Immune System Archives - Dan Hammer Health LTD

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3 Key Vitamins for the Immune System

Posted by Dan Hammer //

08/31/2020

There are 3 key vitamins for the immune system that everyone should know about. And be supplementing with. They are:

Vitamin D

Vitamin C

Vitamin B

I’ve listed them in what I believe are their importance. Not to your general health. But to improve the function of your immune system. In today’s blog post I’ll provide you with additional information on why these 3 key vitamins for the immune system are so important.

Let’s start with Vitamin D.

According to the National Institutes of Health from their article titled “Vitamin D and the Immune System” they state the following:

“Vitamin D can modulate the innate and adaptive immune responses. Deficiency in vitamin D is associated with increased autoimmunity as well as an increased susceptibility to infection.”

In my article “Understanding Your Immune System” I cover both the Innate and Adaptive components of the immune system. Here’s a link to this article.

https://www.danhammerhealth.com/understanding-your-immune-system/

In looking over the information from the National Institutes of Health, the critical role that vitamin D plays is in the communication process of the immune system.

When to turn it on and off. As well as which of the immune cells of the Innate and Adaptive systems would best serve the direct needs of your body.

Thus helping to make sure that your immune system doesn’t overreact. As well as making sure that it properly recognizes pathogens so that your body can respond.

A good example of this is how proper levels of vitamin D in the bloodstream help to prevent respiratory infections. This makes proper vitamin D levels extremely important during cold and flu seasons.

And with the CoVid19 pandemic there is new research showing how normal vitamin D levels help to prevent catching this disease. Read More →

Understanding Your Immune System

Posted by Dan Hammer //

08/15/2020

Understanding your immune system will help you take the needed steps to strengthen its ability to protect you from disease causing pathogens, like harmful viruses, bacteria, and mutated cells that can lead to cancer.

While your immune system is extremely complex, and involves multiple organ systems, it overall function is pretty simple. It’s designed to protect you from infection and “unhealthy cells.”

Unhealthy cells are cells that have been damaged in some way. They can be inflated by microbes such as viruses and bacteria. Or by DNA damage leading to precancerous and then cancer cells.

And while the mission of your immune system is to protect you from illness, the deployment of your immune system is like a military operation. This involves numerous cell types that either circulate throughout your body. Or reside in specific areas as an early warning defense system.

What is key to this whole operation is communication.

Like in a real war, the first places that are targeted for destruction are the communication operations. If these areas are destroyed or damaged, then the enemy (in this case the pathogen) increases its ability to cause cellular destruction.

To help you in understanding your immune system let’s first start with the various bases of operation.

Bone Marrow: Your immune system starts in the bone marrow from stem cells that then develop into mature immune cells. This conversation can take place in the bone marrow. As well as other key locations throughout the body.

These stem cells will go down one of two pathways.

Pathway One is the myeloid lineage which fuels the innate immune system. This branch of the immune system is for general protection against common pathogens. And through this branch or pathway we get the following immune cells:

Basophils
Mast Cells
Eosinophils
Neutophils
Monocytes
Macrophages
Dendritic Cells

These cells are considered “the first responders” to infection.

Pathway Two is the lymphoid lineage while fuels the adaptive immune system. This branch of the immune system develops throughout our lives. As we are exposed to specific harmful viruses and bacteria, your immune system will develop specific cells that are designed to destroy these invaders.

This branch of your immune system gives rise to: Read More →

Zinc Benefits Your Immune System

Posted by Dan Hammer //

03/08/2020

The reason why I titled this article zinc benefits your immune system is because this trace mineral is absolutely essential to a healthy immune system.

Currently our world is going through a major health scare due to COVID-19, which is a coronavirus. This is a new strain that seems to have originated out of China.

Now it’s important to note a couple of things before we get back to how zinc benefits your immune system.

Item #1 – Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that include the common cold. Some of these viruses are extremely deadly like the MERS-Cov and SARS-CoV. At least initially because people have not build up an immunity to them. This is why COVID-19 has had such an effect on the health of people. It’s a new strain that the human body is not used to, and doesn’t have an immunity to it. Which leads to the next item.

Item #2 – COVID-19 has been deadliest to older adults who have a compromised immune system. This is not to say that those with a good immune system will not get sick. But those who are younger, and have a more vibrant and active immune system, usually respond well to treatment.

So what does this have to do with how zinc benefits your immune system?

Well, as people age they suffer what is called “micronutrient malnutrition.” Micronutrient malnutrition is when a person lacks essential vitamins and trace minerals. This situation is common in older adults because they tend to eat less. And they have less variety in their diet.

Add to this the fact that today’s food supply is sorely lacing in trace minerals, and you can understand why the immune system of older adults are compromised.

A good example of this is a 2007 study of adults aged 55 to 87 who had lower plasma zinc levels when compared to younger adults. These older adults also had higher oxidative stress and inflammatory markers. This group of older adults were split so that half took a zinc supplement and the other half took a placebo.

After 12 months they were retested. The zinc group had a significantly lower rate of respiratory infections. And their markers for inflammation and oxidative stress were also lower.

More recently, a 2017 study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition demonstrated how zinc benefits your immune system. In this study they gave zinc-deficient nursing home residents either a zinc supplement or a placebo. After three months, the zinc group had an increase in their T cell numbers as well as an increase in their serum zinc.

Zinc Benefits Your Immune System – The Basics Read More →

Immune System Power Foods

Posted by Dan Hammer //

10/22/2016

If you Google the term Immune System Power Foods you’ll find hundreds of articles and suggestions on which foods to eat to boost your immune system. As well as which foods compromise your immune system. As the picture to the right clearly show you have a daily choice, which affects your health and the health of your children.

And, as I write today’s blog post two items are in full play:

Children Have Returned To School

The Flu Season Is Almost On Us

My wife is a teacher and already students and teachers are sick. And it’s only going to get worse. Unless you take steps to incorporate immune system power foods into your daily diet.

Noticed I said “Daily Diet!”

If you want to boost your immune system, then you need to make a conscious effort to eat foods everyday that are going to optimize your immune system.

To help you in this process I’ve compiled the following table of immune system power foods recommended by 5 key authorities in this area. Once you’ve looked over this list, then I’ll give you my suggested 7 immune system power foods.