Harvard Health Publishing, coer teLEA aca HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL a healthier lif Pay bt i= wean MIND stan DISEASES MENS WOMENS wean MOOD Pam reauriy CANCER Conomions: WEALTH WEALTH CENSING How to boost your immune system maa yas nanasmnteces mun sytrtne AYN agg illntss ng microorganisms. ut sometimes fTASJA germ irvades sucessful nd mates you sick it possible intervene in ths process and hope of producing @ near-perfect immune response? What can you doto boost your immune system? ‘The idea of paosting yout immunity i enticing, but the ability todo so ha proved elusive for several easons.Themmune system is precisely thet system, nota single entity To function wel requires balance andharmony, Theres till much that researchers don't know about the nvicacies ond interconnectedness of the immune response For now there are no sclentically proven direct inks between lifestyle and evvangedinmuntiagion <5 ag (WAKnI (star fea uth effec doesn't mean the effects of festyle on the immune system aren't intriguing and shouldnt be studied, Researchers are exploring the diet exercise. age psychological stress and other factors onthe immune response, both in animals and in humans. nthe meantime, ‘general healthy living strategies area good way to start giving your immune system the upper hand, Fp following general good health guidelines i Keeping your immune system stiong and the single best step you cana reathy Every part of your bod), including your immune system functions better when protected fiom environmental assaults and bosteed by healthy SS penrh jing read! 7? A pedaling bad (eure rey‘+ Eatadiet high infruts and vegetables. © Exercise regulary, ‘© Maiotaina healthy weisht, seats area + Recent wdneneen teeters eet aman yo i Taeheong fim, gomonateanarsiner «Ty tomininize sre hve where wo bata e : Weds cause gonrtea ae no match forthe Uncrease immunity the healthy way large phagocyte, called a neutrophil, that ‘Many products on store shelves claim to boost or support immunity. But the concept of boosting eee eer ‘ympity actually makes tle sense scientifically. Infact, boosting the number ofcelisin our” Photos courtesy of MichoeN Stornbach, body — immune cls or others —isnotnecestaly aoodthing Forexampleathiteswho PhD. Honord Medal Scho! «enaage in-biod doping” — pumping blood nt the systems to boot ther umber food ces andeohance he perfomance —nintrerskolsrokes cara tyGT Bet immu syTEM ‘tempting to boost the cell of your immune system s especially complicated because there are so many different kinds of cells in the immune system that respond to so many diferent microbes in so many ways. Which ells should you boost, and to what number? Sofa, scientists donot now the answer Whats known that the bodys continual generating inemune cel Cerny produces many more ymphocyts than ‘can possibly use. The extra cells remove themselves through a natural process of cell death called apoptosis — some before they see any action, ‘some after the battle is won. No one knows how many cells or what the best mix of cells the immune system needs to function at ts optimum level immunesystemandage », flit Y= mint @ ngked ‘AS we age, our immune as bedomes reduced, which in turn contributes to more infections and more cancer. As life expectancy a Whe some people age heathy. the conclusion of many studs that, compared wth younger people the elder ae more kel to cont Infectious deeases and, even more important, more ely to de rom them Rspratary infection influenza and particu pneumeniaare 2 icoding couse of death in peopl ve 6S wordwide. No one iow sue why ths happens bu sme scientists observe tha this increased tok coreates wth decease incl possibly fom the thymus atrophying wth age and producing ewer T els to ght off infection Whether ths decrease thymus function explinthe opin Tels r whether other changes pay voles not uly undestod. Others ar intersted in vtnetnes the bone marow becomes es efit at producing the stem els that vere t the ells of he immune stem ‘Areduction in immune response to infections has been demonstrated by older people's response to vaccines. For example, studies of influenza veccines have shown that for people over age 65, the vaccine is much les effective compared to heathy children (ver age 2). But despite the eduction in efficacy vaccinations for influenza and S pneumoniae have sigificanty lowered the rates of sickness and death in older people when compared with no vaccination. ‘There appearsto be a connection between nutrition and immunity inthe elderly. form of malnutiion thats surprisingly common even in afiuent counties s known as "micronutrient malnutrition Mcronvirint malnutition, in which a persons deficient in some essential vitamins nd trace minerals that are obtained from or suppremented by det, canbe common inthe elderly. Older people tend toeat less and often have ei dits. Oe important question is whether dietary supplements may help older people maintain a heather immune system. less variety in the in geriatric nutition, because while some dietary supplementation Cider people should discuss ths question with a physician who is well versed ‘may be beneficial for older people, even smal changes can have serious repercussions inthis age group. Diet and your immune systempartt Like any fighting force, the immune system atmy marches on ts stomach. Healthy immune system warriors need gp Increased rate of disease Is caused by malnutrition’ fect on the immune system. howe cert There ae stl relatively few studies ofthe effect of nutition onthe immune system of humans, and eve tudes that tie the effects of mutton directly tothe development versus the treatment) of disease A < < There is some evidence that various micronutrient deficiencies — for example, deficiencies of lenium, iron, copper. rand) Ng vitamins A, 86, , and E — alter immune responses in animals, as measured in the test tube. Ho the! tof t m \X A > changes on the health of animals is less clear, and the effect of similar deficiencies on the human immune respo man w mprove immunity with herbs and supplements? Stressandimmunetunction 1 y\itrt rit’ nves, and even heat sease, ae linked tothe effects of emotona stress. Despite the challenges, scietsts are actively studying th ‘clationship DeensteRSaTARIREMRe © — ——~ Forone thing stress dificult to define. What may appear to be a stressful situation for one person isnot fr another. When people are expose to situations they regard as stressful itis dificult for them ta measure how much stress they feel and dificult forthe sie person's subjective impression ofthe amount of stress is accurate. Te scientist can only measure things that may elect stress such numberof times the heart beats each minute, ut such measures also may reflect other factors Most scientists studying the relationship of tress and immune function, however, do not study asudden, shor lived stressor; rather, they try to tudy more const and frequent stressors known as chro «stress, suchas that caused by relationships with family fends, and co-workers, Sustained challenges to perform well at one’s wok, Some scientists are investigating whether ongoing stress takes a tall on the immune sytem. Butitishard to perform what scientists "controled experiments" in human beings. In a contlled experiment, the scientist can change o and only one factor such asthe amount ofa particular chemical. and then measure the effec ofthat change on some other measurable phenomenon such asthe amount of antibodies produced by a particular typeof immune system cell when tis exposed tothe chemical. Ina tving anima and especially in a human being, tat kind of controls ust not possible, since there are so many other things happening tthe animal or person a the time that measurements are being taken Despite these inevitable dificlties in measuring the relationship of stress to immunity scent are making progres Does being cold give you a weak immune system?S erin wing Amos every metherhas said "Wear a jacket or youl catch cold Ise riht? Sofa researchers who are studying ths question think that normal exposure to madeat cod doesn increase our suscepti toinfecton Most heath experts agree thatthe reason winters "cold and tus et tt peat et eyed ie or ct enact wth rope apn er em but esachen remain tread is qudn nee peptone ome expetnere Le anh Oa ol poate reduce the ability to cope with infection. But what about humans? Scientists have dunked people in cold water and made others sit nude in subfreezing temperatures. They've studied people who lived in Antarctica and those on expedtions in the Canadian Rockies. The esis have ‘been mixed. For example researchers documented an increase in upper respiratory infections in competitive cross-country skies who exercise ‘igorously in the cold, but whether thse infections a such asthe intense exerci othe des othe = b> mM a qvanen ‘Agroup of Canadian researchers that has reviewed hundreds of medical studes onthe subject and conducted some oft own research Anil sar ths atc oe ees undsgg Vas Pa oion WOT OBR eae for average people Bost hlp een Getmrane runs tetytternone pre ec bret ner ber lel taneous conde edeata pda retested orewh er tay bin pol inp mss Logis ou ear pie thy og waterenclyoatoty One approach that could help researchers get more complete answers about whether fesyle factors such as exercise help improve immunity ‘ahs advantage ofthe sequencing ofthe human genome. This opportunity for esearch based on updated biomedical technology can be _erpleyed to ge amore complete answer to this and similar questions about the immune system. For example, micoarayso "gene chips based on the human genome allo scientists to look simultaneously at how thousands of gene sequences are tured on or off in response to pectic physiological conditions — fr example blood cells from athletes before and ater exercise. Researchers hope to use these 10s to analyze patterns in oder to better understand hom the many pathways involved act at once sever ORR Print this page: Disclaimer: ‘As service to our readers Hareard Heath Publishing provides acces to our ltvar of archived content. Please note te doteof las review on ll ‘orties Mo content on thi ste, regards of date should ever be used asa substitute for det medica advice hom your doctor or other qualified clnsion g