Nutrition. Vitamins. You.
Do you know which nutrients your body needs before and after you exercise? It can depend on the person. Learn about some important nutrients for energy production and muscle recovery from Amanda Williams, MPH.
You may have heard about Bell’s palsy, a type of facial paralysis that affects about 500,000 Americans annually, but do you know what causes it? Learn more from Amanda Williams, MPH.
bronchitis
InViteⓇ Health Podcast, Episode hosted by Amanda Williams, MPH
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With cold and flu season being right around the corner, that means it is time for acute bronchitis season to flare up as well. Today I want to talk about what acute bronchitis is and what you can be doing to support your respiratory system.†
Every single year, roughly 5% of the population deals with acute bronchitis. This can lead to over 10 million office visits at doctor’s appointments every single year. Like many viral diseases of the respiratory tract, acute bronchitis is commonly seen in the fall and winter months.†
Acute bronchitis is an acute inflammation that occurs in the respiratory bronchi. This triggers the secondary inflammatory response in the body. The inflammation in the bronchial walls leads to a mucosal thickening, which is incredibly problematic. If someone has acute bronchitis, they will present with this very productive cough and will often have a difficult time breathing. They may also experience wheezing. The predominant complaint is this thick mucus that you continue to cough up.†
When you’re dealing with bronchitis, you just want it to go away. We know that viral infections are the main driver to this. We can look at natural ways to allow your immune system to get a better grasp on the respiratory system and provide the body with an added layer of protection.†
We can look at things such as N-acetylcysteine (NAC). This is great because it helps to bolster up your natural glutathione production. It also helps to thin out the mucus in the respiratory bronchi and lungs that is thickened by the inflammatory system. Oftentimes when people have or are prone to acute bronchitis and they have this hacking cough for several weeks, NAC can do so much in terms of minimizing those yucky symptoms.†
Formulations such as the Immunity HxⓇ can also be beneficial to get much-needed Vitamin C, Vitamin D and zinc. We also have to look at things like black seed extract, which helps to ease inflammation throughout the respiratory system. It’s combined with rosemary extract and it really helps to offset some of the other allergen triggers, such as histamine. The addition of cordyceps mushrooms also helps to enhance our immune defenses. It’s a really great formulation combination for acute bronchitis.†
In this episode, Amanda Williams, MPH discusses acute bronchitis, what causes it and the symptoms commonly associated with it. She also provides recommendations for nutrients that can help fend off this inflammation within the respiratory system.†
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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.
As the cold weather of fall and winter approach, it’s important to know what factors can impact your immune health. Learn more from Jerry Hickey, Ph.
As the weather begins to get colder, there are factors that change that can impact our body’s ability to protect itself. It’s important to be aware of these changes and how they impact the way viruses spread during the fall and winter, as well as how this affects our overall immune health.
high blood pressure
InViteⓇ Health Podcast, Episode hosted by Jerry Hickey, Ph.
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Today, we’re going to discuss the interaction between commonly prescribed high blood pressure treating medications and your immune system. This is a very important, critical discussion we need to have because we’re heading into the fall and winter.†
High blood pressure can be very dangerous. In fact, it can be more dangerous than the drugs used to treat them, so I am not against these drugs at all. However, they can deplete important nutrients that are needed for your immune system. This doesn’t translate to dropping the drug. What it does mean is that you have to replete the nutrients. Frequently, you’re not going to get enough from your food and this is especially true for older people, who are the people who tend to have high blood pressure.†
One of the immune system’s major jobs is to fight off infections. Infections become much more dangerous in people who have poorly functioning immune systems. There are a number of nutrients that are key to good immune system function, such as Vitamin D. You need Vitamin D to create immune cells and to help protect us from infection and our own immune system. Vitamin C is also important for the immune system.†
Then there’s zinc, which is commonly depleted by high blood pressure medication. You need zinc to create immune cells and antibodies. Zinc also makes it hard for infections to attach to our tissues. Studies show that elderly people who are commonly low in zinc have a higher risk of infection, especially pneumonia.†
ZINC FOR IMMUNITY DURING THE CORONAVIRUS – INVITE HEALTH PODCAST, EPISODE 42. Listen Now>>
The last nutrient is melatonin, which is known as the nighttime hormone. You need this to sleep deeply and to get a long enough sleep to feel rested and refreshed. Melatonin is also needed to build bone and adjust your nighttime blood pressure. It has been recently found that immune cells can release melatonin to help kill infectious organisms.†
Here’s a study from July of this year looking at how common blood pressure drugs leave your immune cells weak against bacteria. It’s from the American Association for the Advancement of Science. In this study, the researchers looked at ACE inhibitors, which are very commonly prescribed drugs for high blood pressure and heart failure. Millions of people are prescribed ACE inhibitors. The problem with these drugs is that they can weaken the body’s ability to fight off infections. They also looked at ARBs.†
The researchers looked at ARBs versus ACE inhibitors in both people and mice. They found that giving ACE inhibitors to mice really affects the immune system. After giving these drugs to the mice, they tested their neutrophils to see if they could kill very serious bacteria like MRSA. The researchers found that the neutrophils were much weaker when the mice were on ACE inhibitors.†
In this episode, Jerry Hickey, Ph. explains how prescription drugs for high blood pressure may impact the immune system. He shares research on this issue and also provides recommendations of nutrients that you may need to help fill any drug-induced nutrient depletions.†
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.
