Immune system health is a huge topic on everyone’s mind right now but are we really taking care of it the way we should be?

In the midst of the COVID-19 spread, talk of how to boost the immune system is a topic that is trending in our office right now. Our clients are now looking for ways to boost their immune system so that that they remain healthy and can attack any pathogen that they may come in contact with. In this article we are going to talk about what you’re doing now that may be harming your immune system and what you can do to stay proactive to boost that immune system up so that its functioning at 100%

While touching your face, forgetting to wash your hands and smoking are big no’s right now, there are less talked about ways that people can dampen there immune systems without even knowing.

Here are four things that may have a negative impact on immune function.

1.Fear

Fear is a type of emotional stress and right now people are dealing with tons of it! Fear turns on our sympathetic nervous system or our fight or flight response in our body, which is only supposed to be turned on when we are in a harmful situation. When the fight or flight mode is engaged, our system is programmed to shut things off that it doesn’t deem necessary when dealing with those harmful situations. If you’re being chased by a lion, which I hope is a harmful situation in your eyes, do you really think you need your stomach digesting food or your immune system working at 100%? No, I would want better eye sight (pupillary dilation) so that I could see in front of me, increased heart rate and blood flow so that I can run away, FAST! That is exactly what happens when our fight or flight mode is engaged because we need to be protected from the lion! When we are in a constant state of emotional stress or fear and that fight or fight mode is always flipped ON it turns OFF our immune function, digestion and other things the body doesn’t need including the immune system.

Heres what to do:

• Practice breathing techniques. When we are in a state of fear it can prompt shallow breathing. It is important to practice techniques like crocodile breathing which can support the body’s relaxation response.

• Say a prayer!

• Take the time to focus on things like taking walks instead of looking at social media all day which is flooded with negative and fearful information.

2. Over Exercising

It’s important to exercise on a daily basis but sometimes over training was shown to deplete the body of an essential mineral, ZINC. Zinc is an absolute essential when talking about maintaining immune function. Zinc was shown to promote T-Cell growth into white blood cells to ward off disease and also turn on apoptosis (programmed cell death) to kill certain viruses and bacteria. In our office we find that people with neurological problems, weak immunity, thinning hair, leaky gut and food sensitivities all are deficient in zinc. It’s absolutely critical to maintain zinc levels and get them checked by a healthcare professional. 3. Sitting To Much The average American spends about six hours a day in a sedentary state. Right now in the midst of the Corona Virus its probably more like 8-10 hours per day. Sitting is a type of physical stress that can create poor posture and imbalances in the spinal column, causing a lot of pain. Again when we are in a constant state of stress, this time being physical stress, our immune system and health gets weakened by being in that fight or flight state.

Heres what you can do:

• If your job requires you to work at a computer, it’s ok. Set a timer on your phone or watch for every 20-30 minutes and simply stand up and walk around.

• Sit in an infrared sauna. When your posture gets bad our muscles tend to tense up and get tight. Sitting in an infrared sauna for an hour will help relax that musculature.

• Get Upper Cervical Chiropractic adjustments!

3. Drinking too much alcohol

Consistent alcohol ingestion is definitely not beneficial for one’s health, including immune system health.

Heres what to do:

• Replace alcoholic beverages with healthier options such as kombucha, green smoothies, and coconut water. These beverages contain essential vitamins and minerals that will ramp up immune function.

Here are some other quick tips to boost immune function.

• Take 50, 000 IU of Vitamin D once per month. If you feel like you’re getting sick take that Vitamin D every day until you are feeling better.

• Take a powder form Vitamin C.

• Take 20mg of Zinc once per day

• Take 3750mcg of Vitamin A per day.

Dr. Nick Paladinelli

42560 Van Dyke Ave Sterling Heights, MI 48314