Nutrition. Vitamins. You.
The mineral magnesium performs hundreds of functions within the body. It is important for sleep, bones, immunity and more. Recent studies have continued to look at the benefits of this mineral in the human body.
Have you been taking care of your immune system? There are important nutrients that the body needs to properly defend itself from invading cells. Learn about the factors that can help or harm the immune system.
immune system
Invite Health Podcast, Episode hosted by Jerry Hickey, Ph.
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Our immune system has many jobs. Right at the peak of all of those jobs is protecting you from the outside world. The immune system is designed so it can find and kill foreign invaders like bacteria and viruses. When it’s working well, your immune system is strong enough to prevent you from getting sick when you’re exposed to germs. But there are many factors that impact your body’s immunity.†
About 70% of your immune cells come in contact with your digestive tract, so the shape of your microbiome can impact the way your body defends itself. The microbiome refers to all of the organisms that live with us and use us as their home. Most of this is bacteria, but there is also yeast and viruses. These visitors outnumber us manyfold.†
The organisms in our microbiome certainly impact our health. For instance, when there’s an imbalance in bacteria on the scalp, you experience dandruff. You have to take care of the multitude of organisms that live in your intestines because they are the easiest to shape. This, in turn, will impact the bacteria on your skin, in your lungs, in your bloodstream and elsewhere.†
There are good strains of bacteria as well as bad strains. When there is an excess of bad strains, this can cause inflammation or infections. On the other hand, studies have found that good strains of probiotic bacteria can help promote good immune system function to help fight off viruses and colds, even in very elderly people. These good bacteria help contain the bad ones and calm the immune system, helping to fend off allergies, bacteria, viruses and other harmful cells. You can promote the health of your microbiome by following a good, nutrient-rich diet like the Mediterranean diet, eating some fermented foods and taking a probiotic supplement.†
THE BENEFITS OF PROBIOTICS FOR ALLERGIES – INVITE HEALTH PODCAST, EPISODE 124. Listen Now>>
Your sleep cycle is very important. You have an internal clock called the circadian rhythm. It is controlled by the hypothalamus, which is found in the back of the brain. Your sleep cycle can be thrown off if you go to bed at all different times, drinking alcohol and exercising too late at night.†
Sleep is important because it gives your immune system a chance to recharge. Then, in the morning, when you’re waking up, your immune system needs to be more active because you are often in public and around more people and possible contaminants. When your sleep cycle is inappropriate, the immune system gets muddled and it may become active at the wrong time, making it easier to catch bacteria or viruses.†
SLEEP IS SLEEP, RIGHT? WRONG! – INVITE HEALTH PODCAST, EPISODE 342. Listen Now>>
There are nutrients found in food that can help promote our body’s ability to defend itself. Curry, for instance, has turmeric, which is rich in alkylamines. Alkylamines look like the outside of the virus, so this helps to wake up and activate the immune system. Green tea is also beneficial because it contains polyphenols called catechins. These catechins are also alkylamines. Green tea can also help to weaken viruses and mobilize certain immune cells. Mushrooms are also beneficial as they contain ergothioneine, which is arguably the most powerful natural antioxidant known to science. They also have Vitamin D and beta 1,3 glucan that help adjust the immune system.†
In this episode, Jerry Hickey, Ph. explains multiple factors that impact the body’s ability to defend itself from invading bacteria, viruses and more. He details the importance of taking care of your digestive tract, getting good quality sleep and eating the right foods. Tune in tomorrow for part 2 of this podcast!†
Key Topics:
Thank you for tuning in to the Invite Health Podcast. You can find all of our episodes for free wherever you listen to podcasts or by visiting www.invitehealth.com/podcast. Make sure you subscribe and leave us a review! Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at Invite Health today. We’ll see you next time on another episode of the Invite Health Podcast.
Vitamin B6 Invite Health Podcast, Episode hosted by Amanda Williams, MPH Subscribe Today! B vitamins play a really important role when it comes to supporting energy levels, metabolism, heart health, brain health and so many more systems that are crucial for the everyday functions of …
Quercetin is a flavanol that has been studied for its influence on inflammation. This is especially important, as recent studies have been released discussing the link between inflammation and the immune system.
joint
Invite Health Podcast, Episode hosted by Amanda Williams, MPH.
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Roughly a quarter of the US population has arthritis. That may seem like an astronomical number, but what’s actually really more alarming is that it is doctor-diagnosed arthritis, so there are many more people who fall into the category of having arthritis who actually have not been diagnosed. Perhaps you get up in the morning and you have a stiff knee and you’re just kind of dealing with it. Maybe you’re going to your doctor, but that topic never comes up because you’re focused on something else. So that is just the number that we know of – about 25% – and we know that that is predominately of the osteoarthritis form. Then, we have rheumatoid arthritis as well.
It used to be the school of thought that rheumatoid arthritis was solely an autoimmune condition and osteoarthritis was the result of chronic wear and tear, and that, over time, we got this destruction that occurred within that joint space. Now that there’s so much more research out there, we actually recognize that osteoarthritis has this really strong immune system component to it. While it’s not as pronounced as the destructive nature of rheumatoid arthritis, we do have to recognize that the immune system is playing a role in triggering the symptoms of both osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.†
Beyond Joint Health: The Power of Curcumin and Boswellia – InVite Health Podcast, Episode 205. Listen Now >>
Today, I want to talk about a really unique nutrient that has been discovered by scientists that can be incredibly beneficial for those who are dealing with either form of arthritis, even for those who have not been technically diagnosed. We know that there are many folks out there who do not have doctor-diagnosed arthritis. Maybe it’s self-diagnosed, maybe you know that every morning when you get up, your joints feel stiff. Maybe if you do any type of physical activity, you notice that you have more swelling or pain within a particular joint. This is why I want to talk about this in some more significant detail and really talk about the science behind this key nutrient. I want to talk about a really unique approach to targeting joint discomfort and why this actually happens in the first place.†
The Link Between Collagen, Arthritis and The Immune System
We know that, throughout our lives, collagen production begins to diminish. By the time we are mid-50s or 60 years old, we’ve lost a good 50% of our Type I collagen. This is really quite critical because when we think about collagen in the body, this is the most abundant protein that we find. It is important not only for joint spaces, but when we think about our bones, hair, skin, and blood vessel lining. Collagen is found throughout the entire body. If we start to have rapid destruction of collagen that’s occurring in those joint spaces, then this can really start to rev up that immune system.†
This is what we’ve recognized in both rheumatoid arthritis as well as osteoarthritis, is that we have this wearing away of that collagen and then the immune system recognizes that as being foreign. In doing so, it starts to rev up and we get this really hyperactive immune system response, which drives up all of this inflammation and can lead to significant destruction within the joint spaces. We’ve always recognized that to be the case with rheumatoid arthritis, hence an autoimmune condition, but we always looked at osteoarthritis as just being wear and tear. We now realized that it has to do with the diminishing levels of the actual Type I collagen.†
How can we remedy these situations?
First and foremost, we want to think about Type I collagen. Taking a hydrolyzed Type I collagen can help restore the amount of collagen that has been lost throughout those decades. Making sure that we are taking a highly-absorbable form, one that the body recognizes, so that we can start to replenish that. Not only is that going to be beneficial for the joints, this is also beneficial when we think of all the other utilizations of collagen in the body, such as benefits for the hair, skin, and blood vessels. All around, taking hydrolyzed collagen is an excellent choice to help to replenish those lost stores.†
The Power of Glucosamine & Chondroitin For Joint Health Support – InVite Health Podcast, Episode 194. Listen Now >>
Let’s look at what we can do if we’re already experiencing that discomfort and immobility that can occur within the joints. Then we look at Type II collagen. Type II, in its undenatured state, offers immune system support. A high quality form of undenatured Collagen Type II has been studied and researched extensively at all these wonderful research universities. It is a registered trademarked form called UC-IIⓇ. This has been shown to be so incredibly effective across the spectrum, not just for targeting rheumatoid arthritis for that immune system control, but indeed, also joint health.†
Learn more about the impacts and background of collagen by tuning into the full podcast episode.
Thank you for tuning in to the Invite Health Podcast. You can find all of our episodes for free wherever you listen to podcasts or by visiting www.invitehealth.com/podcast. Make sure you subscribe and leave us a review! Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at Invite Health today. We’ll see you next time on another episode of the Invite Health Podcast.
