Top 5 Supplements to Support Immune Health
On top of proper nutrition and exercise, supplementing with vitamins is a great way to strengthen our immune system and help us recover from dysfunction. Here is a quick list of my top five daily supplement and vitamin categories that I take to keep my immune system and overall health in check.
1. Probiotics keep your whole ecosystem happy.
Keeping our gut healthy keeps our immune system functioning properly. Seventy to 80% of the immune system is located in our gut, so it’s crucial that we care for it every day. I attend to this by adding probiotics into my routine: the bacteria which live in our gut to create a happy and healthy environment. When the bacteria gets out of whack from stress, poor diet, and lack of exercise, it’s no wonder that our health can deteriorate quickly.
Recommendations:
The most important factor for picking a probiotic is the bacteria population: in both diversity and amount of live bacteria. For the beginner/intermediate level, Align and Culturelle are top recommended brands due to bacterial count and diversification. Leaky gut or immune dysfunction may require a higher potency probiotic, such as visbiome.
Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) provided by probiotic company.
2. Omega-3s are firemen for “putting out” inflammation.
Inflammation is a naturally occurring process and can actually be useful in healing and repair. However, avoiding chronic inflammation seems to be key to fighting virtually all diseases and sickness. Our immune systems are often putting out inflammation “fires” all over our body with no problem. In many cases, digesting ANY food (including the good kinds) will cause a bit of inflammation/belly bloat. The key is controlling the amount of fires we are actively putting out. By supplementing our diets with omega-3 fatty acids, including EHA and DHA, we are providing our immune system support with a little anti-inflammatory flame retardant boost!
On top of supporting the immune system and fighting inflammation, Omega-3 fatty acids support cardiovascular health, weight management, and cognitive function of those with very mild Alzheimer’s 1.
Recommendations:
Omega-3’s come in a variety of natural food sources such as salmon, fish, walnuts, flaxseed, and chia seed, but when I’m looking for additional support these are the supplements I turn to: fermented cod liver oil Blue Ice Royal or liquid Cod Liver Oil.
RDA: 500-1000mg max is 3g.
3. Spicing it up with a turmeric (curcumin) and black pepper combo can increase absorption by 2000%, to help you fight inflammation.
What more needs to be said about controlling inflammation? Turmeric/curcumin may “help in the management of exercise-induced inflammation and muscle soreness, thus enhancing recovery and subsequent performance in active people. In addition, a relatively low dose can provide health benefits for people that do not have diagnosed health conditions.”2.
Recommendations:
Most brands that offer an increase in bioavailability due to black pepper, or you can do it yourself with raw turmeric powder.
Wheelthy tip/recipe: using turmeric in morning coffee along with ghee, mct oil is a great way to start your day with energy that lasts. Try professional surfer and health fantic, Laird Hamilton’s Turmeric Superfood Creamer.
4. Vitamin D/K2 & Vitamin C; because defense wins championships.
VITAMIN D/K2
We are only as good as our defense, and vitamin D supplementation provides the defensive boost your immune system needs. Vitamin D also supports healthy bones through calcium, which is why it’s so often paired with K2, which prevents calcium build up in our blood. In other words, Vitamin D supports bone, cardiovascular, and immune health through the absorption of calcium, while K2 makes sure that we do not overdose on calcium. The two work as a team to make sure we’re only getting the good side effects of added calcium.
Among those at risk for vitamin D deficiency are Black and Brown (melanated) people, those who spend excessive time indoors (hello, global shelter in place), the elderly, and those who feel sick, tired, fatigued and/or suffering from chronic depression. In addition, Vitamin D seems to provide benefits for those suffering from hair loss.
Recommendations:
Trusted brands include Nutrametrix and Thorne's liquid drops
RDA: 600-800IU Vitamin D; 90-120mcg K2.
Vitamin C
Another key defense move is Vitamin C supplementation to support the immune system, which is readily available from companies such as Emergen-C. Supplementation with Vitamin C has been shown to aid in immune function and prevent respiratory and systemic infections, while also reducing the risk of cancer and disease.
Recommendations:
RDA: 500-2000mg.
5. Zinc and Magnesium go to work when it comes fighting off stress.
Zinc and Magnesium benefits are not as frequently discussed in regards to maintaining proper immune health. Nonetheless, they are essential vitamins directly linked to the support of our immune system. On top of fighting inflammation and reducing stress, zinc and magnesium offer potential benefits for increase in energy and metabolism, improve sleep and recovery, and help battle depression. Zinc has been repeatedly shown to improve immune muscles recovery, increase energy, decrease stress and fight inflammation.
Recommendations:
ZMA pills are readily available, among my favorite brand to be taken once nightly before bed is Optimum Nutrition
RDA: Zinc 8-11mg/Magnesium 300-400mg.
Up for debate: CBD
CBD holds tons of potential for anti-inflammation in the gut and brain, but not enough evidence to back it up. The winningest drug of all time is placebo, and with CBD it is hard to tell what is hard science and what is placebo. Anecdotally, ( with no researcher hat on); it is hard to argue against CBD’s effectiveness. In one study CDB halted seizure episodes in its tract for 43% of patients who later saw a decrease in convulsive-seizure frequency with CBD, compared to 27% who saw similar benefits from with placebo 3
If you, like many of us, are struggling with health or experimenting with what works for you, then CBD is worth a try.
Bonus:
Try some Chlorophyll drops in your water to wash down your pills to provide extra anti-inflammatory and antioxidant benefits along with reducing bodily odors. Chlorophyll may also provide benefit in treating those with anemia.
Summary
Probiotics keep your whole ecosystem happy.
Omega-3s are firemen for “putting out” inflammation.
Additionally, spicing it up with turmeric (curcumin) and black pepper can increase absorption by 2000%, to help you fight inflammation.
Vitamin D/K2 & Vitamin C, because defense wins championships.
Finally, Zinc and Magnesium go to work when it comes to fighting off stress.
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