Episode 9 of The Homemade Health Podcast – Supporting Your Immune System
Join Sydney & Lori as they dive into the topic of our immune systems. While everything discussed in the episode would benefit you should you encounter coronavirus, the focus of this episode is on building strong immune systems to fight anything that it might need to fight. We discuss factors that are hurting immune function. We get into foods, lifestyle choices and specific nutrients that can be utilized to build immune function. We also discuss concerns around antibiotics and fevers, and share our own personal immune struggles. 
HURTING IMMUNE FUNCTION
- Sugar
- Refined carbohydrates
- Affects mineral balance. how much Mg is needed to convert 1g of sugar to energy? – 54g
- Alters gut microbiota
- microbiota is necessary to induce regulatory mechanisms intended to keep both mucosal and systemic immunity in balance so that while we are tolerant of harmless bacteria we are still able to form adequate responses to pathogens.
- When these get altered, we may have an abnormal immune response and impairs function
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3448089/
- Stress
- The chemical reactions triggered by stressful situations result in an onslaught of stress hormones being pumped around the body. While these hormones are useful in acute situations, their ability to interfere with the immune system can result in inflammation, reduced white blood cells, and a higher susceptibility to infection and tissue damage.
- Cortisol is ordinarily anti-inflammatory and contains the immune response, but chronic elevations can lead to the immune system becoming “resistant,” an accumulation of stress hormones, and increased production of inflammatory cytokines that further compromise the immune response
- Lack of sleep
- Sleep improves T Cells
- Activation of T Cells improved with adequate sleep
- Low HCl
- Leaky Gut/Dysbiosis
- 70% of immune system in the gut
- Hidden food sensitivities
- Increased by leaky gut
- Hand sanitizer/antibacterial soap
- Hygiene and handwashing is very important though
- Antibiotic use in factory farming
- Certain medications & excessive use of antibiotics
- over/under exercising
- Alcohol
- Liver prioritizes
- We should talk about Live and Immune health here
- viruses/infections that you may not even realize you have
BUILDING IMMUNE FUNCTION
- Address the issues above to stop hurting immune function
- HCL -> sit to eat, chew properly, digestive enzymes, digestive enzymes, work with practitioner to address digestive dysfunction
- Bone broth
- Probiotics and fermented foods
- Vitamin C
- Cabbage, sauerkraut, citrus, strawberries, peppers
- Vitamin D
- Sunshine
- Seafood, salmon, sardines
- Cod-liver oil -> ½ to 1 teaspoon per day maintenance, increasing to 1 tsp 3x/day per Weston A Price foundation
- Other fat soluble vitamins – A, E, K
- Warning against toxicity
- Zinc
- Oysters, grass-fed beef, pumpkin seeds
- Garlic
- Antibacterial, antiviral, antifungal
- Sulfur compounds -> esp. Thiosulfinate compound allicin
- Has been used successfully in treating candida albicans overgrowth
- Ginger
- Anti Inflammatory
- Helps with GI distress, nausea
- Promotes sweating -> sweat contains potent germ fighting compound dermicidin which protects against bacteria like E. coli and Staphylococcus aureus, and fungi, including Candida albicans.
- Elderberry syrup
- All vegetables!
- Phytonutrients, antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, gut health
- That you aren’t sensitive to, because we are all bio-individuals 🙂
FEVER & FIGHTING SOMETHING AS A POSITIVE