Breath work, Stress reduction whole foods & good sleep for immunity

I loved this Zoe Podcast on Immunity with Jonathan Wolf & Dr Jenna Macciochi: senior lecturer in immunology at the University of Sussex, and author of The Science of Staying Well, and Your Blueprint for Strong Immunity. It discusses an evidence-based approach on how to support and maintain a healthy immune system, super relevant at this time of year.

JW: All right. Can I improve my immune system without taking drugs? JM: Yes. 

JW Is the immune system mainly to fight off illness? JM: No. 

JW: Should you try to boost your immune system? JM: No. 

JW: Will taking vitamin C supplements reduce my chance of getting a cold? JM: No. 

JW: Can my emotions make me ill? JM: Yes. 

JW: What's the biggest misconception about the immune system?  JM: I'd say that if you get sick, we're going into winter, seasonal viruses are around, if you get sick, it means you've got a rubbish immune system. 

Here is Johnathan Wolf summing up their conversation.

We live in a germy world, so we can't be invincible, we're going to get these things. The reality is actually our immune systems are on too much in out modern world, and this is leading to, more risk of diabetes & could always impact your risk of cancer.

We actually want a calm immune system & the immune system has a much bigger impact than we realised. So for example, if you are sick, it is true that that immune system is sending chemicals to your brain that actually make you feel bad, lower your mood, & make you tired. Don't ignore it all, or take all the pills to stop it going away, this is actually it sort of signaling to you how to respond. The best option is sleep & rest to allow the body’s natural killer cells to clear the infection for you.

The bulk of our immune system is actually where our microbes are & we now know that the microbiome is really important for fine tuning the immune system. Our microbiome should be producing a whole set of chemicals that are helping the peacekeeping part of our immune system. you mentioned this thing, butyrate as an example. Our microbiome should be arming the peacekeepers and that's not happening because we're not eating the right food and we don't all have the right good bugs and therefore it's one of the ways in which our immune system is out of balance. We've got all the guys out there with the guns, but we've got none of the sort of calm inside of this. That is why the food you eat is going to be much more important than popping a particular superfood or vitamin C. 

Also stress has a direct impact on your immune system. This isn't made up. It's not just in your head, you can measure it in a lab. It's physical. It's also really hard to reduce stress, but there is real clinical evidence that things that sound crazy like breathing exercises could actually reduce your stress, putting the phone outside the bedroom and just going outside, and if you can reduce your stress, it will actually improve the function of your immune system.

And that sleep, which rather than, sleep is for wimps, is actually really important. If you cut back your sleep, you're going to worsen your immune system, because we've got these natural born killers in every part of my body, but they only come out when we go to sleep & our system is in rest & digest mode.

This combination of things can really have an impact on this immune system, and that immune system is really affecting every part of my health. 

So breath practices, stress reduction, good food & good sleep… say the scientists, not me!

You can read the full article here: https://zoe.com/learn/4-immunity-tips-for-healthy-ageing