Developing a healthy immune system is an integral part of living a long and sustainable lifestyle. With the ongoing COVID-19 crisis creating an astronomical number of virus cases—it’s more pivotal than ever to keep your health and well-being in top form. Consuming vitamins and minerals along with following a balanced diet is a key aspect of health and nutrition.
If you’re trying to avoid disease and illness—taking proper supplementation along with diet and nutrition can be a tremendous way to safeguard your immune system against potential diseases.
Hi, I’m Sean Torbati. I’m an individual that believes in walking, talking, living, and breathing a healthy and sustainable lifestyle. This means exercising daily, following a nutritious diet, and providing my body with the supplements necessary to fuel my body into optimal shape.
Let’s take a look at some of the various supplements you can take to help maximize your health and well-being.
Vitamin C
It’s no surprise vitamin C is considered one of the best immunity boosting vitamins. Also known as L-ascorbic acid—vitamin C is a water soluble vitamin that naturally occurs in many foods.
Vitamin C provides several important functions including:
- Helping to protect cells while keeping them healthy
- Maintaining healthy skin, blood vessels, bones, and cartilage
- Healing wounds and injuries
Research has shown that vitamin C can increase blood antioxidant levels by up to 30% while fighting against inflammation. A study performed on 439 subjects found that daily supplementation of vitamin C helped to increase serum vitamin C concentration—helping to fight inflammation (1).
A secondary study found that vitamin C helped to encourage the production of white blood cells known as lymphocytes and phagocytes—helping to protect the body against infection (2). The immunity boosting benefits of vitamin C can help to improve quality of life while protecting against harmful diseases and illnesses.
Vitamin D3
Vitamin D3 is a fat-soluble vitamin that helps the body absorb calcium and phosphorus. Research has even suggested that vitamin D3 may be superior to traditional vitamin D supplementation.
Vitamin D3 is mainly extracted from animal sources such as fatty fish, fish oil, liver, and egg yolks. D3 is the vitamin produced by the skin when exposed to sunlight—many individuals refer to D3 as the sunshine vitamin.
D3 is often used to treat forms of hypoparathyroidism and vitamin D deficiencies. Vitamin D deficiencies are commonplace throughout the world as more than 50% of the global population suffers from deficiencies. Meta analyses dating back to 2007 show that vitamin D3 is strongly associated with significantly reduced mortality (3).
Supplementation of vitamin D3 has also been shown to reduce the risk of developing high blood pressure (4). Many people are unable to enjoy the benefits of regular sunlight leading to various forms of vitamin D deficiencies. For these individuals, supplementation of vitamin D3 is of the highest benefit.
Zinc
When many individuals first start experiencing symptoms of illnesses—zinc is often one of the first supplements they turn to. People first discovered zinc in 1961, now individuals are aware of the malnutrition problems related to zinc deficiencies worldwide. Lack of zinc can result in deficiencies in bodily functions related to gastrointestinal, central nervous, immune, skeletal, and reproductive system damage (5).
Zinc deficiencies have been shown to suppress immune function leading to impairment of macrophage and neutrophil functions while naturally killing cellular activity (6). Regular zinc supplementation is also beneficial for reducing the severity and duration of cold symptoms by inhibiting rhinovirus binding and replication in the nasal mucosa and suppressing inflammation.
Individuals should strive to retain adequate amounts of zinc supplementation to help prevent the occurrence of various diseases and illnesses.
Quercetin
Quercetin is known as a plant pigment and potent antioxidant flavonoid found in onions, grapes, berries, cherries, broccoli, and citrus fruits. As a versatile antioxidant—it’s known to possess protective abilities guarding against tissue injury induced by various drug toxicities (7).
Regular consumption of quercetin can help to provide beneficial effects on health including protection against various diseases such as osteoporosis, lung cancer, and cardiovascular disease.
Quercetin is also used to reduce oxidative stress—an important contributor to inflammation (8). It helps to downregulate the inflammatory response of bone marrow-derived macrophages in vitro. Combining quercetin with regular vitamin C supplementation can help individuals protect against various forms of illnesses and diseases.
Elderberry
Although it may sound like some type of fruit existing in folklore tales—elderberries contain the antioxidants needed to help relieve colds, fight against the flu, and boost the immune system. The compounds and substances have a beneficial impact on health and wellness.
One study found that elderberry provides many benefits related to treatment against influenza A and B virus infections. Research was performed on sixty patients between the ages of 18 and 54 suffering from flu-like symptoms. Patients taking elderberry supplementation were able to relieve symptoms four days earlier compared to other placebo groups (9).
A separate study looked at 32 people experiencing flu-like symptoms. The individuals consumed 175 mg of elderberry extract four times per day over the course of two days. After twenty-four hours a noticeable improvement was experienced in symptoms related to fever, headache, muscle aches, and nasal congestion (10).
Take Control of Your Immunity TODAY
Having full control of your immunity is more important today than ever before. In an age of uncertainty and question—proper supplementation is the first step towards preventing the occurrence of disease and illness.
Consumption of top immunity boosting ingredients such as vitamin C, vitamin D3, zinc, quercetin, and elderberry can help protect against immune deficiency and other related health problems.
If you would like to learn more about how you can safeguard your health against potential illness and disease, feel free to reach out to me for additional questions and support. I’m here to help you live a safe, healthy, and productive lifestyle.
Kindest regards,
Sean Torbati - PN Certified Nutritionist | EXOS Phase 3 Training Specialist
Co-Founder, Ambrosia Collective
References:
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12805247/
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25157026/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3356951/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18175747
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3724376/
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17726308/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5214562/
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/pharmacology-toxicology-and-pharmaceutical-science/quercetin
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15080016/
