I hope you’re staying home and staying safe during this time.  I’ve been getting a lot of questions about what we can do to help make our immune system stronger and more resilient, so I wanted to share some thoughts on that with you today.

Just to be clear, the purpose of this article is to share some ideas on how we can keep our immune system healthier and more sharp to prevent colds, flus, and more.  This article is not intended to treat COVID-19 (coronavirus).  If you have symptoms of COVID-19, please contact Telehealth Ontario at 1-866-797-0000.

We all must do our part to practice social distancing, coughing into our arm/sleeve, washing our hands, etc.  These are all the best practices for making sure that we minimize our risk of coming into contact with bacteria, viruses, and other microbes.  While we’re at it – are there any ways that we can make our immune system more resilient to microbial infections?  And can we do anything to decrease the duration or severity of symptoms?

Our immune system is like a team consisting of many different players.  Each player has it own job or role, but they work together to achieve the team’s overall goal.  Some of the most important players (cells) on our team (immune system) that target viruses are:

  • Lymphocytes
  • NK (natural killer) cells 
  • Anti-viral macrophages

These immune cells recognize and destroy cells that have been taken over by a virus.  The following tips are aimed at enhancing the quantity and functioning of these important immune cells.

Get a good night’s sleep:
Sleep is the most important way to help your immune system.  Sleep is a critical time for our immune system to recharge and it works the hardest at this time.  More than ever, aim for a very good quantity (ideally 8 hours) and quality of sleep.  I know this is very challenging, given the heightened level of stress that everyone is under, but we have to take time to wind down and de-stress before bedtime.

Focus on your nutrition:  
Our immune system requires a lot of different nutrients to function optimally; therefore, our nutrition is key.  Protein intake is vital for our immune system, so make sure to have balanced meals that always includes a source of protein.  Our immune system also needs plenty of antioxidants – one rule of thumb is to eat fruits and vegetables that have a variety of colours, as this will ensure you are getting a wide range of phytonutrients.

Vitamin C:
Vitamin C is an antioxidant that we can regularly obtain from our diet.  However, supplementation of vitamin C is often warranted, as it strengthens our immune system’s ability to fight off infections and vitamin C requirements increase if we have an infection.  Vitamin C will increase lymphocytes that help target viruses and it can help prevent respiratory and systemic infections.

Vitamin D:
Vitamin D is a nutrient and hormone that we produce when we are exposed to the sun.  If you’re in Canada, it’s very likely that you have insufficient levels of vitamin D.  Vitamin D plays a crucial role in maintaining a balanced immune system and the majority of immune cells require vitamin D for proper functioning.  Vitamin D has been shown in numerous studies to protect against acute respiratory tract infections.

Zinc:
Our bodies cannot store zinc, so deficiencies can occur relatively easily.  While severe zinc deficiency is uncommon, mild zinc deficiencies occur much more often.  A deficiency of zinc can impair the functioning of all of the important immune cells we mentioned earlier (lymphocytes, NK cells, and macrophages).  There are several studies that show zinc supplementation can reduce the frequency and severity of the common cold.

Echinacea:
Echinacea is an herb that is found primarily in the eastern USA and Canada.  Echinacea has a long history of use for enhancing immunity, and studies also show that echinacea reduces the frequency of colds, the duration of colds, and the need for additional cold medications.  Echinacea also has antiviral activity against influenza viruses.

To book your phone/virtual (telemedicine) appointment please contact our naturopathic clinic by phone (905-898-1844 ext. 135) or email (dr.morsillo@gmail.com).

 

Yours in Health,

Dr. Michael Morsillo, H.B.Sc., N.D.
Newmarket Naturopathic Doctor
16655 Yonge St., Newmarket, ON
905-898-1844 ext. 135
dr.morsillo@gmail.com
www.drmorsillo.com