How to Boost your Immune System
COVID-19 is contagious – crazy contagious! I read an interesting article outlining why this is the case. The bottom line is that the glycoprotein spike protein (the part of the COVID-19 virus that attaches to our cells) is able to bind very tightly to our cells. It binds 10 x more tightly than the SARS virus we encountered in 2002-3.
If you think that COVID-19 is all hype and “no big deal” you need to pull your head out of your butt and realise that this virus is next level bad ass and given half a chance will wipe out folks in our community that are ill, and have compromised lung function. While I have the biggest readership from the healthier part of our community, I’m guessing you all know someone who has a chronic illness and would not cope well with getting COVID-19. We have a responsibility to look after the health of everyone in our community.
Physical distancing and washing your hands are a must at this time to avoid contact with COVID-19. Keeping yourself healthy is the other essential part of the equation that I want to address in this article
Enough preaching – here’s my top 4 for boosting your immunity now – when it counts the most. Please feel free to share this with your tribe.
- Sleep
Sleep boosts your immune system. Hippocrates suggested this over 2000 years ago (Slightly beat me to the punch here). Lack of sleep has been linked to an increased risk of respiratory infections. In one of the raddest studies I’ve ever seen 150 hopefully well-paid adults were given nasal drops containing rhinovirus (a virus that commonly causes the common cold) and were quarantined and observed for 5 days. Those who slept for less than 7 hours were 3 times more likely to get a cold than those that slept 8 hours. Those with less than 90% sleep efficiency (time asleep/time in bed) were 5 times more likely to get a cold than those with higher sleep efficiency. This means that if you are a restless sleeper you’re more at risk of getting colds. The common cold isn’t COVID-19 so let’s take that study with a grain of salt. However, there does seem to be some biological mechanisms that could explain why sleep improves our immune function. Lymphocytes are a type of white blood cell with a role to fight foreign invaders to our body. These cells seem be more effective in humans who have better sleep patterns. Sleep seems to boost your body’s ability to fight foreign invaders, which would definitely include COVID-19.
I’ve measured sleep patterns of hundreds of people over the years. If I could give you 2 key factors to help improve your sleep quantity and quality here they are:
#1. Have a sleep routine. Same pattern, same time. Wind down. Chill out. Go to bed at the same time each night.
#2 Get some real light. Sleep in real dark. Our bodies are designed to wake with light and sleep at dark. Get sunlight in your eyes in the am (without sunglasses) in the morning to help your brain set up your body clock (circadian rhythm). When the sun sets and it gets dark, reduce your exposure to artificial lighting so your brain understands that it’s night time. Dim your lights. If you need to have artificial lighting then block blue light which is from artificial lighting (phones, TVs, computers, LED lights). Blue light signals to your brain that it’s day time. This isn’t the right signal to be sending your brain if you’re looking to go to sleep.
- React to Stress in a Positive Way
The fight or flight mechanism the body’s perfect tool for helping you cope with short term stress. It just isn’t useful to stay in this state for long periods. Modern life has more than enough stressors for most people, even without a pandemic. Let’s get real – If the outbreak of COVID-19 didn’t startle you, you’re either disconnected or delusional. But living in a state of high stress and fear just isn’t good for you. Under short periods of stress, cortisol (the body’s stress hormone) is anti-inflammatory and helps boost your immunity. Chronic high cortisol levels don’t boost your immune system at all and produce inflammatory chemicals called cytokines that cause inflammation and compromise the immune system
Hans Selye, one of the earliest stress researchers has this fine quote:
It’s not stress that kills us, it’s our reaction to it
How are you reacting you’re the current situation?
Are you taking control of your life?
Are you reacting in a way that is helpful to you and those around you?
If you have a purpose, mission statement and know your values for your life – now is the time to check in on them. If you don’t, this could be the perfect time to explore these. Try this values test by John Demartini to start the ball rolling.
The other articles in this newsletter release also have awesome content about positive reactions to our current situation.
- Exercise
I’m not going to harp on here. Regular exercise improves your health and your immune system period. A recent study in Aging Cell (2018) compared older active cyclists with inactive peers. The Active 55-80-year-old cyclists had stronger immune systems (indicated by higher T-cell function) than sedentary peers. The active cyclists’ immune function was comparable to adults in their 20s.
- Supplementation
Vitamin C – I’m not convinced that vitamin C will reduce your risk of getting COVID-19 unless you are deficient in vitamin C. Vitamin C may slightly reduce the severity and duration of colds. There is some interest in the use of high doses of intravenous vitamin C as a treatment for COVID-19. I’ll leave it to the medical professionals to investigate the effectiveness of this. Our role is to keep healthy.
Vitamin D – Older people who take high-dose vitamin D supplements may have a 40 percent decreased risk of contracting respiratory illnesses. I’ve written about vitamin D and respiratory illnesses here in another article. Vitamin D reduces inflammatory cytokines, and immune system cells have vitamin D receptors that increase immune system function with improvements in vitamin D status. While you can get vitamin D from exposure to sunlight this isn’t possible during the colder months of the year and in cold climates. Full disclosure – I own companies in New Zealand and Australia that provide nature’s best source of natural vitamin D.
Zinc – Zinc is involved in more enzymatic reactions in your body than any other mineral. Zinc increases your production of white blood cells and helps them fight infection more effectively. Your white blood cells can’t function without zinc. Zinc affects multiple aspects of your immune system, including natural killer cells, cytokine production, antibody production, and gene regulation within your lymphocyte cells. The amount of zinc in NZ and Australian soils is poor so supplementation can be useful. Be aware that caffeine can reduce your zinc absorption by up to 50%. Be careful using high dosages of zinc (>50 mg elemental zinc) for more than 8 weeks or this may reduce your absorption of copper and iron. It’s probably best to use zinc supplements once every few days.
Magnesium – Magnesium is involved in many chemical reactions in the body. Magnesium blocks calcium channels, which helps reduce excess calcium in your body’s cells. Excess calcium in your cells may be related to a range of chronic diseases. Magnesium also has antimicrobial properties.
Look after yourself and stay healthy