Don’t Accept Joint Pain As A Regular Part of Aging – InVite Health Podcast, Episode 220
Joint discomfort can be extremely painful and may feel like just another ailment you have to experience as you age. But that is not the case.
Tag: immune system
Restoring Your Aging Immune System, Part 2 – Invite Health Podcast, Episode 98
Here is what you can do to make your immune system stronger, including what supplements have been shown to help maintain overall health and wellness like specific Probiotic strains of beneficial bacteria.
Restoring Your Aging Immune System, Part 1 – Invite Health Podcast, Episode 98
Invite Health Podcast, Episode hosted by Jerry Hickey. Ph
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Our immune system becomes less competent with age. In fact, there is even a term for the aging of our immune system called immunosenescence. That’s how common it is! This makes a person more vulnerable to diseases and can make a common infection, such as the flu much more dangerous. Because the immune system is weaker and less responsive, vaccinations become less effective. This is because it is harder for an older immune system to make antibodies, which are generated against specific microbes so you have resistance.
You Make Fewer Immune Cells As You Age
With aging, we also make fewer immune cells. B-cells decrease in number and produce our antibodies, which gives us resistance and immunity against specific infections. T-cell also drop in number. They are complex cells and there are numerous types. T-cells are extremely important for fighting infections, helping to control the immune system and aiming it towards a specific infection. Also, once the infection is gone, T-cells help wind down the immune system response, which otherwise would cause out of control inflammation. Natural killer cells are also very important for fighting infections. They are still very plentiful with age but they become weaker in their ability to kill virus-infected cells or cancer cells. 
Your Body Becomes Inflamed As You Age
There is a secondary issue with our immune system. Age makes our bodies chronically inflamed, commonly referred to as inflammaging. We develop constant, chronic low-grade inflammation, which accelerates our rate of aging at the cellular level. Part of the reason for this is because we generate and absorb less antioxidants. This would normally be the antidote to free radicals generated during the inflammatory process. Free radicals cause inflammation. For example, Lutein is a very important antioxidant that has been shown to help with inflammation in our blood vessels, heart, brain and eyes. Another example is Zinc, as we absorb it less with age as well.
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5 Foods That Can Activate Your Immune System
Photo by Brooke Lark on Unsplash As the temperature gets colder, your immune system is in over drive. It is important to know what you can do to keep your immune system balanced and healthy in order to avoid getting sick. Here are eight foods …
A Healthy Immune System All Year Round
? by Savs on Unsplash It’s a common thought that we only need to pay attention to our immune system during the colder, drier months. The weather may be warmer during the Spring and Summer but just because cold and flu season is over, doesn’t …
How the Immune System Functions by Jerry Hickey, R. Ph
The purpose of the immune system is to keep infectious microbes such as dangerous bacteria, viruses, parasites and yeasts, out of the body, and to destroy any infectious microorganisms that do invade the body hopefully before they have time to cause infection and disease.
The immune system is made up of a complex and vital network of cells and organs that protect the body from infection. Specialized cells known as macrophages and neutrophils wrap around microbes engulfing them in a special chamber. The chamber then floods with acids dissolving the microbe. So when you are diagnosed with an infection and are under attack by a microbe the supplements in Table 1 improve the immune systems ability to contain these organisms.
Good immune system function is a balance between regulation and activity. At times, it may act inappropriately, identifying harmless substances such as a food or pollen as an invading microbe and this is the essence of an allergy. Another scenario is that the immune system may mount a persistent but mismanaged attack and this is what occurs in arthritic pain or in asthma; individuals with these conditions should choose from the correct nutrients in Table 2 to assist their therapy.
Table 1Supplements that Promote Immune System Function
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Table 2Supplements that Help Inhibit Haywire Immune System Activity
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Table 3Supplements that do not Directly Promote or Inhibit Immune Function but Have an Effect on Microbes
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It is a good idea to visit with one of our nutritionists at no cost to you and yours, or to contact us at [email protected] and a qualified nutritionist will assist you in making a correct choice of supplements important for helping to manage your particular condition or to address your health concerns.