The 5 Best Supplements To Boost Your Immune System

As the typical cold and flu season are fast approaching patients are once again asking how they can boost their immune system to ward off the typical virus invaders, and of course COVID-19. Boosting the immune system is really a misleading term. The immune system does not need to be boosted anymore than Shaquille O’Neal ever needed help reaching anything on the top shelf. The immune system becomes depressed when it is busy trying to overcome the effect that inflammation has on the body.

For example, I was in the grocery store the other day in the health food aisle when an elderly obese man who was buying cigarettes, soda, and ice cream asked me if I knew what vitamins would help with a cold. I pointed him in the right direction and simply suggested that he might want to wait on consuming his other purchases until after his cold had passed. While many of us understand the connection between age, obesity, bad foods and chronic health diseases, we may miss the connection to an impaired immune system.

This connection exists because of the production of cytokine proteins created by a pro-inflammatory diet. These cytokines are released in massive amounts during an immune challenge, called a cytokine storm, which greatly increases your chances of dying from an infection. Reducing your inflammatory markers, including C-reactive protein, can greatly improve your chances of defending your body against the next viral invader.

To accomplish this, regular dietary intake of refined foods should be replaced with whole foods. The most important being vegetables, as they are low in calories and they are nutrient dense. Coupling more vegetables with an increase in Omega-3 fats like those found in cold water fish, avocados, olive oil, almonds, walnuts, and flax seeds can dramatically decrease inflammation.

Supplements can aid in this battle and are most effective when an anti-inflammatory diet is practiced at the same time. Below are the 5 most effective supplements to help aid your immune system.

Vitamin D

Vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) is the only version of Vitamin D that is readily absorbable as a supplement. Your body can make vitamin D when exposed to sunlight. You can ingest Vitamin D when you eat/drink milk, fish, fish oils, and egg yolks. Vitamin D deficiency is widely common and can cause many biological problems including a decrease in bone density (Rickets), cardiovascular disease, cognitive impairment, severe asthma in children, and cancer. Vitamin D may help conditions such as diabetes (types I and II), hypertension, glucose intolerance, and multiple sclerosis. Vitamin D deficiency can be created by limited sun exposure and overuse of suntan lotions, reduction in dietary Vitamin D intake, dark skin, living in the North, age related kidney dysfunction, digestive disorders, and obesity. Most common months for Vitamin D deficiencies are October-April.

It is no coincidence that this is the same time of the year that we suffer with colds and the flu the most. Even COVID appears to have a link with low vitamin D levels. Whether you are struggling with a current illness or trying to prevent the next one, make sure that your vitamin D levels stay optimal during the low daylight months.

Vitamin C and Zinc

Vitamin C is a well-known antioxidant nutrient. Vitamin C supports the immune system and is involved in tissue growth and repair due to its role in the formation of collagen, the body’s main structural protein. It can be helpful to repair the delicate tissues that line the nose and throat, the most common entry point for viral invaders.

Zinc is a mineral co-factor in hundreds of enzymatic reactions related to protein and carbohydrate metabolism, RNA/DNA synthesis and intercellular signaling. Zinc is essential to the normal function of many organs and systems within the body; supporting healthy immune, skeletal, neurological, and endocrine functions as well as a healthy prostate. Zinc is one of the many supplements used to combat upper respiratory diseases and has been linked to reducing COVID symptoms.

Dietary bioavailability of zinc is relatively poor, so Zinc Glycinate is chelated to improve absorption and bioavailability.

Elderberry Syrup

Elderberry is a fruit grown from the elder tree that has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties making it a powerhouse when it comes to fighting colds. Studies have shown taking elderberry syrup can shorten colds and flus and also relieve sinus infections. Our homemade elderberry syrup is available for purchase in our office or you can take the time to make it yourself. Take 1 tablespoon every waking hour.

Olive Leaf Extract

Used for centuries to disrupt the replication process of foreign bacteria and viruses, Olive Leaf Extract has been shown to effectively work against more than 50 disease-causing organisms, including Candida albicans and E. coli. Unlike regular antibiotics that cause antibiotic resistance, Olive Leaf Extract is safe and effective for long-term use and multiple acute episodes.

I have recommended Olive Leaf to many grandparents on their way to spend time with the little grandkids. The resulting decrease of those grandparents returning home sick has been impressive. Take 3-4 capsules 2 times a day while you are traveling and for 3 days after your return home or anytime that you are feeling under the weather. If you are feeling well, discontinue and keep the rest of the bottle for the next time. Olive leaf extract also comes in a nasal and throat spray as well as a convenient liquid for children and those who can not swallow a capsule.

NAC

Because NAC boosts the body’s levels of GSH (Glutathione, an antioxidant), it helps fight most viruses, including the influenza virus. GSH is vital for optimal T and B-lymphocyte function. NAC is mucolytic, which means that it breaks up heavy and sticky mucus that can build up in conditions such as sinusitis, asthma, bronchitis, pneumonia, and cystic fibrosis. NAC is therefore indispensable in any condition that involves excessive mucus.