Nutrition. Vitamins. You.
Recent research has shown that there may be certain nutrients that can benefit people who are fighting cancer. Jerry Hickey discusses these new studies in this episode of the InVite Health Podcast.
Chronic inflammation can wreak havoc on the body, so what can you do to help? Turn to powerful nutrients such as Vitamin D, resveratrol and more to help with inflammaging.
COVID-19
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Please see below for a complete transcript of this episode.
Hosted by Jerry Hickey, Ph.
*Intro music*
InVite Health Podcast Intro: Welcome to the InViteⓇ Health Podcast, where our degreed healthcare professionals are excited to offer you the most important health and wellness information you need to make informed choices about your health. You can learn more about the products discussed in each of these episodes and all that InViteⓇ Health has to offer at www.invitehealth.com/podcast. First time customers can use promo code PODCAST at checkout for an additional 15% off your first purchase. Let’s get started!
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Jerry Hickey, Ph.:
[00:00:40] There is an indisputable relationship between Vitamin D and our immune system. Lacking Vitamin D, such as on a blood test, increases the risk of severe infection, but also increases your risk of having an autoimmune disease where your own immune system is attacking your body, which is a very dangerous situation. And now Vitamin D strengthens a number of immune cells. It’s involved with controlling these cells also. For instance, converting monocytes to macrophages. Very important. These are part of the uneducated part of the immune system that will attack any foreign invader. Monocytes travel to a site and develop into these very big cells. They’re called phagocytic cells called macrophages. Phagocytic means they literally consume and digest bacteria and viruses. But you get these type of cells, for instance, in your liver to clean out your blood because your blood goes, gets filtered through your liver. So Vitamin D is needed for macrophage functions. Neutrophils, they’re dominant white blood cells, they’re not educated. They attack whatever they’re pointed at. Dendritic cells, they kind of connect the entire immune system. T lymphocytes. That’s really important. T lymphocytes are involved with the formation of antibodies. T cells have a memory for particular infections. For instance, if you had COVID-19 three years ago, if somebody sneezed on you or coughed on you with COVID-19 today, you’d have some memory T cells, which would very quickly alert the immune system and have it create new antibodies. Antibodies fit COVID-19 or any infection like a glove fitting perfectly on a hand. T cells go in and shred infections and cancer cells, but T cells also control the immune system. So Vitamin D is involved with all of these cells and B cells. B cells are where a lot of your antibodies are created on B cells.† [00:02:50]
[00:02:52] Now, Vitamin D also raises anti-inflammatory cytokines and reduces the level of inflammatory cytokines. That really came to light with COVID-19. The SARS-CoV-2 virus causes COVID-19. That’s the name of the infection, not the name of the virus. And up front, back in 2020, many people were developing acute respiratory distress syndrome. The virus would invade their lungs and trigger inflammation. There would be backlash from our immune system, and our immune system would fill the lungs with inflammatory cytokines like interleukin six and interleukin four, and this was destroying people’s lungs. This was a major cause of death up front, early on in people with COVID-19. So Vitamin D raises anti-inflammatory cytokines to protect tissues like the brain and the lungs and the heart and the kidneys, etc., such as interleukin 10, and lowers the level of inflammatory, dangerous cytokines so they don’t destroy us. Because our immune system is such a powerful army, it could literally destroy us very quickly. So you need this control.† [00:04:05]
[00:04:06] Vitamin D… This is very important. It can actually be activated by our own immune cells. There’s receptor sites for Vitamin D on almost all of our immune cells. That just shows how important Vitamin D is for the immune system that all of the immune cells practically require Vitamin D activity. But Vitamin D can also be activated by immune cells, which is very interesting. At one time, we thought only the kidneys could activate Vitamin D. Now we know there’s other tissues in the human body that can activate Vitamin D, so this really hits the ball out of the ballpark in the last inning of the World Series, a super homerun. In fact, the grand slam, showing how important Vitamin D is for the immune system.† [00:04:54]
[00:04:55] Also, it’s involved with preventing acute respiratory distress syndrome. Acute respiratory distress syndrome is when the lung gets so inflamed that it’s filling with fluid and you can’t breathe. These are the people that early on were put on oxygen and they were put into intensive care units, they were put on oxygen and ventilators and the ventilators were blowing out their lungs because the SARS-CoV-2 inflamed and damaged the lungs so much that when they put the pressure of the ventilator on the lungs, it just finished off destroying the lungs.† [00:05:25]
[00:05:27] So this is… There’s a lot of new data on Vitamin D and COVID-19. So welcome to my episode, An Update on Vitamin D and COVID-19. Hi, my name is Jerry Hickey. I’m a nutritional pharmacist. I’m also the Senior Scientific Officer over here at InViteⓇ Health. You can find all of our episodes for free wherever you listen to podcast episodes, or you could just visit invitehealth.com/podcast. You can also follow us on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook @invitehealth. And all of the information on today’s episode is linked at the episode description.† [00:06:00]
[00:06:01] So I want to get into these studies. They’re very interesting. This was recently published information from IU International University of Applied Sciences. It’s published in the journal Nutrients. They’re in Germany. The IU International University of Applied Sciences is in Germany, and they used computers, artificial intelligence to find data on COVID-19 and Vitamin D related to mortality. And here’s what they found… That there was a strong correlation between the severity of a COVID-19 infection and the level of Vitamin D in your blood, the level of Vitamin D in your blood. This was based on one huge population study and seven clinical studies. Increased levels of Vitamin D3 seem to strongly, powerfully reduce the risk of mortality from COVID-19. And when they did the algorithm, that’s a mathematical model, hypothetically, if you got your blood level of Vitamin D above 50, there should be no mortality. So the higher the level of Vitamin D in your blood up to 50, over 50 there was no additional benefit, the lower your risk of severe infection, such as winding up in the intensive care unit of a hospital on oxygen, etc. and the lower your risk of dying. So they said that they’re recommending, these researchers, getting your blood level of Vitamin D above 50 to prevent and also to treat outbreaks of SARS-CoV-2, you know, COVID-19, but also to prevent the emergence of new variants.† [00:08:05]
[00:08:08] Now this is the Epidemiology Center, Durham VA Health Care Center. So they’re quantifying, they’re collating all this research and intelligence. They were working with the University of Iowa College of Pharmacy, Harvard Medical School, Duke University, Duke Cancer Institute and Signify Health in Dallas. They published their findings in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. Cool journal. They’re looking at over 26,000 American veterans, 26,508 American veterans who were diagnosed positive for SARS-CoV-2, so COVID-19. Giving them high doses of Vitamin D cut their risk of dying from COVID-19. The higher the dosage, to a point, the lower their risk of dying in the hospital.† [00:09:03]
[00:09:06] Now they’re giving people with COVID-19 that’s infecting their lungs, etc., corticosteroids such as hydrocortisone, which could be called hydro cortef or prednisone or medrol dose pack. And they found that compared to patients on corticosteroids, giving patients Vitamin D, high doses, cut their risk of dying by 70%. That’s compared to corticosteroids. That’s not saying corticosteroids weren’t saving people. It’s just Vitamin D was more effective. And they found that in hospitalized patients, adding Vitamin D to a corticosteroid such as prednisone or medrol or hydrocortisone further cut the risk of dying by 49%. That’s actually quite amazing. Get on your Vitamin D. My blood level of Vitamin D currently is about 49, so that’s perfect. I mean, 49, 50, not really any difference.† [00:10:08]
STEROID DRUGS DEPLETE THESE NUTRIENTS, PART 1 – INVITE HEALTH PODCAST, EPISODE 471. Listen Now>>
[00:10:09] So this is the Journal of General Internal Medicine. It’s the San Francisco Veterans Affairs Health Care System, the Department of Medicine and Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco, the Colorado School of Public Health in Aurora, Colorado, and various VA health care centers. It’s published right now, January 2020. So it’s a very, very recent. All of this data is very, very current, very, very recent data. These are patients and the Veterans Administration health care system. They’re in the facilities. They have severe acute respiratory distress syndrome COVID-19. These people are in trouble. It’s hurting their lungs. They then tested their blood for their Vitamin D level, and they followed them for up to two months because not all of them made it to the two month point. Giving the patients Vitamin D… There was a dose response, a strong correlation. So what does that mean? That means giving a little was helpful, giving more was even more helpful and giving a lot was even better. The higher the dose of Vitamin D, the lower the risk of being hospitalized with COVID-19 and the lower the risk of dying from COVID-19. In fact, it cut the risk of dying from COVID-19 basically by 50%.† [00:11:32]
[00:11:37] So Vitamin D is safe, it’s not expensive. I don’t know why the government and all these healthcare agencies are not telling the general public to take some Vitamin D right now. They’re probably worried that people’ll overdo it because people have a tendency to do that. I would, I would get a hold of about 3000 units of Vitamin D3. Now, the research shows that Vitamin D3 is superior to Vitamin D2 for humans. It lasts in our body longer. It works better. It’s more effective. I would get about 3000 units of Vitamin D3, and for the first three days or so, I’d take about 9000 units. I’d take about three tablets or capsules, whatever it might be in, a day with food for about three days, and then I’d cut it down to 3000 units every day with food, because the research shows that taking Vitamin D every day is much more effective than getting one huge dosage once a week or once a month. So take the Vitamin D3 3000 units daily. Get your blood tested. A blood level between like 45 and 75 is beautiful. You don’t need higher than 75.† [00:12:56]
[00:12:59] So I want to thank you for listening to the InViteⓇ Health Podcast today. You can find all of our episodes for free wherever you listen to podcasts or just go to invitehealth.com/podcast. Please leave us a review and please subscribe. I guess if you liked us, you’ll subscribe. In any event, you can also follow us on Twitter, Instagram and other social media platforms @invitehealth. Hope to see you next time in another episode of InViteⓇ Health Podcast. Thank you so much for listening! Jerry Hickey signing off.† [00:12:59]
*Exit music*
With flu season upon us, Senior Scientific Officer Jerry Hickey, Ph. revisits the topic of green tea’s benefits for our immunity. Tune in to hear him discuss the powerful constituents in green tea, as well as their abilities to help protect the body from infections such as COVID-19.
Gabapentin is a drug that is commonly prescribed for nerve pain, but this medication may cause you to lose important nutrients that are necessary for the health of your brain, heart and more.
immune system
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Please see below for a complete transcript of this episode.
Hosted by Amanda Williams, MPH
*Intro music*
InVite Health Podcast Intro: Welcome to the InViteⓇ Health Podcast, where our degreed healthcare professionals are excited to offer you the most important health and wellness information you need to make informed choices about your health. You can learn more about the products discussed in each of these episodes and all that InViteⓇ Health has to offer at www.invitehealth.com/podcast. First time customers can use promo code PODCAST at checkout for an additional 15% off your first purchase. Let’s get started!
*Intro music*
Amanda Williams, MPH:
[00:00:40] So now we come to part four of the immune system, and this is all about the different nutrients that you can be looking at incorporating into a daily routine when it comes to bolstering up your immune defenses. So I’m Amanda Williams, MD, MPH and when it comes to immunodeficiencies, the most common… This is interesting. The most common immunodeficiency in the world is malnutrition. So we know that if we are not getting the appropriate macronutrients, micronutrients, fatty acids, this can suppress our immune system. So we know that we need to make sure that we have adequate exposure to good, healthy foods. So the adherence to the Mediterranean Diet has been shown to be the most supportive to the immune system. We know that taking a comprehensive multivitamin, multimineral formulation also helps to cover the gaps that perhaps your diet is not providing. So taking in additional nutrients is the key to trying to avoid that steady slowdown of the immune system from immunosenescence.† [00:02:04]
[00:02:06] So looking at all of the different vitamins and minerals and the, the role that they play when it comes to both the innate and the adaptive immune system is critical to understanding this. Like I had mentioned in episode one, a lot of focus is usually put on Vitamin C, Vitamin D and zinc. We know that when it comes to micronutrient deficiencies, this is a big problem. In this country, we know that when it comes to Vitamin E, it is estimated that over 90% of the US population does not get adequate Vitamin E. We know that the number is between 50 and 75% of the US population does not get adequate magnesium. Over 40% when it comes to Vitamin A. It’s only about 30%, which is still incredibly high, but when we look at Vitamin C and we look at our B-vitamins and we’re looking at, you know, a good 15% of the population. Zinc insufficiency is quite common in this country.† [00:03:14]
[00:03:15] So we’re not talking about actual deficiencies, but we’re talking about inadequate exposure, which is why just that multivitamin, multimineral, the Core Multivitamin, for example, would be a very good place to start. I talked about the essential way in which Vitamin A helps when we think about our adaptive immune response. We know that when it comes to T-cell mediated immune system response, Vitamin A is critical to this. Of course, we know how Vitamin D is playing a role. We know that Vitamin D is really important when we think about the way that the immune cells proliferate. We know that those who have autoimmune conditions, which I talked about autoimmunity in episode three, that there is a strong correlation between Vitamin D deficiency or significant insufficiency and multiple autoimmune conditions, things like multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis. Those folks usually have low serum Vitamin D levels. They’ve looked at this in type one diabetics, generally have very low levels of Vitamin D. And we know that Vitamin C, certainly critical when it comes to the immune system response. And knowing now that a good 30% of the US population doesn’t get adequate exposure to Vitamin C from their diet alone.† [00:04:54]
[00:04:56] Now the really interesting one is Vitamin E because many times we don’t think about Vitamin E in that aspect of immune system. If we have 90% of the US population doesn’t get adequate Vitamin E, then that’s a big problem because we know that Vitamin E deficiency impacts both the innate and the adaptive immune system response. Seeing these things, seeing this, especially in the setting of hypersensitivity autoimmune conditions, you can definitely see that Vitamin E plays a role into this. There’s been studies showing Vitamin E supplementation can be beneficial when it comes to respiratory tract infections. Most people would never think about Vitamin E when you think about lung health.† [00:05:46]
[00:05:47] Then you get into your B-vitamins and we know that we have to have those B-vitamins for so many different biological functions in the body, but when we think about the way that the B-vitamins are playing an integral role for an optimal immune system is very important. We know that when you look at things like elevated homocysteine in the setting of cardiovascular disease, that B-vitamin insufficiency can be a driving force to that, low levels of B6, B12, folate. Certainly, there have been multiple trials that have indicated that folate deficiency is implicated in impaired immune responses in the body. Same thing with B12.† [00:06:33]
[00:06:36] Obviously, zinc is kind of that mainstay of the immune system when people think about different minerals and we know that zinc deficiencies certainly suppress immune function. We see that common link between zinc insufficiency or deficiency and thyroid autoimmune conditions. If you have low zinc, low iron, for example, this can exacerbate an autoimmune thyroid problem, Hashimoto’s, and many people would never think of zinc or magnesium or iron when they’re thinking about their thyroid.† [00:07:15]
[00:07:17] So we know that the vitamins and minerals are certainly integral. We cannot overstate the importance of those essential fatty acids, your omega-3 fatty acids, when it comes to being able to ease inflammation. Study after study continue to show that when we have adequate amounts of omega-3 fatty acids, this can help to regulate the immune system response and the inflammatory response, which is why so many people who have autoimmune conditions should be taking fish oil or krill oil. You see this in people who have rheumatoid arthritis, they start to take in higher intake of omega-3 fatty acids, and they start to feel better. We can see all of the different ways in which the foods that we eat can either help us or hurt us. And this is why I always default back to the Mediterranean Diet because this is high in omega-3 concentration. This is high in powerful antioxidants that are coming from your foods, from fruits and vegetables. They have natural probiotics that we know help to create stability within our microbiome. And we know that 70% of that immune system is located within the intestines. The probiotics have been shown, when you’re taking supplementation of probiotic… Good quality probiotic, that definitely makes a difference. It has to be multi strained, like the Probiotic HxⓇ. But this has a benefit to both the innate and the adaptive immune response. They did a study back in 2013 where they looked at 23 different randomized controlled trials showing that probiotics actually reduce the risk of things like Clostridium infections. Now, Clostridium infections oftentimes are brought on by people being on an antibiotic, so you’re on an antibiotic for your sinus infection and the next thing you know, it creates a dysbiosis of your gut bacteria. Your good gut bacteria gets wiped out and Clostridium can begin to run rampant. So with incorporating good, healthy probiotics, those good, healthy bacteria, putting them back into the system so they can recolonize is definitely very beneficial. Seeing the studies in inflammatory bowel conditions such as the autoimmune ones, Crohn’s, ulcerative colitis, we know all of these different aspects.† [00:10:01]
[00:10:02] We can look at mushroom extract, understanding how the mushroom extract is working on a couple of different fronts. The support of the cell-mediated response, but also when we think about that adaptive immune response as well. We can look at nucleotides, the actual nucleic acids that give the message to the cell, to that immune cell, as to what to do. So the Nucleotide Complex is an excellent choice when it comes to the support within those immune cells, those rapidly dividing immune cells. There are many different nutrients that have been studied and shown to have powerful impacts on our immune system.† [00:10:50]
[00:10:51] Green tea, the EGCG, across the board has been studied in the setting of viruses, bacterias, fungus and we can see how those powerful catechins do so much when it comes to the way that the body is reacting to that overstimulation. So there’s a lot of different nutrients that sit outside of just the macro and micronutrients, those vitamins and minerals. Looking at the mushroom extract, looking at the Nucleotide Complex, looking at EGCG coming from green tea and white tea. So our tinctures are really excellent options.† [00:11:34]
[00:11:36] There are things like colostrum when we think about that passive immunity once again. Remember, we talked about passive immunity and how that is passed on from the mother to the child. We think about the immunoglobulins that are derived from breast milk, for example, and this is why colostrum is incredibly supportive when it comes to the immune system. There are many ways for us to boost up our immune system. We can look at how antioxidants can play a role in strengthening the immune system because it helps to take care of those free radicals and those reactive oxygen species that can do damage at that cellular level and create dysfunction and drive up more systemic inflammation. So utilizing products like the Purples HxⓇ, the Reds HxⓇ, the Greens HxⓇ are all excellent ways that help to enhance once again our immune system. We have the Immunity HxⓇ, for example. We have the True Immunity, Olive Leaf Extract. You know, garlic extract certainly is very beneficial when it comes to enhancing the immune system.† [00:12:55]
THE MANY HEALTH BENEFITS OF OLIVE LEAF EXTRACT – INVITE HEALTH PODCAST, EPISODE 416. Listen Now>>
[00:12:55] And remember, these different nutrients are working on multiple different levels. Not only is it through the power of the antioxidants that they are yielding, but it’s also through the downregulation of inflammation. And remember, we know that inflammation is brought on because of the immune system, and it’s that chronic inflammation that creates all of the problems when we look at every single chronic disease out there. We can go a step further and we can look at DHEA supplementation for the support of the immune system. We know that DHEA, that very important adrenal steroid hormone, begins to diminish as we get older and low levels of DHEA have been directly correlated once again with the manifestation of many autoimmune conditions. You can see this in the setting of MS, multiple sclerosis. Generally speaking, people who have multiple sclerosis will have low serum Vitamin D levels and low serum DHEA sulfate levels. And unfortunately, they usually are never looking at that. They just put them on immunosuppressant medication.† [00:14:09]
[00:14:11] So between the hormonal approach between the vitamin and mineral approach between the probiotics and the omega-3 fatty acids and all of those wonderful plant-based and herbal-based extracts, there are many ways for us to enhance our immune system. And it’s something that we have an awful lot of control over, and we shouldn’t take it for granted. I always mention, don’t take your immune system for granted because we know that immunosenescence is going to occur. We know that the immune system is going to get weaker as we get older. We know that our diet can drive or accelerate that process of a weakened immune system. We know that lack of exercise can drive or accelerate the weakening of the immune system. So we want to make sure that we take the appropriate steps in terms of those lifestyle modifications to enhance our body’s ability to fend off any little pathogen that comes our way so we can have an adequate immune system response to maintain our health throughout our aging process. So definitely check out all of our immune system formulations and reach out to one of our healthcare experts. They are there to help you help yourself, and they can certainly get you on the right routine when it comes to enhancing your immune defenses.† [00:15:47]
[00:15:48] So I want to thank you so much for tuning in to the InViteⓇ Health Podcast. Remember, you can find all of our episodes for free wherever you listen to podcasts or by visiting invitehealth.com/podcast. Now, do make sure that you subscribe and you leave us a review. You can follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and we will see you next time for another episode of the InViteⓇ Health Podcast. [00:15:48]
