{"id":640,"date":"2020-08-29T19:09:45","date_gmt":"2020-08-29T19:09:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/amysaloner.com\/?p=640"},"modified":"2024-10-02T09:41:42","modified_gmt":"2024-10-02T09:41:42","slug":"club-xcite-on-immune-health","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/amysaloner.com\/index.php\/2020\/08\/29\/club-xcite-on-immune-health\/","title":{"rendered":"Interview Highlights with Club Xcite on Immune Health for Back to School (and Work)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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I was recently invited to do an\ninterview with Club Xcite<\/a> and their\ndirector Jocelyn Burke MA Ed, to share tips on supporting immune health while\nfamilies are preparing to head back to school. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can watch the video of our time together here,<\/a> or read the highlights plus some additional thoughts below. Either way, I hope these tips support you in taking charge of building resilience and health for you and your family. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

How do You Define Health? <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Health is a state of physical,\nmental and social well-being and not just the absence of disease and infirmity.<\/strong> We are healthy when our bodies and\nminds are responsive, and not reactive, to our environment or our experience. Elisa\nSong MD describes \u2018Cellular Resilience\u2019 as one way to know we are truly\nhealthy. She describes it as \u201cthe ability of our cells to bounce back from\nstress, and not just recover rapidly and completely, but be stronger for the\nnext time.\u201d This is a powerful statement, because it doesn\u2019t mean we shouldn\u2019t\nexperience disease or stress, but that when our body is healthy and resilient, they\ncan actually make you stronger\u2026let that sink in. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And although diseases\nlike Covid-19 do not seem to be impacting children as much as the elderly and\nhealth compromised, they are not out of the woods. One in two children are\ncurrently dealing with a chronic condition like eczema, asthma, severe\nallergies, obesity, anxiety. Auto-immunity is on the rise in both children and\nadults, more than ever before. These may becoming more typical, but they are\nnot normal in children. These conditions all impact the immune system, causing\nhigher risk for complications in acute diseases. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is Immune Health and Why is it so Important?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Our world is one where there are\nbiological, ecological and sociological eco-systems that rely on different\norganisms moving through various states of balance and imbalance to survive.  In this way, bacteria, viruses, protozoa,\nparasites have always been, and will always be, a part of our existence.  Sickness comes when there is an imbalance in\nthe eco-system. So, what puts the eco-system out of balance? Toxin exposure in\nour food, air, water and buildings, nutrient deficiency, overuse of\nmedications, psychological and emotional stress, overuse of antimicrobials…get\nthe picture?  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A primary reason people have been\nhaving complications with Covid-19 are pre-existing conditions like diabetes,\nobesity, heart disease, chronic lung diseases, liver and kidney disease,\nneurological dysfunction or are immunocompromised. When we look closer, many of\nthese are both challenges in the input (what we are being exposed to) and our\noutput (how we are responding and detoxifying after exposure). When we\nunderstand how these systems work in our body and what is supportive for our\nhealth, it then just comes down to a shift in lifestyle to reduce these risks.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We are \u2018exposed\u2019 to bacteria,\nviruses, parasites, etc. all the time\u2026 but it does not mean that we always fall\nill because of it. When our immune system is working effectively, it has the\ncapacity not only to take down the invader and stop or minimize the degree of sickness\nwe experience.  Our immune system also\nhas the capacity to create antibody and memory cells to \u2018remember\u2019 and keep\nfighting each time the invader returns. This also makes us stronger and more\ncapable of response in the future. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A big part of our immune system is\nthe modulation of inflammation. Inflammation is actually a necessary part of\nthe healing process in a healthy person\u2026 fevers, swelling from injuries,\nrashes\u2026 these are all your bodies way of sending immune cells to help heal. It\nis unfortunate that we have learned to turn so quickly to anti-inflammatory\nmedications to stop this process, as they can actually slow healing altogether,\nparticularly with low grade or moderate fevers. Anti-inflammatory medications\ncan be effective with injury and pain, but it is important to understand how\nthese inflammatory processes work to know when and how to use them wisely. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some concerns specifically with\nCovid-19 are when pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory pathways do not\nmodulate properly and can result in an overactivity of the immune system. This\nis called a Cytokine storm or Multi-system Inflammatory Syndrome (MISC) in\nchildren. These have been rare, but are very actually dangerous. This can\nhappen because where the virus attaches to enter the cell, called the ACE2\nreceptors, are found on or around your organs. We don\u2019t know enough about this\nvirus to fully understand why this is happening, but in most cases what the\nresearch has found is the major compromises are often linked to nutrient\ndeficiencies, which are quite common with most of the above-mentioned conditions.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tips to Keep the Immune System Strong: <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Again, if we are looking for ways to create resilience physically, mentally and socially, we need to start with the basics. There are some very well researched principles that focus on five foundational principles of nutrition and health that ensure rapid and effective response to invaders and appropriate inflammation regulation.  We have to think both in terms of building resilience regularly and having appropriate tools to be responsive when an invader arrives. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nutrient sufficiency is required for optimal health.<\/strong> Stress, disease and dysfunction all compromise our ability to be nutrient sufficient. Through food, and sometimes supplementation, these are the key nutrients we must ensure are in ready supply:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vitamin D<\/strong> – We can\nobtain from sunshine and from food, BUT there are necessary co-factors for us\nto assimilate, digest and utilize in either form including Vitamin K and\nMagnesium. Many people are deficient in Vitamin D, but it is important to test\nfor your levels if you intend to supplement, as with most fat-soluble vitamins,\noverdose is possible. You want your vitamin D status, measured as 25(OH)D,\nclose to 30 ng\/mL (75 nmol\/L). <\/p>\n\n\n\n