small changes now will promote a desire to make more changes down the road, leading to long lasting immune health!
BY:SAMANTHA NOAH, APRN,FNP-BC
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