Vitamin and Supplements to Boost Your Immune System

How can you boost your immune system?  The students in the class I teach are now asking about what they can do to boost their immune system.  This question was never asked before but in the age of COVID, people are now interested in finding ways to build a stronger immune system.  My husband shared a good article with me on this topic:  The 4 vitamin and supplements this doctor takes every day to strengthen her immune system .  I find it interesting that throughout this pandemic so little was being said about what we could do to live a healthier lifestyle including enhancing our immune system.  Well, this article gives you some ways to do so.

Often health experts say that if you eat a healthy diet, you don’t need supplements of any kind.  I eat a healthy diet but I also take some supplements just to be sure I am getting all the vitamins and minerals I need each day.  Many Americans are not eating healthy diets and don’t take supplements.  Some researchers note that under times of stress or inflammation in our bodies we may need even more nutrients than we are getting in our diets. 

Dr. Heather Moday, an immunologist, says, “I always say that you cannot supplement yourself out of bad health or replace a poor diet with vitamins, but you an fill in the gaps to give yourself that extra leg up”.   

Dr. Moday says there are 4 supplements she takes every day and she recommends these supplements to her patients.

1.       Vitamin C – this vitamin is not one your body makes and not one it stores.  Thus, you need to be replenishing this vitamin every day.  What Americans used to do is start their day with a glass of orange, grapefruit or tomato juice.  This way they started their day with a good dose of vitamin C.  So many Americans no longer drink juice and if they do, it is often not real juice but a juice drink like SunnyD or Hi-C. 

What does Vitamin C do?  This vitamin is an antioxidant, is anti-inflammatory and it strengthens our immune system.  NIH notes that vitamin C helps our immune defense by supporting the cells in our immune system.  Vitamin C deficiency leads to an impaired immune system while infections result in more inflammation and the need for vitamin C.  Dr. Moday states that vitamin C “gets used up rapidly during infection and when we are under tremendous stress”.  I tell my students that taking extra vitamin C can shorten the duration and severity of a cold.  Now studies have found that supplementing with vitamin C can “lessen the severity of hospitalized COVID patient’s symptoms”. 

The RDA for vitamin C is 90 mg a day for adult men and 75 mg a day for adult females.  Dr. Moday recommends taking 500 mg of vitamin C, twice a day.  That is a lot of vitamin C but seems to be a safe dose for adults as the upper limit for adults is 2000 mg a day. 

If you want to up your intake of vitamin C with foods, here are some to add to your day:

• Citrus fruits:  oranges, grapefruit, kiwi, tangerines.  Or 100% juice made from citrus fruits.
•  Cantaloupe and watermelon
• Peppers – bell peppers, red bell peppers provide almost 2x the C as green peppers
• Strawberries – cut some up and add to a smoothie, ice cream or cereal
• Tomatoes – add some tomatoes to a salad, enjoy red spaghetti sauce, salsa with corn chips
• Vegetables: broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower and even a baked potato provides vitamin C
  
   

  

  Add some vitamin C rich foods to your day.
  

2.       Vitamin D

So many Americans are low or deficient in vitamin D.  Not a good thing as vitamin D is a must for a healthy immune system.  Vitamin D “makes our innate immune system more efficient in killing bacteria and viruses, and can reduce the frequency of upper respiratory infections”.  A recent study in Israel found that taking vitamin D before an infection can reduce the severity of an illness. 

Few foods provide vitamin D such as cow’s milk, most yogurts made with cow’s milk (some Greek yogurts have no vitamin D, check the label.)  Eggs provide vitamin D and some fish like salmon, trout, sardines, tuna fish.  Our bodies can make vitamin D when exposed to sunlight but harder in winter months when many are not outside as much and when we go outside, we are covered with coats, gloves and hats. 

Dr. Moday suggests taking 1,000-2,000 IU a day of D. You want to take vitamin D with a meal with some fat in it as vitamin D needs fat to be absorbed into your body. 

3.       Zinc – the mineral zinc is also important for healthy immune systems.  Although the World Health Organization reports “zinc deficiency is common worldwide..”, it shouldn’t be a problem for most Americans as we like our protein and protein foods are a rich source of zinc.  NIH states, “Zinc is known to play a central role in the immune systems, and a zinc-deficient persons experience increased susceptibility to a variety of pathogens.” 

Up your intake of zinc with foods rich in zinc by adding these foods to your day:

• Meat:  beef, pork, chicken (Note:  plant-based “meats” may have zinc added but the added zinc may not be absorbed as well as the zinc naturally found in meat. )
• Seafood:  crab, lobster, flounder
• Vegetables:  baked beans, chickpeas, kidney beans, peas
• Nuts:  cashews, almonds
• Dairy:  cow’s milk, cow’s milk yogurt, Swiss cheese, Cheddar cheese, Mozzarella cheese
• Cereal:  oatmeal

Dr. Moday recommends adding 15-30 mg of supplemental zinc a day, “especially during the fall and winter months and at the first signs of cold or flu.  (Note:  these would be recommendations for adults as these amounts would be above the upper safe limit of zinc for kids.) 

4.        Curcumin = turmeric

So much has been written about the positive health benefits of spices, especially curcumin/turmeric.  (See Anti-inflammatory foods .)  Curcumin is found in the turmeric root and is known for its many health benefits.  A main health benefit is that it is anti-inflammatory.  Another benefit is curcumin helps your  gut flora and promotes a healthier immune system. 

Supplements:  when looking for turmeric, look for the one with black pepper as our bodies don’t absorb turmeric well and black pepper enhances its absorption.  Like vitamin D, you want to take turmeric with a meal that has some fat in it as fat aids in its absorption. 

We take turmeric with black pepper, 500 mg a day.  But recently thought we should up the amount to 1,000 mg a day.  Dr. Moday recommends 1,000 mg a day and to take with food.  I recommend not just food but with a meal or snack that contains fat.  I have started putting some butter on my toast and then jam to add some fat to my breakfast as that is when I take my daily vitamin and some turmeric. 

Dr. Moday provides some great suggestions on how to boost your immune system.  You can choose foods to give your immune system a boost and add some supplements.  Be careful with supplements for kids as the amounts recommended by Dr. Moday seem to be for adults, not children.  A safe way to add supplements is a basic multivitamin/mineral one-a-day pill.  They make them for kids and for adults.  Start your day with a glass of 100% juice like orange or grapefruit juice.  Get three servings of dairy made with cow’s milk each day to up your vitamin D.  Check your yogurt label to be sure vitamin D has been added. 

 

Sources:  The 4 vitamin and supplements this doctor takes every day to strengthen her immune system , says , day , NIH , shorten , RDA , red bell peppers , immune system. , fish , Israel  reports , NIH states , recommends , Anti-inflammatory foods , gut flora , black pepper , turmeric   Image Sources:  Vitamin C , Zinc , Immune system